Woodward: Life Is Good an absolute standout
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The matchup most people want to see on Breeders’ Cup Day, Flightline versus Life Is Good in the $6 million Classic, is still five weeks away.
On Saturday morning, at Santa Anita, the undefeated Flightline is expected to have his second workout since his devastatingly easy victory in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sept. 3. On Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct, Life Is Good is expected to have something akin to a paid workout when he faces four opponents in the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward Stakes.
While trainer Todd Pletcher is focused on the Woodward, he did allow himself a sneak peek into the future.
“The thing that will be interesting is Flightline’s a very fast horse, but it’s likely the first time he’s going to find himself in chase mode, so you never know what can happen in that situation,” Pletcher said regarding the Classic. “Look, it’s a formidable task, we have a lot of respect for Flightline, but we also have a lot of confidence in Life Is Good.”
Life Is Good has been an odds-on favorite in each of his previous 10 starts. In last year’s Kelso at Belmont Park, he was 1-20 against three rivals and delivered a 5 1/2-length victory on his way to winning the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
A similar 1-20 price is likely on Saturday in the Woodward, which, being at Aqueduct, is run at 1 1/8 miles around two turns. Having such an overwhelming favorite in a $500,000 race is nice, but it can also be a little nerve-wracking.
“To be honest with you, it doesn’t make it much fun,” Pletcher said. “There’s only one possible outcome that’s satisfactory, but that’s sort of the position you’re in when you’re lucky enough to get horses like him that every time you go over there, they’re expected to win. So, it puts you in a situation you want everything to go smoothly, no mistakes, get a clean run.”
Not everything went smoothly when Life Is Good won the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga two months ago. It was an extremely hot day and early on down the backside Life Is Good seemed to open the race up pretty early. At the head of the lane, there was Hot Rod Charlie on the outside and Happy Saver trying a move on the inside. Irad Ortiz Jr. maneuvered Life Is Good in front of Happy Saver and he was fortunate Life Is Good was clear and that when Happy Saver had to alter course he was able to hold off Hot Rod Charlie for second.
“He got to wandering around a little, but part of that was I think Irad kind of overthinking it,” said Pletcher, who trains Life Is Good for WinStar Farm and China Horse Club. “We’ve had some discussions with Irad about a couple of things. The horse is so brilliant you sort of got to do the best you can to stay out of his way.”
In the Woodward, Life Is Good will break from the rail. He simply looks faster than the other front-running horse in the field, Thomas Shelby, who is coming off a victory in an allowance at Monmouth Park in his first start for owner/trainer David Jacobson.
“Life Is Good is just a killer,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson said he’s not fully committed to running. He wants to see if the forecasted rain arrives and if that prompts anybody else to scratch. Jacobson did blow out Thomas Shelby three furlongs in 38 seconds Thursday morning over the Belmont training track.
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Keepmeinmind, also trained by Pletcher, kept top-level company as a 3-year-old, though he did not win. Transferred to Pletcher for his 4-year-old season, Keepmeinmind won a first-level allowance race before finishing fifth, perhaps compromised by a slow pace, in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Pletcher said owner Mike Moreno of Cypress Creek Equine expressed a desire to run if the field was short.
“If he’s fortunate enough to be able to finish second or third, it’s not a bad payday,” Pletcher said. “Sometimes you never know what can happen. I think everyone understands if Life Is Good runs his race, then it’s his race to lose.”
The connections of Law Professor seem to understand. Law Professor is trying to get to the Fayette Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 29 and his people didn’t want to wait seven weeks to run him again following a victory in the Tapit Stakes on turf at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 10.
“Obviously, we know Life Is Good is going to be there, but other than that it looked like we could be a strong contender for second and it’s a month until that race,” said Rob Atras, who trains Law Professor for Twin Creeks Racing Stables.
Trainer Uriah St. Lewis, who ships up Informative from Parx, isn’t conceding the Woodward to Life Is Good. He believes his horse, who won the Philip Iselin at Monmouth Park on Aug. 20, is doing well enough that if Life Is Good isn’t sharp, he can pull off the upset. St. Lewis did win the 2018 Jockey Club Gold Cup with 45-1 Discreet Lover.
“I know that Life Is Good is really good. I’m not going to think he’s going to be easy to beat,” St. Lewis said. “But my horse is doing good. It’s horse racing, just one little hiccup and that’s it. I saw Secretariat get beat.”
The Woodward goes as race 7 on a card that begins at 1 p.m. and includes the Grade 1 Champagne for 2-year-olds, the Grade 2 Miss Grillo for 2-year-old fillies on turf, and the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint for older males.
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