Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher celebrated a four-win day on Saturday at Belmont Park, led by graded scores with Life Is Good in the John A. Nerud (G2) and Charge It in the Dwyer (G3). The $2 million yearling purchase Capensis and the New York-bred Liam's Map gelding Jerry the Nipper also visited the winner's circle in races 5 and 10, respectively.
“That was a nice day,” said Pletcher.
Life Is Good made a triumphant return in his first start since an even fourth-place finish in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup March 26.
His resounding five-length victory in the Nerud proved that the son of Into Mischief had not lost a step from his trip to Dubai, returning with the same gusto he showed throughout his sparkling sophomore campaign that was capped with a 5 3/4-length triumph in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in November at Del Mar.
Life Is Good was awarded a career-best 112 Beyer Speed Figure for his Nerud win.
“He came back excellent,” said Pletcher. “We felt confident that he had maintained his form based on the way he had trained, but it's nice to see him go over and live up to expectations.”
Now that Life Is Good has successfully vanquished one of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's heavyweights in Speaker's Corner, he'll likely face Mott's other top older male, Stephen Foster (G2) winner Olympiad, should they both make their next outing in the $1 million Whitney (G1) on August 6 at Saratoga.
Pletcher said Life Is Good is ready for a potential matchup with Olympiad, who garnered a 111 Beyer for his Stephen Foster coup.
“Olympiad is on quite a streak himself and you'd always expect the Whitney to be a difficult race, but we're very pleased with the way that he [Life Is Good] is doing,” said Pletcher.
Four races later, Whisper Hill Farm's homebred Charge It lived up to his 3-5 favoritism in the Dwyer (G3), winning the one-mile test for sophomores by a sublime 23 lengths in his first start since a 17th-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 7.
“That's pretty crazy,” Pletcher said of the win margin. “We thought he would run well, and you never think of one winning by that type of margin, but he's a colt that we've always been very high on and he's always trained like a horse that was capable of great things. He's starting to get a bit more maturity and seasoning now and I still think there's room for improvement.”
Pletcher experienced the highs and lows of horse racing yesterday when his four wins came on the heels of the announcement that Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Mo Donegal would miss the Runhappy Travers (G1) on August 27 at Saratoga and the Breeders' Cup in November at Keeneland due to bone bruising.
While Mo Donegal will not be representing the Pletcher barn in the Travers this year, Pletcher could still have a chance to capture the “Mid-Summer Derby” with Charge It.
“That's what we're thinking and that's the goal,” Pletcher said. “We're very pleased with the way he ran and I feel like as he matures, he's trained like a horse that a mile and a quarter is within his range.”
Along with his already-established sophomore string, Pletcher has plenty to look forward to with recent 3-year-old maiden winners Saint Tapit and Capensis, who both sons of Tapit that posted eye-catching debut maiden wins this week at Belmont. Saint Tapit, out of 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace, graduated over dirt last Sunday while Capensis was a sharp winner of Saturday's fifth race at Belmont, a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight over the inner turf course.
Capensis, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Robert LaPenta, Gainseway Stable, Winchell Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Thoroughbreds, was a $2 million purchase at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Unbridled's Song mare Tara's Tango.
Capensis broke from post 4 under Jose Ortiz and rated in sixth-of-7 as Breakwater set the tempo over the firm turf. Ortiz swung Capensis three-wide through the turn and gave steady urging as his mount picked off his rivals and took the lead at the top of the stretch. He powered home under right-handed urging from Ortiz to post a five-length victory in a final time of 1:39.94.
Pletcher said Capensis' bullet breeze going a half-mile in :49.99 over Belmont's inner turf on June 24 showed his proficiency for the lawn.
“He really took to the turf when we breezed him on it, so we were expecting a good debut, but I thought that was very impressive,” Pletcher said. “He'll probably go to an allowance race next. He's kind of behind some of the other [sophomores], but hopefully he can make up ground quickly and make his way into a 3-year-old stake at some point.”
In addition to his successes in the Empire State yesterday, Pletcher was represented at Churchill Downs by Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) winner Americanrevolution, who finished a game second to Olympiad in the Stephen Foster about an hour after Charge It took the Dwyer.
Pletcher praised Americanrevolution for his improvement from a fourth-place finish in the Blame Stakes in his 4-year-old debut on June 4 at Churchill.
“He ran hard and kept trying to the wire and was second-best on the day,” said Pletcher. “But I think now with two races under his belt that he can make another move forward. He's carrying the New York banner.”
Pletcher said it is possible that Americanrevolution could have a rematch against Olympiad in the Whitney even if Life Is Good is also in the mix.
“I'll have to talk to the connections and see,” Pletcher said. “Life Is Good is pointing in that direction, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of running him also.”
Owned by CHC and WinStar Farm, Americanrevolution put together a stellar sophomore campaign last year with stakes wins at all four New York racetracks, capped by his Cigar Mile triumph over stablemate Following Sea in December at Aqueduct.
The post ‘That Was A Nice Day’: Life Is Good, Charge It, $2-Million Colt Capensis Anchor Pletcher’s Four-Win Day At Belmont appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
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