Baffert’s Prep Plans: Life Is Good To San Felipe, Freedom Fighter To Gotham

Two of Bob Baffert's four Triple Crown contenders worked at Santa Anita Monday morning: undefeated Sham Stakes winner Life Is Good going five furlongs in 1:00.80, breezing, for the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes, while stablemate Freedom Fighter went four furlongs in :48.60.

A son of Violence, Baffert said Freedom Fighter will make his next start in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct under Manny Franco. Freedom Fighter was runner-up in the San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 6 to stablemate Concert Tour.

Both the San Felipe and the Gotham will be run on March 6.

“He went extremely well,” Baffert said of Life Is Good, a son of Into Mischief owned by China Horse Club and WinStar Farm.

Baffert also was pleased with Freedom Fighter, who stretches out from the seven-furlong San Vicente to the one-turn mile of the Gotham which, like the San Felipe, offers 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner and 20, 10, five to the horses finishing second through fourth.

Baffert also worked Eclipse Award champion female sprinter Gamine “an easy half” in 50.20.

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Life is Good On Track for San Felipe

China Horse Club and WinStar Farm's Life is Good (Into Mischief) tuned up for an expected start in the Mar. 6 GII San Felipe S. with a five-furlong work in 1:00.80 (4/33) at Santa Anita Monday morning.

“He went extremely well,”  trainer Bob Baffert said of the 3-year-old colt.

Tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following a debut win at Del Mar last November, Life is Good is now two-for-two after opening his sophomore campaign with a win in the Jan. 2 GIII Sham S.

Also working Monday from the Baffert barn, Freedom Fighter (Violence) went four furlongs in :48.60 (11/66). The 3-year-old colt, a first-out victor at Del Mar last August, returned to finish second in the Feb. 6 GII San Vicente S. He is expected to make his next start in the Mar. 6 GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct.

Both the San Felipe and the Gotham offer 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner, and 20, 10, five to the horses finishing second through fourth.

The Baffert-trained Gamine (Into Mischief), recently crowned Eclipse champion female sprinter, also worked Monday at Santa Anita, covering four furlongs in an easy :50.20 (48/66). The 4-year-old was most recently seen winning the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint.

In other news from Santa Anita, the Arcadia track announced Monday that it has increased the purse of the China Doll S. to be run Mar. 6 from $75,000 to $100,000. Santa Anita will also raise purses on all overnight races on that day's Big 'Cap card by $15,000 per race.

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Joseph Looking At Fountain Of Youth Or Gotham For Swale Winner Drain The Clock

Drain the Clock breezed a half-mile Sunday morning at Gulfstream Park in preparation for a possible start in the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27 at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track. The 3-year-old son of Maclean's Music was timed in :49.02 in his first workout since romping to victory in the Jan. 30 Claiborne Farm Swale (G3) at Gulfstream.

“It was his first easy breeze by himself. He went as good as could ask,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “Next week, we'll put in company. I didn't want him to go with company today, because I didn't want him to go too fast. By himself, he'll go as slow as you want. In company, he gets more aggressive.”

Drain the Clock has won four of five lifetime starts, his only loss coming when he lost his rider due to a broken iron during the running of the Nov. 30 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs. He entered the Delta stakes off a six-length debut victory at Gulfstream Park and an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream Park West. The Joseph trainee bounced back from his ill-fated trip to Louisiana with a 7 ½-length win in the Jan. 2 Limehouse and a 6 ¼-length triumph in the Swale during the 2020-'21 Championship Meet.

Joseph said Drain the Clock will likely return to action in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth or the Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct March 6.

“He's also nominated to the Tampa Bay Derby, but I would say it's between the Fountain of Youth or the Gotham,” Joseph said.

The Joseph-trained Ny Traffic, who came within a nose of beating 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic in last year's Haskell (G1) at Monmouth, breezed a half-mile Sunday morning at Gulfstream. Idle since finishing ninth in the Oct. 3 Preakness (G1), the 4-year-old son of Cross Traffic was timed in 47:53 seconds for four furlongs in his sixth breeze in preparation for his return to action.

“The was his most serious work to date,” Joseph said. “He's in good order. He'll have maybe two more works and we'll try to find a spot.”

The New York-bred colt worked in company with Saturday's Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) winner Mischevious Alex in his previous workout.

Ny Traffic, who is owned by John Fanelli, Cash is King LLC, LC Racing LLC, Paul Braverman and team Hanley, finished second in the Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds, the Matt Winn (G2) at Churchill Downs, and the Haskell (G1) at Monmouth Park.  He finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

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Blinkers, Added Distance Making The Difference For Withers Winner Risk Taking

Klaravich Stables' Risk Taking earned a career-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure for his triumphant stakes debut in Saturday's Grade 3, $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Trained by Chad Brown, the son of Medaglia d'Oro broke well from post 5 and settled in sixth in between horses before inching his way closer to the front under little asking from Eric Cancel. Nearing the sixteenth pole, Risk Taking confronted and overtook pacesetter Capo Kane en route to a 3 ¾-length win as the post-time favorite. He earned 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

“He came out of the race good. He doesn't look too tired so I'm very happy with how he came out of the race,” said Dan Stupp, Brown's Belmont Park-based assistant.

Risk Taking arrived at the Withers off a third-out nine-furlong maiden special weight score where he sported blinkers for the first time to defeat next-out winners The Reds and Unbridled Honor, both of whom also broke their maidens at two turns.

Stupp said blinkers and added distance have benefitted Risk Taking.

“He's always been a forward training horse in the morning, but the blinkers and the added distance were beneficial,” Stupp said. “The blinkers helped him focus a bit more. It really brought out what we saw in the morning. That combination has certainly worked well for him.”

Following the Withers, Brown said Risk Taking would likely target the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 3 at the Big A. The nine-furlong Wood Memorial is the final local prep for the Grade 1, Kentucky Derby and awards the top-four finishers qualifying points according to a 100-40-20-10 scale.

Bred in Kentucky by G. Watts Humphrey, Jr., Risk Taking was purchased for $240,000 from the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Distorted Humor mare Run a Risk, who was twice stakes-placed on grass. He comes from the same extended family as Grade 1-winner and champion producing sire Seeking the Gold.

Runner-up Overtook Handles Two Turns
The Todd Pletcher-trained Overtook rallied from last-of-9 to finish second in Saturday's Grade 3 Withers, earning a career-best 83 Beyer.

“He came out of the race in good shape and ate up last night. His energy level looks good walking around, so I was happy with his effort,” said Pletcher assistant Byron Hughes.

Owned by Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith, Overtook showed a strong closing kick under Manny Franco in the stretch run in pursuit of the victorious Risk Taking.

“That seems to be how he wants to run,” Hughes said. “Manny did a good job of getting him to settle down the backside and got a good run at him. He seems to be steadily improving and getting sharper. That was a big jump up from his maiden win. I don't know what the next step is but two turns looks like what he wants to do.”

Bred in Kentucky by Hill 'n' Dale Farm and Phillip J. Steinberg, Overtook is by dual Horse of the Year and champion producing sire Curlin and out of the Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Got Lucky, making him a direct descendant of La Troienne. He was purchased for $1 million from the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Capo Kane May Shorten Up Next Out In Gotham
Bing Cherry Racing and Leonard Liberto's Capo Kane came out of his third-place effort in the Withers in good order, trainer Harold Wyner said Sunday morning. The veteran conditioner said the Street Sense colt could cut back in distance next out in the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham going a one-turn mile on March 6 at Aqueduct.

The Withers, offering 10-4-2-1 qualifying points to the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, marked Capo Kane's first start at nine furlongs after posting two wins and a runner-up finish between seven furlongs and a mile and 70 yards through his first three starts.

Under jockey Dylan Davis, Capo Kane led the nine-horse Withers field through the first mile before tiring in the stretch. Capo Kane still pressed on, earning a pair of qualifying points after finishing behind Overtook and winner Risk Taking.

After earning an 81 Beyer for his first start at two turns, Capo Kane will likely be shortened up in the Gotham, which offers 50-20-10-5 qualifying points to the first Saturday in May.

“He came out of it good and ate up his dinner last night and seems fine this morning,” Wyner said. “The track wasn't speed-favoring, that's for sure and it caught up to him in the last sixteenth of a mile. We're going to point him towards the Gotham.”

Capo Kane ran second on debut in October at Parx going seven furlongs and capped his juvenile year with a maiden-breaking 4 1/2-length score on November 25 at the same track stretched out to a mile and 70 yards.

On New Year's Day, Capo Kane won his first stakes start – and sophomore bow – in gate-to-wire dominance, besting a five-horse Jerome field by 6 1/4 lengths at one mile. That win, which earned a personal-best 84 Beyer, coupled with Saturday gives Capo Kane 12 total qualifying points; tied for sixth-most on the leaderboard with Jackie's Warrior.

“I just think he's learning every race and has talent and natural speed,” Wyner said. “He's just training nicely and moving forward from each race.”

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