Life is Good Faces Elders in Kelso

'TDN Rising Star' Life is Good (Into Mischief) takes on his elders for the first time Saturday and will be heavily favored to defeat them in a four-horse renewal of Belmont's GII Kelso H. Informative (Bodemeister) is scratching in favor of Saturday's Parx Dirt Mile. Devastating the field to graduate by 9 1/2 lengths and earn a 91 Beyer Speed Figure on debut at Del Mar Nov. 22, the $525,000 KEESEP buy captured the one-mile GIII Sham S. next out at Santa Anita Jan. 2. Romping by eight lengths when trying two turns in the GII San Felipe S. in Arcadia Mar. 6, the bay was knocked off the GI Kentucky Derby trail in March after a chip was discovered in his left hind ankle. Transferred from Bob Baffert to Todd Pletcher in the interim, Life is Good returned in Saratoga's GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. Aug. 28, finishing a narrow second after a brawl with Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music). He ran triple-digit Beyers in his last the races, numbers which put him well above the rest of the field. With Irad Ortiz in the irons, Life is Good can be expected to go right to the front and never look back.

“He ran a giant race off the layoff and has trained well since then,” said Pletcher, who plans to use this race as a springboard to the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. “He's just a very talented horse so I was not surprised he had run so well off the bench. It was an ambitious goal to run in a Grade I, but he's a very talented horse and ran terrific. He came out of it well and has continued to train great.”

Chance It (Currency Swap) has been knocking at the door of a graded victory. Runner-up in the GIII Smile Sprint S. at Gulfstream July , he checked in third behind a savage battle between Yaupon (Uncle Mo) and Firenze Fire (Friesan Fire) in the GI Forego at Saratoga Aug. 28.

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Test Winner Bella Sofia Headlines Sunday’s Gallant Bloom Handicap

Following a breakthrough triumph against her sophomore counterparts in the Grade 1 Longines Test at Saratoga Race Course, Bella Sofia will face older fillies and mares at stakes level for the first time in Sunday's 27th running of the Grade 2, $250,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap at 6 ½ furlongs over the Belmont Park main track.

Bella Sofia, a Rudy Rodriguez-trained daughter of Awesome Patriot, has won 3-of-4 lifetime starts by a combined 22 lengths and registered a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for her triumph in the seven-furlong Longines Test on Aug. 7.

The dark bay or brown filly displayed stalking tactics down the backstretch in the Test, establishing command in upper stretch and drawing off to a decisive 4 ¼-length conquest against four graded stakes winners.

Bella Sofia broke her maiden at first asking against older company, winning by 11 ¼-lengths going six furlongs on May 6 at Belmont Park. She won a first-level allowance against elders at the same distance and track on July 11 by 6 ½ lengths. Her lone defeat was a runner-up effort in the June 6 Jersey Girl over Big Sandy.

Rodriguez said he considered two-turn options out of town for Bella Sofia, but decided the Gallant Bloom was the best spot given the distance and the homefield advantage.

“This was the best race for her coming up,” Rodriguez said. “We could have run her in the Cotillion or gone to the Spinster, but it made more sense for us to run her here at home. We know she likes Belmont. She's been here all along. We're just happy she's coming into the race in good shape.”

Bella Sofia is owned by Michael Imperio, Vincent Scuderi [the owner of 2016 Gallant Bloom winner Paulassilverlining], Sofia Soares, Gabrielle Farm, Mazel Stable Partners and Matthew Mercutio.

“The Test was a huge, huge win for us, because we don't have these kinds of horses in the barn,” Rodriguez said. “To win a Grade 1 at Saratoga, especially a prestigious race like the Test, everything was amazing. We're still dreaming.”

Rodriguez said Bella Sofia is not as enthusiastic during morning training as she is on race day in the afternoon.

“We've been very, very lucky with her,” Rodriguez said. “She just destroyed the field in her first race. She doesn't put much into her training in the mornings, but in the afternoon she's a completely different horse. We just have to keep her happy, stay out of her way and let her do all the talking. She's still young so there's still plenty of growing ahead of her.”

Luis Saez, the leading rider at Saratoga this summer, will return to the irons from post 1. Bella Sofia will carry 119 pounds.

Coming off a triumph against fellow Pennsylvania-breds is Don't Call Me Mary, a winner of three of her last four starts, including a last-out win in the Dr. Teresa Garofalo Memorial on August 23 over a sloppy and sealed track at Parx.

Owned by Stuart Grant's The Elkstone Group and trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old El Padrino chestnut made her lone start at Belmont a winning one, defeating a second-level allowance optional claiming event at the Gallant Bloom distance by 4 ½ lengths over next-out stakes winner Truth Hurts.

In her recent stakes coup, Don't Call Me Mary handed ultra-consistent Chub Wagon, a five-time stakes-winner, her only loss in ten starts.

“She beat a good filly who was undefeated and came back and won an open company stake after that, so I thought it was a good race,” said Pletcher, who saddled Harmony Lodge to victory in the 2003 Gallant Bloom.

Hall of Famer John Velazquez, a five-time winner of the Gallant Bloom, will ride Don't Call Me Mary [118 pounds] from post 5.

Godolphin's Lake Avenue seeks her first graded stakes victory since capturing the Grade 2 Demoiselle in December 2019 for Hall of Famer Bill Mott, a two-time winning trainer of the Gallant Bloom.

The regally-bred Tapit chestnut, out of two-time Grade 1 winner Seventh Street, was a last out second to Gamine in the Grade 1 Ketel One Ballerina, where she finished 1 ¾ lengths behind the defending Champion Female Sprinter.

Winless in five starts during her sophomore season, Lake Avenue recaptured her winning form in her 2021 bow going a one-turn mile against optional claimers at Gulfstream Park en route to a stakes score in the Heavenly Prize Invitational on April 3 at Aqueduct. She added black type later in the year with two second-place finishes in the Grade 3 Bed o' Roses at Belmont and Grade 2 Honorable Miss at Saratoga.

Lake Avenue, carrying a field-high 121 pounds, will exit post 4 under Jose Ortiz.

Frank Fletcher Racing Operations won last year's Gallant Bloom with Frank's Rockette and will look to double up with Lady Rocket, a 4-year-old Tale of the Cat filly. Trained by Brad Cox, the four-time winner from eight starts took the Pink Ribbon on August 27 at Charles Town in wire-to-wire fashion in her most recent start.

A winner over four different tracks, Lady Rocket defeated second-level allowance optional claiming company at Churchill Downs prior to her last out win. She made her career debut a winning one travelling 6 ½ furlongs in August 2020 at Saratoga en route to a next-out score against winners in October at Keeneland.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will pilot Lady Rocket [118 pounds] from post 2.

Saul Kupferberg's veteran mare Honor Way, second in last year's Gallant Bloom, rounds out the field as she seeks to make amends following two fifth-place finishes at stakes level for trainer Charlton Baker.

The 7-year-old daughter of Caleb's Posse racked up two stakes victories on the NYRA circuit following last year's Gallant Bloom, including a 4 ½-length win in the seven-furlong Pumpkin Pie on November 1 at Belmont, and a 1 1/2-length score in the six-furlong Garland of Roses on December 6 at Aqueduct.

Through a record of 44-13-8-8, Honor Way boasts a field-best $717,692 in lifetime earnings.

Honor Way [118 pounds] will break from post 3 under Jorge Vargas, Jr.

The Gallant Bloom is named in honor of King Ranch's multiple champion filly, who won 12 straight races, including an unbeaten season in seven starts in 1969 when she was named Champion 3-Year-Old Filly over that year's Triple Tiara winner Shuvee. Trained by the late Hall of Famer Max Hirsch, Gallant Bloom was named 1968 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly with victories in the Matron and Gardenia, and put together an illustrious sophomore campaign, capturing the Gazelle, Delaware Oaks, Monmouth Oaks, and Spinster. She was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1977.

The Gallant Bloom is slated as Race 9 on Sunday's 10-race card, which also features the $150,000 Bertram F. Bongard for New York-bred juveniles travelling seven furlongs over the main track in Race 4. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Cross Country Pick 5 Features Action From Belmont, Churchill, Parx

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host an all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring action from Belmont Park, Churchill Downs and Parx.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5 kicks off with the Grade 2 Gallant Bob [Race 10, 4:22 p.m. Eastern], the first of a trio of graded events from Parx in the sequence. Multiple Grade 1-winner Jackie's Warrior, last-out winner of the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, is listed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the six-furlong sprint for sophomores. Track specialist Beren, a four-time winner at Parx, will look to spring the upset for trainer Butch Reid, Jr.

In the second leg, Stonestreet Stables' homebred Clairiere will look to secure a first Grade 1 win when exiting post 6 under Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the $1 million Cotillion [Race 11, 5:01 p.m.], a 1 1/16-mile test for sophomore fillies. The Curlin bay, trained by Asmussen, enters from a runner-up effort to Kentucky Oaks-winner Malathaat in the 10-furlong Grade 1 Alabama at the Spa.

Maracuja will be reunited with Kendrick Carmouche, who guided the Honor Code gray to a third-out maiden win in February at Aqueduct. The Rob Atras trainee captured the Grade 1 CCA Oaks in July with Santana, Jr. up in place of the injured Carmouche and enters from an off-the-board effort in the Alabama. Always Carina, runner-up in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Mother Goose two starts back at Belmont, stretches out from a fourth-place finish in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Longines Test in August at the Spa for trainer Chad Brown.

Action switches to Churchill Downs for the middle leg of the sequence as a field of 10 sophomores sprint seven furlongs in the Harrods Creek [Race 10, 5:26 p.m.] led by Clearview Stable's stakes-placed Irish Unity. Trained by Asmussen, the Pioneerof the Nile gelding is out of the multiple graded-stakes winning Dixie Union mare Justwhistledixie making him a half-sibling to graded-stakes winners Enforceable, Kingly, Mohaymen and New Year's Day. Multiple stakes-placed Dreamer's Disease and speedy shipper Emerald Forest are among a number of contenders in a wide-open affair.

Hot Rod Charlie, the runner-up in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the penultimate leg – the nine-furlong Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby [Race 12, 5:49 p.m.] at Parx. Trained by Doug O'Neill, the Oxbow colt was a game third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May at Churchill Downs and last out crossed the wire first in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park but was disqualified and placed seventh after drifting in front of Midnight Bourbon, who clipped heels and fell.

Midnight Bourbon exited the Haskell to finish second in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers last out and will provide steep opposition under returning pilot Santana, Jr. Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner, a bay son of Street Sense trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, steps into stakes company for the first time off a sharp allowance score against older company in August at the Spa. Graded-stakes winners Fulsome, Weyburn, Keepmeinmind, and Bourbonic add depth to a loaded field.

The sequence concludes with the Grade 3, $200,000 Athenia [Race 10, 5:58 p.m.], a nine-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park. Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will send out Group 3-winner Pocket Square and stakes-placed Miss Teheran in a compact field of five that includes the well-related Lake Lucerne, a bay daughter of Dubawi out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Awesome Again mare Round Pond.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, September 25:
Leg A: Parx-Race 10 Grade 2 Gallant Bob (4:44 p.m.)
Leg B: Parx-Race 11 Grade 1 Cotillion (5:02 p.m.)
Leg C: Churchill -Race 10 Harrods Creek (5:26 p.m.)
Leg D: Parx-Race 12 Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby (5:49 p.m.)
Leg E: Belmont-Race 10 Grade 3 Athenia (5:58 p.m.)

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Brown To Saddle Pocket Square, Miss Teheran In Saturday’s Athenia Stakes

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle Pocket Square and Miss Teheran in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Athenia, a nine-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park.

Brown has won four of the last five runnings of the Athenia and has totaled five wins overall, including scores by Pianist [2013], Roca Rojo [2016], Off Limits [2017], Rymska [2018] and Tapit Today [2020].

Juddmonte homebred Pocket Square, a 4-year-old Night of Thunder chestnut, enters from a 4 1/2-length optional-claiming win traveling nine furlongs on the Saratoga Race Course turf on Aug. 25.

A Group 3-winner as a juvenile in France for trainer Roger Charlton, Pocket Square posted a debut win for Brown in a 1 1/16-mile Keeneland allowance tilt in April. She followed with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in Grade 1 company in the one-mile Longines Just a Game in June at Belmont and the nine-furlong Diana in August at Saratoga.

“We had very high hopes for her coming out of the allowance win at Keeneland and we tried her in some ambitious spots. She has always trained well,” said Brown's Belmont-based assistant Dan Stupp. “She came back into form at Saratoga and hopefully that gave her confidence. She's made a good appearance at Belmont this fall.”

Doubledown Stables' Miss Teheran, a 5-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Teofilo, captured a one-mile optional-claimer on the Saratoga turf on August 1 and rallied to finish second last out in the 1 1/16-mile Miss Liberty on August 28 at Monmouth Park. The late-running chestnut boasts a record of 13-4-4-1 with purse earnings of $199,372.

“She had a little bit of a trip and came with a nice late kick, but didn't quite get the job done. She gave a good account of herself and we were pleased with her effort,” Stupp said of the Miss Liberty try. “Obviously, we would have liked to have won but she showed up off her allowance win at Saratoga and gave another good effort.”

Miss Teheran has breezed back twice at Belmont since the Miss Liberty, including a half-mile effort in 50.05 Saturday on the Belmont main track.

“She's had a couple maintenance works and seems to be doing well,” Stupp said. “She's a very honest filly and tries every time. She's a one-run late filly – save a little ground, get a little cover and then get out and make her run.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. has the call aboard Pocket Square from post 4, while Manny Franco will guide Miss Teheran from post 2.

Godolphin homebred Lake Lucerne, a 4-year-old Dubawi bay, enters from a narrow nose score in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming event on September 1 at the Spa.

Out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Awesome Again mare Round Pond, Lake Lucerne launched her career in England with trainer John Gosden which included a maiden score in March 2020 at Chelmsford.

Transferred to the care of trainer Brendan Walsh, Lake Lucerne rallied to finish fourth in her North American debut in February at Gulfstream Park and followed with a 3 1/4-length allowance score in May traveling 1 1/16-miles on the Churchill Downs turf.

Jose Lezcano has the call from the inside post.

Rounding out the field are Group 2-placed Made In Italy [post 3, Junior Alvarado] for trainer Graham Motion and two-time winner Stand for the Flag [post 5, Dylan Davis] for conditioner Rob Atras. Spice Is Nice is entered for the main-track only.

The Athenia is slated as Race 10 on Saturday's 11-race card, which also features the Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso Handicap, a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up slated for Race 4. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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