“He was sent to Rood and Riddle yesterday morning to determine the exact cause of the ataxia,” said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm. “He was responding well to treatment, but went to lie down in his stall, and fell awkwardly. As a result, he broke his right tibia, which could not be repaired.”

Improbable won three consecutive Grade I races in 2020, taking the GI Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita, the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga and the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita en route to Eclipse honors at season's end.

Undefeated at two, Improbable broke his maiden at first asking at 'The Great Race Place' in late September of 2018. He followed that up with a score in the Street Sense S. at Churchill Downs in early November, which earned him a 'TDN Rising Star' badge for the effort.

Improbable winning the Whitney | Sarah Andrew

Improbable's juvenile year ended with a five-length win going 1 1/16 in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity. His time of 1:41.18 was the fastest in over a decade.

A stakes winner each season from two to four, Improbable concluded his career with a runner-up finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in 2020.

All told, he won seven starts, six of them stakes, and earned $2,729,520 for owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing.

“These horses are our life, and we work every day to take care of them the best way we know how,” said Dr. Natanya Nieman, general manager and resident veterinarian at WinStar Farm. “The whole team is reeling. Improbable gave us many great moments to share with our partners, our team, and the whole racing community. It is tragic.”

Bred in Kentucky by St. George Farm and G. Watts Humphrey Jr., Improbable was acquired by Maverick Racing and China Horse Club for $200,000 out of the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at the 2017 Keeneland September Sale.

Out of the A.P. Indy mare Rare Event, the 8-year-old stallion was bred to 329 mares in his first two books and is represented by his initial crop of 2-year-olds this year, including a colt out of the stakes-placed Inaugurate (Empire Maker) that was purchased by trainer Jimmy DiVito, agent, for $475,000.

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The story was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's Mike Welsch.

Prince Faisal is the owner who lured trainer Jimmy Jerkens to Saudi Arabia to train a string of his horses.

“Winning the Saudi Cup is very important to them,” Mark Cornett said. “It's in his backyard and he'll be representing his country in an international race. You're going to have four or five Japanese horses, horses from all over the world. It's very important to them that they represent the Saudi people.”

Cornett said the deal has been in the works for about four weeks.

“We've been working on this for about a month,” he said. “They've flown over a couple of times to watch the horse breeze. Their vet has come over twice from France to do his due diligence. They ended up pulling the trigger on it and we consummated the deal this week. They're going to be great partners for us and we will be great partners to them. We look forward to doing additional things with them in the future.”

White Abarrio | Benoit

White Abarrio has remained at Santa Anita since winning the Breeders' Cup Classic there. Cornett said the gray will board a plane from LAX to Miami Feb. 13. From there, he will be joined by South Florida-based horses who will also be running on the Saudi Cup card before heading straight to Riyadh.

Though the owners have not committed to any races beyond the Saudi Cup, Cornett said the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 30 is definitely a possibility.

“The Dubai World Cup is definitely on our list of races,” he said. “He'll have to run the right way in the Saudi Cup and come out the race the right way. All the stars are going to have to line up. If that happens, we'll go in the Dubai World Cup. If not, we'll bring him back to New York and take a look at the Met Mile.”

White Abarrio worked four furlongs (:47.60, 6/73) on Friday morning at Santa Anita.

“The horse is doing better than he's ever done,” Cornett said. “I talked to (trainer) Rick (Dutrow) this morning. He breezed a half in :47 3/5 as good as he ever has and came out of the work great. The horse is definitely on his game.”

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The procedure was recommended to expedite the healing process and ensure his long-term soundness. The findings were made during precautionary radiographs that were performed after missing training and scratching from the Breeders' Cup Classic.

“We expect a quick recovery and return to normal activities for Arcangelo,” said Bill Farish. “We do not anticipate this having any impact on his 2024 breeding season.”

Arcangelo, who arrived at Lane's End in good order upon his retirement, will return to the stallion barn following the surgery to recover.

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A powerful winner of this year's GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S., the gray had a warm hind foot and had a shoe pulled on Saturday. He was listed as the 7-2 second choice on the morning line for the 1 1/4-mile centerpiece.

“We're just running out of time,” trainer Jena Antonucci said late Tuesday morning. “Horse first. Unfortunate to miss the opportunity, but to have a healthy horse is our priority, so we'll work through diagnostics the next couple of days and assess what is truly going on and make the right decisions for the horse.”

Arcangelo, an absolute steal for $35,000 as a KEESEP yearling by Jon Ebbert's Blue Rose Farm, retires with a record of 6-4-1-0 and earnings of $1,754,900. He also won this spring's GIII PeterPan S. One of five Grade I winners for the gone-too-soon Arrogate, Arcangelo is the most recent produce from the unraced Modeling, a $2.85-milllion purchase by breeder Don Alberto Corp. at the 2014 KEENOV sale. Arcangelo's third dam is the legendary broodmare Better Than Honour, who has produced Belmont winners Jazil and Rags to Riches.

“I made the owner's decision–I want to retire him,” Ebbert said. “You know how horse racing is. You don't want to keep pushing things.”

Antonucci became the first female trainer to saddle the winner of a Triple Crown race with Arcangelo's win in this spring's Belmont.

“We'll always be grateful to the horse,” Antonucci said. “He's a one of a kind, kind of guy, and a heart of a champion, obviously. Way overperforming to any expectations. We're eternally grateful for his honesty to us.”

Ebbert added, “We are absolutely so blessed. This ride has been amazing. It's been the most incredible year of my life. No worries, it just wasn't in the cards for us. That was it.”

Lane's End's Bill Farish added, “He was the exciting 3-year-old of the year. He certainly would have been a candidate for Horse of the Year had he won the Breeders' Cup Classic. To have him come to Lane's End is very exciting.”

“He's by Arrogate who has really emerged as a stallion that would have been very successful and we lost him too young.”

“We're thrilled to have him come to the farm. Obviously, we would have liked to have him come to us after running in the Breeders' Cup, but that's the way things go sometimes.”

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According to Amo's Kia Joorabchian, the massive grey is likely for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, of which the Champion S. was a “Win and You're In” on QIPCO British Champions Day.

“We've been monitoring him all week, I've spoken to Roger [Varian] almost every day and I went to see him this week,” Joorabchian told Nick Luck's Daily Podcast on Friday.

“To be honest Roger has said the same thing every day, he can't fault him and he's in great shape. He's come out of the race really well.

“Roger would always err on the side of caution, but he's very happy with him so he's going to travel today to Santa Anita so fingers crossed he should be running in, I'd say, most probably the Turf, but we haven't completely ruled anything out yet.”

The Varian trainee caused a stir when a game second in the G1 Derby behind fellow Turf aspirant Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) earlier this year, and he went on to prevail at Royal Ascot in the G2 King Edward VII S. Later in the summer, the colt was third in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. prior to a fourth in the G1 Irish Champion S. in mid-September.

He added, “The reality is, Roger and his team probably feel much more comfortable on the turf, as a 3-year-old I think we would edge towards the Turf. He's never run on dirt and the only factor is if he gets out of the gates a little bit slower he'd get a lot of dirt in his face. That is edging us more towards the Turf.

“The jockey [Frankie Dettori] arrived there yesterday, he sent me a video of himself working out.”

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Eighteen horses have been pre-entered for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, led by Blue Rose Farm's Arcangelo, who took command of the 3-year-old male division with four consecutive wins, highlighted by back-to-back scores in the GI Belmont S. and GI Travers Stakes for trainer Jena Antonucci.

Two California-based 3-year-olds also figure prominently in the Classic picture. Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.'s Arabian Knight was defeated by Pin Oak Stud LLC's Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park, but the 'TDN Rising Star' triumphed over him in the GI FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic S. at Del Mar.

Ushba Tesoro | Horsephotos

Also present is Japanese-bred Ushba Tesoro for trainer Noboru Takagi. The winner of this year's G1 Dubai World Cup was last seen prepping for this spot with a victory Sept. 25 in the Nippon TV Hai at Funabashi Racecourse in Japan.

The deep list of 3-year-olds continues with Mage (Good Magic), winner of the GI Kentucky Derby; Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), who captured the GI Pennsylvania Derby; Japanese contender Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits), who won the G2 UAE Derby at Meydan; White Abarrio (Race Day), winner of the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga; and Bright Future (Curlin), who captured the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S. upstate.

Top female stars head the list of pre-entrants for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff. GISW Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) has won five of six starts on the West Coast this year, and four of those were at Santa Anita. Trained by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, she comes in off a 5 1/4-length score in the GII Zenyatta S.

Heading West, Juddmonte's 4-year-old Idiomatic (Curlin), trained by Brad Cox, emerged as a star in this division with four graded stakes wins, including back-to-back Grade I victories in the Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga and the Juddmonte Spinster S. at Keeneland.

Randomized | Sarah Andrew

Trainer Chad Brown has pre-entered two from Klaravich Stables, Inc.: the 3-year-old Randomized and the 5-year-old Search Results (Flatter). A daughter of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Nyquist, Randomized has won three straight races, highlighted by a win in the Alabama S. at Saratoga. Search Results, sixth in last year's Distaff, was a recent winner of the GIII Locust Grove S. at Churchill Downs.

In the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, MG1SW Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) leads the European contingent along with Shadwell Estate Company's MG1SW Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Amo Racing's G1SW King of Steel (Wootoon Bassett {GB}). The U.S. squad is well-represented with MGISW Up to the Mark (Not This Time) and MGISW War Like Goddess (English Channel) also pre-entered.

In the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile, Sunday Racing Co. Ltd.'s multiple group stakes winner in Japan Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) earned two Breeders' Cup Challenge automatic berths at Tokyo Race Course when she captured the G1 Victoria Mile for an automatic starting position into the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and then received a slot in the Mile when she won the June 7 G1 Yasuda Kinen S. Also entered is MG1SW Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) and from the U.S., MGISW Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed).

Cody's Wish | Sarah Andrew

Headlining the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is Godolphin's defending champion Cody's Wish (Curlin). He could tangle with GI Preakness S. champ National Treasure (Quality Road), and GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move (Practical Joke).

In the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, 3-year-old Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has registered back-to-back group 1 scores at York and ParisLongchamp. She could face the John and Thady Gosden-trained English and French multiple group 1 winner Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Canadian-based MGISW Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) and the U.S.-based GISP Didia (Arg) (Orpen).

In the GI PNC Bank Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint includes Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper), who won last year's race by 2 1/2 lengths for trainer Chad Brown. Godolphin's Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) defeated Goodnight Olive in the GI Derby City Distaff S. back in May and will look to challenge her once more.

MGISW Caravel (Mizzen Mast) was a shocking 42-1 gate-to-wire winner of last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. She's back for trainer Brad Cox and the 6-year-old might grapple with English group 1 winner Live In The Dream (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) and Japanese multiple group stakes winner Jasper Krone (Frosted).

Finally on Saturday, in the GI Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), Juddmonte's MGISW Elite Power (Curlin) looks to defend as he squares off against MGISW Dr. Schivel (Violence).

Muth | Benoit

Standouts on the 'Future Stars Friday' program include four Grade I winners, who were named 'TDN Rising Stars'. Topping the 12 who are pre-entries for the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile list is Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm's Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner Locked (Gun Runner), Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.'s American Pharoah S. winner Muth (Good Magic), GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity victor Prince of Monaco (Speightstown)—racing for SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables LLC et al—and Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC's Champagne S. winner Timberlake (Into Mischief).

Headliners for the Juvenile Turf Sprint (24 pre-entries) include: Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), for trainer George Weaver, who took the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot.

The GI NetJets Juvenile Fillies includes 15 pre-entries, marked by the presence of 'TDN Rising Stars' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) and V V's Dream (Mitole).

The GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf has 25 pre-entries, including GSW Buchu (Justify), GISW She Feels Pretty (Karakonite {Jpn}) and English group 2 winner Carla's Way (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}).

Friday's finale, the GI Prevagen Breeders' Juvenile Turf, has drawn 17 pre-entries, including 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road) and GISW Carson's Run (Cupid)). MGSP Unquestionable (Fr) (Wooton Bassett {GB}) is one of many representing Europe.

“Once again, an outstanding group of horses has been pre-entered for this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships and we look forward to two days of fantastic racing at Santa Anita Park,” said Drew Fleming, President and CEO of Breeders' Cup Limited. “The competition has never been stronger and the prestige of entering the Breeders' Cup winner's circle has never been higher. We want to thank the talented men and women across the globe who provide the ecosystem of care that enables these magnificent Thoroughbreds to compete at the top of their game. We can't wait to gather next weekend to watch the world's best Thoroughbreds put on a spectacular show.”

Race Order and Wagering Menu Announced…

The official order of races and wagering menu for the 2023 Breeders' Cup were also announced Wednesday. There will be a total of 10 races (five Breeders' Cup races) on the first day of the Championships–“Future Stars Friday”–and 12 races on the Saturday program (nine Breeders' Cup races).

The Friday program begins at 2:30 a.m. ET with four undercard races. A Santa Anita allowance race (Race 10) will conclude the first-day card with a post time of 8:10 p.m. ET.

Championship Saturday's first post is 1:10 p.m. ET and begins with two undercard races. Saturday's program will conclude with a Santa Anita allowance race (Race 12) with a post time of 8:30 p.m. ET.

This year, a total of 27 countries, including Canada, England, France, Germany, and Ireland, will be offering pari-mutuel, commingled wagering on the World Championships through the Breeders' Cup Global Pool.

Nine other jurisdictions will be offering separate pool wagering: Argentina, Australia, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Paraguay, and Turkey.

The 2023 wagering menu will include a Breeders' Cup All-Turf $3 Pick 3 on Friday. The three races, in order, are the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (Race 5), the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (Race 7), and the GI Prevagen Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (Race 9).

The Breeders' Cup All-Turf Pick 4 on Saturday is a $.50 minimum wager and will package four of the best turf races in the world together. The four races, in order, are the GI Breeders' Cup Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf (Race 4), the Breeders' Cup FanDuel Mile (Race 6), and the GI Breeders' Cup Turf (Race 8), and the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (Race 10).

For the first time, the Breeders' Cup will offer the Breeders' Cup All-Dirt Pick 4 on Saturday, which is a $.50 minimum wager. The four races, in order, are the GI PNC Bank Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (Race 5), the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (Race 7), the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (Race 9), and the GI Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (Race 11).

Both the All-Turf Pick 4 and the All-Dirt Pick 4 will have a 15% takeout.

Breeders' Cup will also offer a third, middle Pick 5 on Saturday, starting with Race 3. The early Pick 5 will start with Race 1 and the late Pick 5 with Race 7. Last year's late Pick 5 on Saturday generated a $4.8 million pool while the late Pick 4 offered a $3 million pool.

Championships Race Order (All Times Eastern)…

The first Championship race on “Future Stars Friday” will be the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (5:00 p.m.) followed by the GI NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (5:40 p.m.), the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (6:20 p.m.), the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile (7:00 p.m.) and the GI Prevagen Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (7:40 p.m.).

Championship Saturday begins with two undercard races followed by the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (2:30 p.m.), the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (3:10 p.m.), the GI PNC Bank Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (3:50 p.m.), the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (4:30 p.m.), the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (5:10 p.m.), the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (5:50 p.m.), the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (6:40 p.m.), the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (7:25 p.m.), and the GI Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (8:00 p.m.).

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“Everything was good,” trainer Jena Antonucci said. “It was what we were looking for, it was just a maintenance work today. It's too soon for serious stuff. He had one previous breeze after [the Travers] and this one is just maintaining bottom line fitness for him.

“I think it was important for Javier as well knowing our next move is out to California and that will make it harder for him. He and [exercise rider] Robert [Mallari] have a very good relationship and can communicate very well about how the horse is doing and feeling. I think it was good for everybody to let Javier get a good feel of him after the Travers and make sure he was happy with where everything is.

“He does continue to mature and take his work very seriously. I think he's enjoying it and having a lot of fun with everything. Our focus is that he maintains that mind set and is thriving in what we're asking of him.

“He's a tall drink of water and you can physically see he continues to put more body on and hasn't lost weight with the races. So he'll just continue to mature out as he's supposed to do.”

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To earn the seven-figure bonus, a horse has to the win the GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park on July 22, the GI Travers S. at Saratoga on Aug. 26 and the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

“As part of our ongoing partnership with BetMakers we're pleased to be able to offer the BetMakers Bonanza bonus for a fourth straight year,” said Dennis Drazin, the chairman and CEO of Darby Development, LLC, the operators of Monmouth Park. “The commitment that BetMakers has made to racing in New Jersey has had a significant impact.”

Australia-based BetMakers also released findings from a recent survey that said more than four out of five horseplayers in the U.S. want access to fixed odds betting options, which outside of New Jersey, has been legalized in Colorado, but is not live yet. Other states are working on legislation to do the same.

“BetMakers understands the drivers of a thriving horse wagering ecosystem, including giving horseplayers more options for betting,” said Jake Henson, CEO of BetMakers Technology Group. “That 83% of surveyed horseplayers would like fixed odds to be added to pari-mutuel betting on racing is a resounding figure that speaks to the opportunity racing has in the United States to tailor a product that speaks to a new generation of horse player.”

The survey drew responses from 1,500 participants, half of whom were self-described sports bettors and the other half self-described horseplayers.

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The jockeys will compete to receive 15% of prize-money for each of the four $400,000 races in they win with a further $100,000 going to the overall champion.

“It is my first time in Saudi Arabia and I'm actually blown away by the hospitality and the kindness people have shown” said the Florida-based and Canadian-born Sutherland.

The daughter of a Standardbred trainer, Sutherland is no stranger to making history. She was the first woman to win the GI Santa Anita H. and also the first to ride in the G1 Dubai World Cup, both aboard Game On Dude (Awesome Again). Sutherland also piloted him to a second-place finish in the 2011 GI Breeders' Cup Classic behind Drosselmeyer (Distorted Humor), who was ridden by then-boyfriend Mike Smith.

“I was second in the Breeders' Cup Classic and I thought that was around the time to maybe have a child,” said Sutherland. I stopped racing and took about four years out and didn't ever get to have a kid. The marriage [to Dan Kruse] didn't work out either, so I went back to racing, got injured, then got back from the injury, then Covid happened.”

Sutherland's decision to return to the track was prompted by a move to the Sunshine State over the course of the winter in early 2021.

“I was going to ride just before Covid. I was going to ride Turfway [Park] and that was freezing,” she said. “I'd frozen for I don't know how long in my career, in Canada, at Aqueduct. I thought, 'I'm going to Florida,' and I just loved it. It felt like home.”

As far as her mounts for Friday in Saudi Arabia, Sutherland will be aboard the appropriately-named, Fighter (KSA) (Official Flame) in race two over 1600 meters and Inhimr (KSA) (Pomeroy) in race three going 1400 meters, both on dirt. Then in the pair of turf races, she will guide Go Fast Traou Land (Fr) (George Vancouver) in the 1200-meter race five and finish off with Billy Batts (City Zip) in race six over 2100 meters.

She added, “I'm really looking forward to the Jockeys Challenge. I've already worked out the races, watched all the replays and I've spoken to some key handicap people who have put the races together. I feel I am ready, physically, mentally and preparation-wise. I've done my homework. It's going to be exciting.”

Sutherland is looking forward to staying put at Gulfstream Park once she returns from the Middle East, especially since year-round racing continues to draw jockeys from all quadrants.

“I'm very happy in Florida and very happy to be doing what I'm doing again,” Sutherland said. It has been stop-start, but now everything, with the flow, I feel there is an alignment in my life and everything is going well.”

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While there was no beating Flightline (Tapit) that day, Life Is Good threw it down with his undefeated competitor, forcing Flightline to chase him through blazing early fractions of :22.55 and :45.47. The Classic marked only his third defeat, but Life Is Good was far better than good in his final career start.

“It was a tough decision to decide which was the right race for Life is Good on Breeders' Cup Day,” said his trainer Todd Pletcher. “We felt like with his body of work and his success leading into it, he deserved a chance for champion older horse and Horse of the Year. We let him do his thing with his running style, which is a high cruising speed, and he took it to Flightline. I think he went out in style.”

Campaigned by China Horse Club and WinStar Farm, Life Is Good was the winner of nine races from 12 career starts. A 'TDN Rising Star' on debut at two, the eye-catching bay remained in graded stakes company from there, earning eight graded victories over his career. His resume includes four Grade I wins, starting with a definitive score in last year's edition of the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and then this year adding the Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., Whitney S. and Woodward S.

“What made Life Is Good so special is that he had that unique ability to go fast and carry that speed over a distance of ground,” Pletcher reflected. “From a trainer's perspective, he was very healthy, very sound and just loved his job. Every day he came out, he trained exceptionally and had a great attitude.”

Last year's edition of the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., where Life Is Good ran second by a neck to the season's eventual Champion Male Sprinter Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music), is a race that WinStar's Elliott Walden remembers as one of the colt's most impressive performances.

“That race, to me, was one of his best,” Walden said. “He was just beat coming off a 170-day layoff. I think when people remember Life Is Good as a racehorse, they will remember that he participated in all the big races. We were not afraid to run him at distances that maybe didn't suit him best, whether it was seven furlongs against Jackie's Warrior or a mile and a quarter against Flightline. He's one of the greats that we've had at WinStar.”

Life Is Good arrived at WinStar Farm the morning after the Breeders' Cup and received a warm welcome from his WinStar and China Horse Club connections. Todd Pletcher also stopped by to send off his pupil, who was known as 'Scooter' around the barn.

“He was such a huge part of our stable for almost the last two years that literally our schedule was built around his schedule,” Pletcher explained. “We're going to miss him a lot, but at the same time we're really pleased that he's able to retire to a farm like WinStar and get an opportunity to prove himself as a stallion. We look forward to seeing his babies.”

The son of Into Mischief was bred by Gary and Mary West Stable and sold for $525,000 as a yearling in 2019. His dam Beach Walk (Distorted Humor) is out of the multiple Grade I-placed Mineshaft mare Bonnie Blue Flag, whose family includes multiple Grade I winner Diamondrella (GB) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), Group 3 victor Spectroscope (Medaglia d'Oro) and multiple graded stakes-placed runner Highest Honors (Tapit).

Life Is Good gets his fourth Grade I score in the Woodward S. | Sarah Andrew

“He's about 16'1, so he's a little bigger than Into Mischief,” Walden said. “He has a little bit more scope and range, but all the parts of a fast-looking horse. You can see when he moves how he just springs off with great, quick action that should translate to athletic foals. The Into Mischiefs have a real desire to run and Life Is Good showed that he wanted to compete at every level, every race and every work. Being by Into Mischief and also having Distorted Humor on the bottom, he gets a double dose of that competitiveness.”

Life Is Good's initial stud fee of $100,000 will be among the highest of this year's incoming crop, however Walden said that they have been conservative in their selection process as they begin filling the young sire's first book.

“We plan to breed him to about 160 mares,” Walden said. “We have a lot of requests each week, but we're not taking every mare. We're thinking about where each mare would fit into his whole group. We're making him worthy of a $100,000 stud fee, so we've turned down a lot of mares and are being very critical on that.”

He continued, “I think from a standpoint of what we've had here at Winstar, he would be at the very top as far as the great horses that we've had. Being by Into Mischief and with his physical presence and athleticism, we're super excited about his next career.”

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