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Life Is Good Has First Work Back; Colt Will Head To Todd Pletcher In New York

On Thursday morning at Keeneland, two-time graded stakes winner Life Is Good put in his first workout since undergoing minor surgery to remove an ankle chip earlier this year. The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief breezed three furlongs in 37 seconds flat under the watchful eye of WinStar Farm trainer Destin Heath; WinStar is undergoing track renovations at its training center this summer, so Heath has been maintaining a training operation at Keeneland.

“Life Is Good worked this a.m. with our farm trainer, Destin Heath at Keeneland,” co-owner WinStar Farm's president and CEO Elliott Walden told Horse Racing Nation. “His team has done a wonderful job getting him back to the work tab. He went 37 and out in 49.2. The plan is to ship to Todd Pletcher in the coming weeks with a possibility of running in New York later this year.”

Life Is Good was formerly conditioned by embattled trainer Bob Baffert, and is undefeated in three career starts in Southern California. Co-owned by the China Horse Club, the colt was the individual favorite in four Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools prior to the announcement of his injury in late March.

WinStar also transferred Grade 1 winner Country Grammer from Baffert to Pletcher earlier this week, due to the New York Racing Association's ban on Baffert trainees in the wake of the announcement of a positive test in the Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit.

Toner Has High Expectations For Seasons Ahead Of Saturday’s Boiling Springs Stakes

Jimmy Toner thought enough of Seasons as a 2-year-old last year that he tried the Tapit filly in a Grade 1 race in just her second career start. And that was Plan B, said the veteran trainer.

Plan A was the Breeders' Cup, a goal that never materialized.

Now he has the Kentucky-bred filly embarking on her second start at 3, still convinced that her potential and talent could lead to something special. Seasons, who has only raced on turf in her three career starts, will be on the grass again for Saturday's $75,000 Boiling Springs Handicap, the feature race on Monmouth Park's 12-race card.

The Boiling Springs, at a mile and a sixteenth, has attracted a field of seven 3-year-old fillies.

“After she broke her maiden in her first start at Saratoga last year (in a Maiden Special Weight race at a mile and a sixteenth on the turf on Aug. 9) we were trying to make the Breeders' Cup with her,” said Toner. “The way it turned out the options that were there left us with option B. There was another race at Saratoga but it was too close to her first one. So we sent her to Woodbine for the (Grade 1) Natalma. She ran a bang-up third.

“After that she came up with some minor issues and we just couldn't make it to the Breeders' Cup. So we gave her time off. Next thing you know we look up and it's May, so we had to get started on her again.”

Seasons, out of the multiple Grade 1-winning turf mare Winter Memories, returned with an impressive second-place finish in the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico on May 14, beaten a neck after stumbling badly at the start and rallying from 10th.

“She ran a huge race that day,” said Toner. “She went down to her nose at the break and finished well. She just missed. It really was a big race.

“She's a quality filly. We're trying to get black type with her and hopefully we can in this race.”

Owned by LNJ Foxwoods and Phipps Racing Partnership (her breeder as well), Seasons has trained sharply at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. for this start. Paco Lopez has the mount.

“She came out of her last race good and she has been working great,” said Toner. “She has a presence about her. Most good horses do. It's their awareness about everything. And she has done everything right.

“We wanted to make sure she had enough time between races and this was the perfect spot to come back in. We're looking for a good effort and hopefully she runs well.”

Toner has started just three horses at the meet so far but has won with one, with Traffic Song prevailing in a Maiden Special Weight race. Two years ago, the veteran conditioner won the Grade 1 United Nations with Hunter O'Riley and the Cliffhanger Stakes with Hawkish at Monmouth Park.

Miss Leslie, Orbs Baby Girl, Shantisara, Ravir, Marlborough Road and Por Que No round out the field for the 42nd edition of the Boiling Springs. Shantisara, trained by Chad Brown, will be making her U.S. debut.

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Pearl Tiara Shines As Majestic Harbor Fillies Go One-Two In Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Stakes

Pearl Tiara and Fernando De La Cruz pulled away from the field for an impressive upset in the 13th running of the $75,000 Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Stakes, Filly Division, at Indiana Grand Wednesday, June 23. The duo covered the one and one-sixteenth mile event in a time of 1:45.60 to score their second consecutive victory in 2021.

Starting from post three, Pearl Tiara broke well to get into early position as Found My Man and Sammy Bermudez set the early tempo. The leader was joined by Pearl Tiara at the midway point for a challenge with Pearl Tiara taking over in the final turn of the race.

In the stretch, De La Cruz asked Pearl Tiara for another gear and she responded, posting an eight and three-quarter length advantage at the wire. Diamond Solitaire and Alex Achard finished second with Verry Amelia and Santo Sanjur rounding out the trifecta.

Pearl Tiara paid $13.80 for the win. The homebred daughter of Majestic Harbor is now two for three in 2021. Overall, she has three wins in nine starts and increased her career bankroll to more than $119,000.

Pearl Tiara was born and raised by David Osborne, Loren Hebel-Osborne and Carol Hebel at their Deerfield Farm in Prospect, Ky. The sophomore filly is by their stallion, Majestic Harbor, who stood at Swifty Farms in Indiana before relocating to California.

Both Pearl Tiara and Diamond Solitaire, the second-place finisher in the Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Filly Stakes, were part of Osborne's breeding operation and have grown up together. Diamond Solitaire, who lost her mother two weeks after she was born, has truly shined on the track, pushing over the $90,000 mark in earnings. The filly became syndicated and is the reason a large partnership is trackside every time she races at Indiana Grand. The partnership includes the Osbornes and Gene McLean, who are breeders on the filly.

“Having Pearl (Tiara) and Diamond (Solitaire) finish one-two in the stakes race for Majestic Harbor is a thrill,” said Loren Hebel-Osborne. “And, this is the first time Pearl has beaten Diamond. We saw Diamond start moving toward her and thought she might catch her, but Pearl said, 'not today.' And, it marks the first stakes winner for Majestic Harbor.”

Majestic Harbor was named Leading First Crop Sire in California last year. The latest tag of stakes winning sire also makes him the current Leading Second Crop Sire for California as well.

“He earned leading first crop sire in California without a stakes winner,” said David Osborne. “Although it's based on his Indiana foals, it is determined in the state where he currently stands.”

The Osbornes still have Pearl Tiara's dam, Pearl Pendant, and she is currently in California back in foal to Majestic Harbor. In addition to sharing “jewelry themed names,” both Diamond Solitaire and Pearl Tiara also share space when at the Deerfield Farm.

“These two (Pearl Tiara and Diamond Solitaire) spent the winter together and were in the same paddock and same barn,” added David Osborne. “So, they are very familiar with one another.”

Majestic Harbor's first crop consisted of 10 foals, nine of which were fillies, including Diamond Solitaire and Pearl Tiara. Tim Glyshaw trains Pearl Tiara, who is not the first representative for the Osbornes. Glyshaw also trained Unreachable Star, second on the list of All-time Leading Indiana Sired money earners with more than $784,000 in career earnings.

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King Of Miami Wins Mystic Lake Derby On Record Wagering Night At Canterbury

King of Miami won the $150,000 Mystic Lake Derby by a head over favorite T D Dance on Wednesday at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn. The Mystic Lake Derby was one of six stakes races on the 10-race Northern Stars Turf Festival program that attracted a record single day handle of $3,795,180 surpassing 2004's Claiming Crown single-day handle of $3,632,958.

King of Miami, a 3-year-old by American Pharoah, was ridden by Jareth Loveberry and trained by Larry Rivelli for owner Patricia's Hope, LLC. Loveberry, leading rider at Canterbury in 2017, had not ridden at the Shakopee racetrack since last summer. He used his experience over the turf course to find his way through traffic. “I'd ridden here enough, and I was waiting for a hole to open. I was like, 'Open, open, open!' and at last it opened,” he said. Final time for one mile on a firm turf course was 1:34.76. King of Miami paid $32.60.

$100,000 Curtis Sampson Oaks: Saranya (The Factor) won the one-mile turf stake, restricted to 3-year-old fillies, by a neck. She was ridden by Florent Geroux, trained by Brad Cox, and owned by Peachtree Stable. The favorite paid $3.40.

$100,000 Dark Star Turf Sprint: Jazzy Times (Discreetly Mine) won the five-furlong turf stake restricted to 3-year-olds and upwards by a head. He was ridden by Chad Lindsay, trained by Canterbury Park Hall of Famer David Van Winkle, and owned by Dennis F. Smith. When asked how winning this race felt, jockey Chad Lindsay had just one word, “Huge.” Jazzy Times paid $22.20.

$60,000 MTA Stallion Auction Stakes: Star of the North (The Hunk) won the 6 1/2-furlong stakes restricted to 3-year-olds who are the progeny of stallions whose service was sold at the 2017 MTA Stallion Auction. Star of the North won by 7 1/4 lengths . The prohibitive favorite was ridden by Ry Eikleberry, trained by Francisco Bravo, and owned by Michael Grossman. Star of the North paid $3.00.

$100,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes: Evil Lyn (Wicked Strong) closed to win the Lady Canterbury by a length over Princess Causeway. She was ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., trained by Michael Maker, and owned by Paradise Farm Corp. (Peter Proscia) and David Staudacher.

$100,000 Mystic Lake Mile: Hieronymus (Girolamo) set a track record for one mile on the turf, winning the Mystic Lake Mile by a nose over pace setter Cinco Star in 1:32.93. He was ridden by Florent Geroux, trained by Brad Cox, and owned by Godolphin LLC. This was the second win of the day for Cox. The 4-year-old colt paid $9.00.

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