A week after a quicker than anticipated breeze of Liveyourbeastlife, trainer Jorge Abreu said he wanted something a little easier from the 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper, and he got just what he was looking for with a six-furlong work in 1:16.20 on the Belmont Park main track in preparation for the Grade 1, $1 million Preakness on October 3 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.
Last week, the dark bay colt worked five-eighths in a swift 59.89, prompting Abreu to breeze Liveyourbeastlife without blinkers on Saturday morning. The conditioner said the equipment would remain on the horse for the Preakness.
“He had a nice maintenance breeze this morning; nice and steady. I wasn't looking for anything crazy,” Abreu said. “He had a nice, long gallop out which is just what I wanted. Last week, he breezed a little quick. I didn't want him to do too much, so I took the blinkers off for the work.”
Owned by William H. Lawrence, Liveyourbeastlife was a late-closing second to Mystic Guide in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga in his most recent start, where he registered a career-best 94 Beyer Speed Figure at 14-1 odds.
Bred in Kentucky by Phillips Racing Partnership, Liveyourbeastlife is out of the multiple black-type producing Kris S. mare Ellie's Moment, whose notable progeny include Time and Motion – a Grade 1 winner on turf. Despite the fact that Liveyourbeastlife boasts a pedigree that would suggest turf, Abreu said the horse does not handle the grass as well as one would think.
“I worked him on the turf one day at Saratoga last summer and he didn't work well at all. He went [five-eighths] in 1:05,” Abreu recalled. “But he does well on the dirt, so no need to change anything.”
Liveyourbeastlife will give Abreu, who took out his trainer's license at the end of 2016 after working as an assistant for Chad Brown, his first contender in an American Classic. Abreu said he is looking forward to the milestone opportunity.
“I am very excited. The horse is going into the race in very good shape, so we'll take the shot and see what happens,” Abreu said.
A 4 1/4-length winner on debut last September at Belmont Park for a $62,500 tag, Liveyourbeastlife did not find the winner's circle again until August 12, where he won a first-level allowance event at Saratoga that included graded stakes placed Candy Tycoon prior to his runner-up effort in the Jim Dandy.
Abreu said the horse has continued to show gradual improvement throughout the summer.
“The horse isn't a flashy horse in the morning,” Abreu said. “Nobody expected him to run that big in the Jim Dandy, but he's just getting better with age and with more racing experience.”
Liveyourbeastlife is expected to ship to Pimlico Race Course on Tuesday morning and will be ridden by Mid-Atlantic based rider Trevor McCarthy.
In other Preakness Stakes related news, Paul Pompa, Jr.'s Country Grammer, who went a half-mile in 50.25 seconds over the Belmont main track Saturday, has been confirmed for the final leg of the 2020 Triple Crown and will look to give Brown his second victory in the prestigious event after saddling Cloud Computing to a victory in the 2017 Preakness. The son of second-crop sire Tonalist won the Grade 3 Peter Pan on July 16 at Saratoga and was a last-out fifth in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers.
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