into mischief | Horse Racing Free Tips

Baffert: Life Is Good And Authentic Both Showed ‘Raw Talent’ In Sham

Life Is Good continued on the path of 2020 Horse-of-the-Year-in-waiting Authentic when he won Saturday's Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., although the three-quarter length margin of victory wasn't as large as his odds of 20 cents on the dollar might have warranted.

But Bob Baffert will take it.

All was well Sunday morning as the two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer pondered his next move with both Life Is Good and Sham runner-up Medina Spirit, which he also conditions.

“They both came back well so we're pretty happy about both of them,” Baffert said as he embarks yet again on the Triple Crown trail.

“The San Felipe (on March 6) is a race we're considering, but I might keep them separated,” Baffert added. “I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. It's a long way off, but they both ran really well.

“One might go out of town or they might stay here. I don't know yet. It's too far out. The important thing is they ran well and we thought they would and they ran fast.”

Life Is Good led throughout after breaking from the outside post position in a compact field of five. The bay Into Mischief colt set fractions of 23.56, 46.67, 1:10.66 and 1:23.24 under Mike Smith, who had a four-length lead entering the stretch and never touched him with the crop, although he did have to show it to him when Medina Spirit closed the gap as his touted stablemate drifted out in the final sixteenth.

“I always tell Mike to try and save something,” Baffert said. “Life Is Good wasn't as tired as I thought he could have been. He needs to learn to relax a little bit better, but he will. He'll mature, just like Authentic.

“When he won the Sham last year, he was sort of puzzling, zig-zagging all the way down the stretch, but they're babies.

“Still, you can see their raw talent.”

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Heavy Favorite Life Is Good Wins Sham But Baffert Stablemate Medina Spirit Made It Close

Sent from his outside post position, heavily favored Life Is Good was running easily throughout but survived a mild scare late from stablemate Medina Spirit to prevail by three quarters of a length in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., thus stamping his ticket for the early trail to the Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Bob Baffert, who won last year's Sham with eventual Derby winner Authentic, Life Is Good, a striking bay colt by Into Mischief, got a flat mile in 1:36.63 and despite the fact the winning margin was evaporating late, held sway on the gallop-out around the Club House turn as he seemed to re-focus while not letting Medina Spirit pass him at any point.

“It was his first time around two turns,” said Smith, who had been aboard for a sensational 9 ½ length maiden win going 6 ½ furlongs on Nov. 22 at Del Mar. “He got away just a little slow, but he got up and of course he's naturally so quick, he was just up underneath himself. Just as we were heading for home, he was doing things all by himself so easy out there.

“He didn't know what he was doing going twice around, and he just got the lead and was looking out at the Infield on the big screen. He could see himself, and he got to looking, but I was watching as well so I saw the horse coming on the outside. I didn't want to panic, I just showed it (the stick) to him a little bit. What I liked really was after the race, when I stood up and the (other) horse got next to me, he jumped back in the bridle and I mean I had to pull him up.

“He's just very, very talented. We don't know yet how talented. We haven't gotten close yet.”

Off at 1-5 in a field of five sophomores, Life Is Good paid $2.40, $2.10 and $2.10.

“Medina is a nice horse, he's a good horse and I could tell that Mike was just cruising out there,” said Baffert, who has now won a record seven Sham Stakes. “I always feel that the second race is most important. You're going up against winners. I think Mike did a great job, just sort of cruising out there and it was just the kind of race we were looking for. They ran pretty fast…It is so exciting he passed the two turn test.”

Owned by CHC Inc. and Winstar Farm, Life Is Good, who was bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West and is out of the Distorted Humor mare Beach Walk, picked up 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, along with $60,000 for the win, which increased his earnings to $94,200.

Medina Spirit, who broke his maiden first time out going 5 ½ furlongs at Los Alamitos, sat second the entire trip and finished some 13 lengths clear of Parnelli. Ridden by Abel Cedillo, Medina Spirit was off at 9-1 and paid $3.60 and $2.20.

The second choice at 9-2 with Drayden Van Dyke, Parnelli paid $2.10 to show.

Fractions on the race were 23.56, 46.67, 1:10.66 and 1:23.24.

Medina Spirit picked up four Derby qualifying points, Parnelli two and fourth place finisher Waspirant will receive one point.

Updated Kentucky Derby points leaderboard

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 12:30 p.m. All of Santa Anita's races are available free of charge at santaanita.com/live and fans can watch and wager via 1^st.com/Bet.

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From Turf To Dirt: Mutasaabeq Shows Versatility With Mucho Macho Man Victory

Shadwell Stable's Mutasaabeq made a successful transition from turf back to dirt in Saturday's $100,000 Mucho Macho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., establishing himself as a candidate for the 2021 Triple Crown.

The Mucho Macho Man, a mile stakes for 3-year-olds that headlined an 11-race program with five stakes, was the first stop on the Road to the Florida Derby (G1).

Mutasaabeq, who debuted with a victory over Saratoga's main track in August, was making his first start since finishing off-the-board in the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Keeneland.

“We've been targeting this. We're glad he responded,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Mutasaabeq, the even-money favorite in a field of 10, broke well from the gate to obtain a close stalking position behind pacesetter Awesome Gerry along the backstretch. The son of Into Mischief continued to chase the pacesetter leaving the turn into the homestretch after fractions of 23.20 and 46.15 seconds for the first half-mile. The homebred colt briefly seemed to stall on the turn but would respond to strong handling from jockey Luis Saez and draw away to a 1 ½-length victory.

“He tends to break a bit slow, so today we tried to warm him up good. When he broke, he broke sharp and we were right there,” Saez said. “At the three-eighths, I thought we were done, but I put him on the bridle again and he came back. He ran big, I never give up, I always ride till the end. When I pushed him he gave me that kick. It was a good race.”

Mutasaabeq ran a mile in 1:35.96 to win his first stakes on dirt.

“I thought he ran great. We wanted to make sure he got away from the gate cleanly – that hasn't always been his best first step. I thought he broke pretty well today and put himself in a good spot,” Pletcher said. “Luis had to get after him a little bit on the turn and kept responding and finding more. I thought it was a big effort.”

Papetu, who won his first two starts at Gulfstream before finishing out of the money in the Saratoga Special (G2) and Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga, finished second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Awesome Gerry,

After winning his debut, Mutasaabeq finished a distant third in the Hopeful. Pletcher moved him to the turf for his next start, and he responded with a late-surging victory in the Bourbon (G2) at Keeneland. However, he was unable to duplicate that effort after a slow start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

“We'll look to try another one on dirt. I'll talk to the team at Shadwell and come up with a plan,” Pletcher said. “I think today he showed his versatility. He's now a stakes winner on both surfaces. It's exciting to have one like that.”

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Triple Crown Hopeful? Mutasaabeq Switches To Dirt For Saturday’s Mucho Macho Man Stakes

Shadwell Stable's Mutasaabeq, a Grade 2 stakes winner on turf, is scheduled to make the switch back to dirt for Saturday's $100,000 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The Mucho Macho Man, a one-mile stakes for newly turned 3-year-olds, will kick off the 2021 Road to the Florida Derby (G1) on an 11-race program that will also be highlighted by the $75,000 Limehouse, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds; the $75,000 Dania Beach, a mile turf race for 3-year-olds; the $75,000 Glitter Woman, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies; and the $75,000 Ginger Brew, a mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

Mutasaabeq looked like a colt with a big future on turf after surging from last to capture the Oct. 4 Bourbon (G2) in his grass debut at Keeneland. While major success on turf may well be in the son of Into Mischief's future, trainer Todd Pletcher has opted for the Mucho Macho Man as his next start following a disappointing off-the-board finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Keeneland in his 2-year-old season finale.

“I think he's versatile like we see with most Into Mischiefs. We've seen them run on both surfaces,” Pletcher said. “We'd like to see him on dirt again to help clarify that.”

Mutasaabeq started off his career with an impressive triumph over Saratoga's main track in August, drawing away to a 4 ½-length victory while running 5 ½ furlongs in 1:03.55. The Kentucky-bred colt returned to finish a distant third in the Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga a month later before making his turf debut in the Bourbon.

“We're very happy with the way he's training. We decided to get him back on the dirt. He broke his maiden on dirt and ran a respectable third in the Hopeful, so we'll see where we are with him,” Pletcher said.

Luis Saez has the mount aboard Mutasaabeq.

OMGA Investments LLC and Off the Hook LLC's Jirafales is set to make his stakes debut following a most promising Nov. 19 debut victory at Gulfstream Park West. The Gustavo Delgado-trained son of Social Inclusion overcame bumping at the start of the 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight for Florida-breds to surge from off the pace to win going away by 4 ½ lengths.

“We didn't expect him to run a race like that. We thought he might need a race. The pace helped a little bit,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., the trainer's son and assistant. “Since that race, he has been training very well. He's improving from that race.”

The homebred colt should have no problem stretching out to a mile, Delgado said.

“He's a huge horse. I'd say he's almost 17 hands,” Delgado said “He has this long stride. He can go all day. We think the longer he goes the better it will be for him.”

Cristian Torres has the return call aboard Jirafales.

Jim Bakke and Jerry Isbister's Ultimate Badger will seek to rebound from an off-the-board finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill. The son of Commissioner had previously captured an optional claiming allowance before finishing far behind stablemate Smiley Sobotka, who finished second in the Kentucky Jockey Club.

Ultimate Badger, who broke his maiden at first asking at Ellis Park, also finished out of the money in his stakes debut at Churchill in the Sept. 5 Iroquois (G3), won by stablemate Sittin On Go. Ultimate Badger came back to finish second and register a victory in optional claiming allowance company.

“He ran two bad races in his life and there are no excuses for either one of them,” trainer Dale Romans said. “They both happened in a stake with horses I know he can compete with. He just threw in some clunkers. He rebounded off the first one, so we're hoping he'll rebound off the last one.”

Corey Lanerie is scheduled to ride Ultimate Badger for the first time Saturday.

Magic Stables LLC's Papetu returns to action at Gulfstream Park after a pair of graded-stakes starts at Saratoga. The Antonio Sano-trained son of Dialed In finished sixth in the Aug. 7 Saratoga Special (G2) and fifth in the Sept. 7 Hopeful (G1) after launching his career with back-to-back victories at Gulfstream.

Leonel Reyes, who was aboard for Papetu's victories, is set for a return to the saddle.

John Bowers Jr.'s Pickin' Time brings graded-stakes credentials into the Mucho Macho Man, having pulled off a 2 ¼-length upset in the Nov. 8 Nashua (G3) at a one-turn mile distance at Aqueduct. The New Jersey homebred son of Stay Thirsty came back to finish a distant fourth in the Dec. 5 Remsen (G2).

Pickin' Time finished eighth in the Saratoga Special after winning his July 4 debut at Monmouth Park.

Joe Bravo has the call aboard the Kelly Breen-trained colt.

Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Big Thorn is slated to seek his third straight victory and second stakes win in a row in the Mucho Macho Man. The David Fawkes-trained colt, who debuted with a second-place finish in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight race at Gulfstream Sept. 24, graduated with a five-length romp Oct. 29. He followed up that win with a 4 ½-length victory Nov. 22 in the seven-furlong, off-the-turf Juvenile Turf at Gulfstream Park West.

Paco Lopez, who was aboard for both victories, has the return call on the homebred colt.

Breeze Easy LLC's Easy Time, like Jirafales, is scheduled to make his stakes debut in the Mucho Macho Man off a strong debut performance. The Mark Casse-trained son of Not This Time stalked the early pace of a seven-furlong maiden special weight race over Woodbine's synthetic surface before drawing away clearly by 2 ¾ lengths Oct. 25.

Jose Ortiz is scheduled to ride Easy Time for the first time Saturday.

John Fanelli and partners' Awesome Gerry and Peachtree Stable's Kiger will represent trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. in the Mucho Macho Man field.

Awesome Gerry is coming off a second-place finish in the Nov. 30 Jean Laffitte Stakes at Delta Downs. The son of Liam's Map had previously broken his maiden for a $50,000 claiming tag at Gulfstream, won an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream Park West and finished fourth in the Nyquist at Keeneland.

Kiger graduated second-time out Oct. 29 at Gulfstream Park West before finishing second in a mile optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream last time out.

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the call aboard Awesome Gerry, while Edgard Zayas has been named to ride Kiger, a son of Verrazano.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Raison d'Air will be looking to rebound from a distant fourth-place finish in the off-the-turf Armed Forces Sept. 28 over a sloppy Gulfstream surface. The gelded son of Raison d'Etat had previously broken his maiden in his second career start by 13 ½ lengths.

Luca Panici has the call aboard the Kathy Ritvo trainee.

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