elliott walden | Horse Racing Free Tips

Life Is Good to Pletcher, Returns to Worktab

by Bill Finley and Steve Sherack

Undefeated and considered one of the most promising horses in the sport, Life Is Good (Into Mischief) will soon join the Todd Pletcher stable. He had been trained by Bob Baffert, who has lost a number of top horses due to his ongoing problems involving the Medina Spirit (Protonico) positive in the GI Kentucky Derby for betamethasone.

After winning the GII San Felipe S., Mar. 6 at Santa Anita, Life Is Good was sidelined and ruled out of the Triple Crown races after coming down with a hind-end injury, which required surgery to remove a chip in his ankle. He worked three furlongs Thursday morning at Keeneland in :37 flat.

Elliott Walden, the president and CEO of WinStar Farm, the co-owner of Life Is Good, confirmed the trainer switch.

“Life is Good worked this a.m. with our farm trainer, Destin Heath at Keeneland,” Walden said via text. “His team has done a wonderful job getting him back to the work tab. He went :37 and out in :49 2/5. The plan is to ship to Todd Pletcher in the coming weeks with a possibility of running in New York later this year. With the ban on Bob in Kentucky and New York right now, our opportunities are limited. We will continue to evaluate the situation with Bob and appreciate everything he has done with Life is Good.”

One landing spot for Life Is Good could be the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 28 in Saratoga. Baffert has been banned by the New York Racing Association and, currently, is not able to run in New York or stable there. He has, however, filed a suit against NYRA seeking a stay that would allow him to compete at the NYRA tracks.

Walden declined to answer any other questions regarding WinStar's relationship with Baffert.

WinStar has also moved Country Grammer (Tonalist) from the Baffert barn to the Pletcher stable. The winner of the GI Hollywood Gold Cup in his last start, he may go next in the GII Suburban H. at Belmont. Still another WinStar-owned stakes horse has been moved out of the Baffert barn. Crystal Ball (Malibu Moon) will make her debut Saturday for trainer Rodolphe Brisset in the Lady Jacqueline S. at Thistledown. Spendthrift Farm has also reportedly moved its horses out of the Baffert barn. And Hozier (Pioneerof the Nile) will make his debut Saturday in the GIII Ohio Derby for Brisset after campaigning for Baffert. He is owned by the partnership of SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Golconda Stable, Siena Farm LLC and Robert Masterson.

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Life Is Good Has First Work Back; Colt Will Head To Todd Pletcher In New York

On Thursday morning at Keeneland, two-time graded stakes winner Life Is Good put in his first workout since undergoing minor surgery to remove an ankle chip earlier this year. The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief breezed three furlongs in 37 seconds flat under the watchful eye of WinStar Farm trainer Destin Heath; WinStar is undergoing track renovations at its training center this summer, so Heath has been maintaining a training operation at Keeneland.

“Life Is Good worked this a.m. with our farm trainer, Destin Heath at Keeneland,” co-owner WinStar Farm's president and CEO Elliott Walden told Horse Racing Nation. “His team has done a wonderful job getting him back to the work tab. He went 37 and out in 49.2. The plan is to ship to Todd Pletcher in the coming weeks with a possibility of running in New York later this year.”

Life Is Good was formerly conditioned by embattled trainer Bob Baffert, and is undefeated in three career starts in Southern California. Co-owned by the China Horse Club, the colt was the individual favorite in four Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools prior to the announcement of his injury in late March.

WinStar also transferred Grade 1 winner Country Grammer from Baffert to Pletcher earlier this week, due to the New York Racing Association's ban on Baffert trainees in the wake of the announcement of a positive test in the Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit.

Gold Cup Winner Country Grammer Moved From Baffert To Pletcher, Will Target NYRA Stakes

Winner of last month's Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita when conditioned by embattled trainer Bob Baffert, WinStar Farm's Country Grammer has been transferred to the care of trainer Todd Pletcher, reports the Daily Racing Form. The 4-year-old son of Tonalist will be pointed to either the G2 Suburban Stakes on July 3 at Belmont Park, or the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 7 at Saratoga.

The New York Racing Association announced last month a ban of trainer Bob Baffert from racing or stabling at any of its tracks, a decision Baffert and his lawyer have since countered in court.

“In addition to the ongoing investigation into Medina Spirit's victory in the Kentucky Derby, NYRA has taken into account the fact that other horses trained by Mr. Baffert have failed drug tests in the recent past, resulting in the assessment of penalties against him by thoroughbred racing regulators in Kentucky, California, and Arkansas,” read NYRA's statement announcing the ban on May 17.

“With the ban on Bob in Kentucky and New York right now, our opportunities are limited to the Pacific Classic in late August,” WinStar president and CEO Elliott Walden wrote in a text to DRF. “With Improbable last year, we came east and ran in the Whitney which helped him win an Eclipse Award. We are continuing to evaluate the situation with Bob and will adjust as we need to.”

WinStar Farm Sire Laoban Dies Unexpectedly

Laoban, a leading second-crop sire, has died unexpectedly, WinStar Farm announced today.

The 8-year-old son of Uncle Mo had relocated to WinStar Farm last year from Sequel Stallions in New York and was standing his initial season at WinStar.

“It is with heavy hearts that we have to announce that we lost Laoban this morning,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. “He had quickly become one of our favorite stallions, and it's sad that we will not have the opportunity to see how influential he could have been as a sire. His passing will leave a tremendous void for all of us, and he will be greatly missed.”

As a sire, Laoban is represented by Grade 1 winner Simply Ravishing, a 6 1/4-length winner of the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland, and Grade 2 winner Keepmeinmind, winner of the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, multiple Grade 1-placed and most recently fourth in the Preakness Stakes, among others.

The post WinStar Farm Sire Laoban Dies Unexpectedly appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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