Life Is Good | Horse Racing Free Tips

Life Is Good Could Head To Saudi Cup After Pegasus Start

Life Is Good, a horse Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher describes as having “unlimited potential,” is on track for an epic battle with Knicks Go in the Pegasus World Cup next month, before connections consider a possible bid for the $20 million Saudi Cup.

Pletcher, who has had a phenomenal 2021, has identified four potential contenders for the world's most valuable race on Saturday, Feb. 26, any of which would become his first runners in Saudi Arabia.

The 54-year-old Texas-born trainer has been delighted with Life Is Good since his jaw-dropping 5¾ length win in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar last month.

“He's in great form and is training superbly like he always does. We're targeting the Pegasus right now and keeping an eye on both Saudi and Dubai,” said Pletcher. “We were very impressed [with his Breeders' Cup win], he threw it down from the beginning and ran some super-fast fractions. Everything he has done has always indicated that more distance will not be a problem.”

Knicks Go, who finished fourth in this year's Saudi Cup, will bid to end his career on a high by defending his Pegasus World Cup crown at Gulfstream Park next month after an impressive win in the Breeders' Cup Classic last time. Pletcher is clearly looking forward to the battle in Florida.

He said: “They are two horses with the same racing style, it really should be a thriller. We hope we come into it in good form and let our horse do his thing.”

The Saudi Cup would represent a different challenge for Life Is Good as a one-turn mile and an eighth contest, but that doesn't seem to worry Pletcher.

“It's a challenging race, we know that, but he ran very well in the Kelso at Belmont over a mile, so it should suit him fine,” he said. “We don't see the extra distance being a problem. The Pegasus is the plan, we can then make a decision after that.”

Happy Saver, a three-time winner at Belmont Park over a variety of distances, was a close second to Maxfield in the Grade 1 Clark Stakes at Churchill Downs last month and is another who could take in the Pegasus before potentially flying to Saudi.

“He just missed in the Clark, but he regained his best form and it was a big effort,” said Pletcher. “We're keeping an eye on the Pegasus for him and he'll be nominated for Saudi. He's a versatile horse, as he showed when winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont which isn't a true two-turn race.”

Dr Post was well beaten in the Clark Stakes last time but is another who could follow a similar route.

“We'll nominate him for Saudi as well. We were a little disappointed in his Clark effort, he just didn't seem to handle the surface that day,” said Pletcher. “It was a hard track to make up ground, but he was second to Tiz The Law in the 2020 Belmont Stakes and we think the set up in Saudi would suit him.”

“The Pegasus is also an option for him. We'll just see how it plays out, how everyone trains and keep our options open.”

The final horse Pletcher is considering for The Saudi Cup, for which entries close on Jan. 5, 2022, is Fearless who won the G3 Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

“He was an impressive winner at the weekend. He hasn't run in a Grade 1 yet, so he may not get invited, but he's always been a solid horse and we're trying to break through to the top level.”

While a runner in The Saudi Cup would be a first for Pletcher, he is clearly giving it careful consideration. He said: “It depends on the individual horse. Life Is Good has had some time off which helps. It's great to have these opportunities, it's proven to be a very attractive race.”

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Walden: ‘If I Thought Bob Was Doing Anything Wrong, I Would Not Have Sent Country Grammer Back To California’

WinStar Farm president Elliott Walden told the Daily Racing Form on Monday that Grade 1 winner Country Grammer will be returning to the barn of embattled trainer Bob Baffert in Southern California. The 4-year-old son of Tonalist has not raced since capturing the G1 Hollywood Gold Cup at the end of May.

In the aftermath of the Baffert-trained Medina Spirit failing a drug test following his first-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, including Churchill Downs' and the New York Racing Association's bans of Baffert from their premises, WinStar shipped Coutnry Grammer East to the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher in mid-June.

“With the ban on Bob in Kentucky and New York right now, our opportunities are limited to the Pacific Classic in late August,” Walden wrote in a text to DRF at that time. “We are continuing to evaluate the situation with Bob and will adjust as we need to.”

An ankle injury prevented Country Grammer from making a start in Pletcher's care, but he has since recovered and is now back in Southern California, recording a four-furlong breeze in :50.40 at Santa Anita on Dec. 11.

“I sent Country Grammer and Life Is Good [former Baffert trainee who won the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile for Pletcher] back East because of the legal issues Bob was having at that time,” Walden told DRF this week. “We didn't know where they would be able to run. If I thought Bob was doing anything wrong, I would not have sent Country Grammer back to California.”

Hot Rod Charlie Wins 2021 Vox Populi Award

Horse racing fans have spoken, and they have chosen Hot Rod Charlie, the gutsy 3-year-old colt who was a force along the Triple Crown trail, as the winner of the 2021 Secretariat Vox Populi Award. Created by Secretariat's owner Penny Chenery, the award annually recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing.

Emerging as the favorite among the thousands of fans who voted in the year-end online poll, Hot Rod Charlie started the season as a long shot but consistently showed speed and determination that carried him through the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Hot Rod Charlie is owned in a partnership with Boat Racing LLC, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss. Trained by Doug O'Neill and piloted by Flavien Prat, he was a surprise winner of the Louisiana Derby and later finished third in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Belmont Stakes, where his blistering fractions in the first quarter-mile rivaled the record-setting pace set in 1973 by Secretariat. Later in the year, Hot Rod Charlie answered an infamous disqualification in the TVG.com Haskell Stakes with a breathtaking comeback in the Pennsylvania Derby, his first graded stakes win.

The Oxbow colt's thrilling performances and his tenacity on the track endeared him to racing fans. Finishing in the money for five of his seven 2021 starts, Hot Rod Charlie tallied more than $2 million in earnings in 2021 and is poised for a sensational 4-year-old season in 2022. Off the track, his owners have donated a portion of Hot Rod Charlie's earnings to causes such as the Melanoma Research Alliance to honor O'Neill family members who had succumbed to the disease, as well as the Folds of Honor Foundation and the Jake Panus Walk-On Football Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of South Carolina.

“Hot Rod Charlie represents the heart and purpose of the Secretariat Vox Populi Award, and his feel-good story and grit as a competitor remind us why we love racing,” said Kate Chenery Tweedy, family historian and daughter of Penny Chenery. “Traditional awards may overlook his accomplishments, but this award celebrates his endearing connection with fans.”

Greg Helm of Roadrunner Racing, representing Hot Rod Charlie's ownership interests, expressed gratitude for the honor, given the talented field of nominees.

“This colt has given our team such an incredible ride this year, and we are overjoyed he has been recognized as the winner of the Vox Populi Award,” Helm said. “We saw something special in him early on, and 'Charlie' has validated that time and time again. It means so much to us that fans have connected with him too.”

Hot Rod Charlie was one of a select group of six nominees submitted by the Vox Populi Committee and presented to thousands of voters in all 50 states and more than 40 countries who spoke as the “Voice of the People” in the Secretariat.com online poll. Other nominees were Echo Zulu, Essential Quality, Knicks Go, Letruska, and Life is Good. Voters also had the option to write in their own favorite candidate to recognize other exceptional horses.

Hot Rod Charlie now joins a list of cherished racing stars who have also received the Vox Populi Award: Authentic (2020), Bricks and Mortar (2019), Winx (2018), Ben's Cat (2017), California Chrome (2016 and 2014), American Pharoah (2015), Mucho Macho Man (2013), Paynter (2012), Rapid Redux (2011), and Zenyatta (inaugural 2010).

The trophy presentation for Hot Rod Charlie's connections is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2022, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., where race fans can also enjoy the official Vox Populi winner's print giveaway and special autograph appearances.

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Colonel Liam Works In Preparation For Return In Pegasus Turf Title Defense

Robert and Lawana Low's millionaire Colonel Liam, unraced since June 5, continues to progress toward an anticipated title defense in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Colonel Liam breezed three furlongs Friday over the main track at Palm Beach Downs in 37.67 seconds, his second work since arriving in South Florida after going the same distance in 38.26 Dec. 2. His last previous move was July 24 at Saratoga.

“I'm really happy with him so far. Everything's going right on schedule. He looks terrific. He's moving well and we couldn't be more pleased,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He had a good break and he's come back really well. He's mature now and looks fantastic.”

Shortened from 1 3/16 miles to 1 1/8 miles for 2022, the Pegasus Turf was the second of four consecutive victories for Colonel Liam and first of three straight graded-stakes wins, capped by the May 1 Turf Classic (G1). He has not raced since finishing eighth in the 1 ¼-mile Manhattan (G1) at Belmont Park.

“He needed some time after that race,” Pletcher said. “He was kind of jarred-up after that, so we decided to freshen him with this in mind. Everything's going to schedule.”

Colonel Liam is a son of Liam's Map, a winner of more than $1.3 million in purses over two seasons also trained by Pletcher. Among his victories, Liam's Map won the 2014 Harlan's Holiday at Gulfstream and the 2015 Woodward (G1) and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

“It's always cool to have offspring of horses you trained,” Pletcher said. “[Colonel Liam] is a horse that we thought could be a horse that we might put on the dirt at some point. He's trained well on it. He's obviously found a home on turf. He's a multiple Grade 1 winner. Maybe we'll step out and try the dirt some time.”

Pletcher said Life Is Good will likely work next week at Palm Beach Downs, either Tuesday or Wednesday. Dominant winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) Nov. 6, he is being pointed to a possible showdown with Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Knicks Go in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).

“He's a very impressive horse to watch train. He's a very willing horse, and because of that, we should have him ready to go,” Pletcher said. “I was impressed [with the Dirt Mile] but not surprised. He's a horse, when you watch him race train and breeze, he does things that very few horses will do.”

Pletcher captured Friday's co-featured third race at Gulfstream with the Lows' My Prankster ($2.20), a 2-year-old son of Into Mischief who pressed Little Vic before edging past the stubborn pacesetter late and win the optional claiming allowance by a half-length as the 1-9 favorite in 1:09.02 for six furlongs. June 5 Woody Stephens (G1) winner Drain the Clock ran the same distance two hours later in 1:08.63.

My Prankster, a $600,000 yearling purchase last September, broke his maiden by 10 lengths in debut Aug. 21 at Saratoga and finished fourth in the Oct. 2 Champagne (G1) in his second start. He ran second by less than a length in the Bowman Mill Oct. 30 at Keeneland last time out.

“I was really happy with My Prankster. It was a tough race and he ran very well,” Pletcher said. “I thought for 2-year-olds to run in 1:09.02 when a Grade 1 winner later on the card went in 1:08.63 was pretty impressive to run that fast. We were kind of hoping to land in a cozy spot and ended up running into a really nice horse. We're pleased that he kept coming and got the job done.”

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