Life Is Good Headlines Star-Studded Saturday of Racing

Holiday weekends are often synonymous with exciting race cards and this Fourth of July weekend is no exception with a dozen graded events on tap Saturday that include some of racing's best. The highlight of the day's action is the return of 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who is making his first start back since finishing fourth in the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 26 in Belmont's GII John A. Nerud S.

A dominant winner of last year's GII Kelso H. and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and this term's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., Life Is Good spent some time at WinStar after his return from Dubai and has been breezing steadily at Belmont for Pletcher since Memorial Day weekend. Flavien Prat climbs aboard the fleet-footed bay for the first time Saturday.

“Flavien has proven he rides really well in any occasion,” said Pletcher, who indicated this race is a prep for the GI Whitney S. “There might be some similarities to Flightline (Tapit) and Life Is Good, but we'll have a talk about the horse a little bit. He's got kind of a quiet touch, so that should suit him well.”

While Life Is Good will certainly be the heavy favorite, there is one member of this five-horse field who could give him a run for his money. Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) kicked off 2022 with a trio of seemingly effortless victories in the GIII Fred Hooper S., GII Gulfstream Park Mile and GI Carter H. He received a 114 Beyer Speed Figure for that win, which trumps Life Is Good's best figure of 110 in the Pegasus. The bay enters this off a third-place finish behind unbeaten sensation Flightline in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Met Mile June 11 and Jose Ortiz takes over the controls from Junior Alvarado, who will be riding for trainer Bill Mott in Kentucky.

The Nerud certainly looks like a match race between these two formidable foes as Repo Rocks (Tapiture), Harvard (Pioneerof the Nile) and War Tocsin (Violence) are overmatched to say the least.

Also on tap at Belmont Saturday is the GIII Dwyer S. for sophomore colts. The regally bred Charge It (Tapit) looks to rebound in this cutback in trip after a poor effort in the GI Kentucky Derby, where he finished 17th. The 'TDN Rising Star' was a green, but good second in the GI Curlin Florida Derby in April and the Run for the Roses may have just been too much too soon. You can count on Pletcher to have the colt ready to roll in this softer spot and his back-to-back bullets on the local training track affirm that. With the colt's regular rider Luis Saez at Churchill Downs for Americanrevolution (Constitution), the Hall of Famer calls on his right-hand man John Velazquez to take over the reins.

Chad Brown has an intriguing runner in the Dwyer in Peter Brant's Nabokov (Uncle Mo). The $775,000 KEESEP buy earned his diploma at this oval when extended to two turns last time in his second start May 15.

Cox Holds Strong Hand at Churchill

Churchill Downs also offers a pair of intriguing graded events and Brad Cox has a strong chance to take both. He sends out Juddmonte homebred Mandaloun (Into Mischief)–who is making his first start since a well-beaten ninth in the G1 Saudi Cup–in the GII Stephen Foster H., a Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' event. The colt was promoted to first via DQ in both the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Haskell Invitational S. last year and crossed the line first in the GIII Louisiana S. in January. Cox also saddles Caddo River (Hard Spun) off a trio of optional claimer scores.

Olympiad | Coady

That pair face some stiff competition from New York in Olympiad (Speightstown) and Americanrevolution (Constitution). The Bill Mott-trained Olympiad is a perfect four-for-four this season, topped by wins in the GIII Mineshaft S., GII New Orleans Classic and GII Alysheba S. Meanwhile, Americanrevolution, who shares the same connections as Life is Good, looks to return to winning ways. Capturing the GI Cigar Mile Dec. 4, the chestnut spent six months on the shelf and was a disappointing fourth in his return in the track-and-trip Blame S. June 4.

The GII Fleur de Lis S. attracted just five distaffers, but two of them are Grade I winners. Cox sends out Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), whose trio of Grade I wins includes the 2020 GI Kentucky Oaks. The bay was run down last time by this field's other top-level scorer Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) in this venue's GI La Troienne S. May 6. That Stonestreet homebred ran back in the local Shawnee S. June 4, finishing fourth as the heavy favorite behind She's All Wolfe (Magna Graduate).

Sprinters Star at Gulfstream

Female sprinters get a chance to secure a spot in the Breeders' Cup Saturday at Gulfstream in the GII Princess Rooney S., a 'Win and You're In.' Champion Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) won this event last term en route to a victory in the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint and she will be heavily favored to defend her title. Winner of the GII Azeri S. earlier this year, the chestnut was third behind champion Letruska (Super Saver) and last-out GI Ogden Phipps S. winner Clairiere (Curlin) in the GI Apple Blossom H. Apr. 23.

Her biggest competition will come from claim-to-fame Glass Ceiling (Constitution), winner of the GIII Barbare Fritchie S. and GIII Distaff H. The bay enters off a third to Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot) in the GII Bed O'Roses S. June 10.

Male sprinters get a chance at graded glory in Hallandale too in the GIII Smile Sprint S. The race will go through GI Woody Stephens S. winner Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music), who makes his first start since finishing seventh in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen S. Mar. 26.

Delaware & Canada Also Offer Graded Action

Sophomores will be in the spotlight at Delaware Park Saturday with the GIII Delaware Oaks and GIII Kent S. Ruthless S. winner Shotgun Hottie (Gun Runner) looks like the one to beat. The bay receives Lasix for the first time off a third-place finish in Aqueduct's GIII Gazelle S. Apr. 9.

The GIII Kent S. features 3-year-old colts on the grass and the likely favorite is Harrell Ventures' Main Event (Bernardini), winner of the Cutler Bay S. He was last seen finishing ninth in the GII American Turf S. at Churchill May 7. He faces Brad Cox runner Tommy Bee (Medaglia d'Oro), who was second in a trio of listed stakes.

Woodbine hosts four graded events Saturday: the GIII Selene S. for 3-year-old fillies, the GIII Marine S. for sophomore colts, the GII Nassau S. for older fillies and mares, and the GII Highlander S. for older male turf sprinters. Jonathan Thomas could win both the sophomore events with Catiche (Arrogate) in the Selene and Fuerteventura (Summer Front) in the Marine.

Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), winner of this venue's GII Bessarabian S., faces SW & MGSP Crystal Cliffs (Fr) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) and GSW Plum Ali (First Samurai) in the Nassau. The Highlander is topped by the Wesley Ward-trained Bound for Nowhere (The Factor), a two-time winner of the GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland.

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Live Oak Gets Selene Stakes Win With Our Flash Drive

Trainer Mark Casse continued his Grade 3 Selene Stakes win streak as Live Oak Plantation's homebred Our Flash Drive took command on the final turn and drove clear to win the $150,000 co-feature for three-year-old fillies on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

Casse earned his fourth consecutive victory in the G3 event, with Patrick Husbands engineering the winning trip aboard the Florida-bred daughter of Ghostzapper.

Stretching out to 1 1/16 miles on the main track, Our Flash Drive stalked the front-running California Lily early on before moving up to press the pace after opening fractions of :24.78 and :49.03. With Husbands signaling it was go-time past the 1:12.87 three-quarter mark, Our Flash Drive overtook the pacesetter and took off down the lane to win by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:44.69.

Woodbine Oaks eligible Munnyfor Ro, who broke outward, rallied home from the backfield to take the runner-up honors under Justin Stein. It was another 2-1/4 lengths back to third-place finisher Sweet Souper Sweet, another Live Oak homebred trained by Michael Trombetta, who finished three lengths ahead of California Lily. Gote Go followed in fifth and the Casse-trained Danger was eased up and completed the order of finish.

Sent postward as the odds-on favourite, Our Flash Drive returned $4.70 to win.

Now two-for-four lifetime, she boasts back-to-back wins at Woodbine.

Casse, who has won the Selene a total of seven times, has teamed with Husbands to take four editions of the race. They combined for past wins with Dark Ending (2001), Dixie Strike (2012), and Miss Mo Mentum (2018).

The connections of Il Malocchio, who was cross-entered in the Selene, opted to compete in the Fury two races later.

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Sophomore Fillies In The Spotlight At Woodbine This Saturday

The $150,000 Grade 3 Selene Stakes and the $125,000 Fury Stakes share the spotlight this Saturday at Woodbine.

A key prep on the road to this year's Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser (August 1, at Woodbine), the 1 1/16-mile main track Selene, for 3-year-olds, has attracted a pair of Canadian-breds – Il Malocchio (cross-entered in the Fury) and Munnyfor Ro – who could contest the $500,000 Oaks.

Vying for top honors in the Selene is Kentucky-bred Gote Go, a 3-year-old daughter of Street Boss.

Trained by dual hall of fame inductee Roger Attfield, and bred and owned by William Harrigan, Gote Go will be making her first stakes appearance and fifth start at Woodbine.

“I'm excited,” said Harrigan. “She's running in her first graded stakes and I hope it won't be her last.”

The chestnut filly, who sports a mark of 2-1-0 from seven races, arrives at the Selene off an impressive two-length triumph in a 1 1/16-mile turf engagement at Churchill Downs on June 5.

Under Julien Leparoux, Gote Go rallied to take top spot in the $102,000 allowance event, just shy of one month after a fifth-place effort at the same distance.

“She got a great ride from Julien and we were very confident that she would run well and she did,” said Harrigan.

Gote Go debuted last August at Woodbine, finishing eighth in a six-furlong main track race. After a fifth on the Toronto oval's Inner Turf and a second to Sleek Lynx on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, she broke her maiden courtesy of a half-length victory over 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta.

“I've known her since she was a foal,” started Harrigan. “We put her through a yearling sale, the July Fasig-Tipton Sale, and I didn't get what I wanted, so we bought her back. I brought her down to Payson Park – I go there every winter with the 2-year-olds – and we had her in a 2-year-old sale. That was the year the 2-year-old sales were off because of COVID, so we took her out of the sale. I brought her back up here to Keeneland and trained her for a few weeks. I sent her to Roger. I told him, 'Roger, most horses that come out of those 2-year-olds sales need time off, but this one doesn't. Treat like she's yours and onward you go.'”

Harrigan hopes Saturday's effort is Gote Go's best one yet.

“She broke her maiden at Woodbine and then we gave her some time off. I told Roger we shouldn't worry about a horse that just won – let's have a good year next year. That's what we did. He brought her along and here we are today. We're glad to be in there with a chance and I'm excited to have a horse I bred in there, in Roger's hands.”

California Lily, Flash Drive, Sweet Souper Sweet, and Danger, are also set to go postward in the 68th running of the Selene.

Trainer Mark Casse has won a record six Selene crowns, including the past three editions. His first Selene score came in 2001 with Dark Ending.

The Selene is complemented by the Fury, a seven-furlong race over the Tapeta for three-year-old Canadian-bred fillies, also an important fixture ahead of the Oaks.

Lorena, a daughter of Souper Speedy, will look to make it three straight wins to start her career.

The dark bay, trained and co-owned by Stuart Simon, was impressive in her debut last November at Woodbine, and followed it up with a smart score on June 19 at the Toronto oval.

Brent and Russell McLellan, and former jockey Gerry Olguin are the other co-owners of Lorena.

Curlin's Catch, winner of this year's Suncoast Stakes, returns to Woodbine where she contested the first two races of her career. Bodacious Miss, boasting a mark of 1-0-0 from three starts, Owen's Tour Guide, two-for-two, Victorian Queen stakes champ Il Malocchio, El Bayern, last year's Muskoka Stakes winner, and Astrological, sixth in her debut, round out the field.

The Selene is race seven on Saturday's 11-race card. The Fury is slated for race nine. First post time is 1:20 p.m. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com. Sunday's card features a pair of important Queen's Plate preps, the $150,000 Grade 3 Marine Stakes and $125,000 Queenston Stakes.

FIELD FOR THE $150,000 GRADE 3 SELENE

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Gote Go – Steven Bahen – Roger Attfield

2 – California Lily – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

3 – Our Flash Drive – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

4 – Il Malocchio – Kazushi Kimura – Martin Drexler

5 – Sweet Souper Sweet – Luis Contreras – Michael Trombetta

6 – Danger – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

7 – Munnyfor Ro – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard

FIELD FOR THE $125,000 FURY

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Bodacious Miss – Justin Stein – Steve Owens

2 – Owen's Tour Guide – Ademar Santos – William Armata

3 – Il Malocchio – Patrick Husbands – Martin Drexler

4 – Curlin's Catch – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

5 – Lorena – Gary Boulager – Stuart Simon

6 – El Bayern – Sheena Ryan – Mike Mattine

7 – Astrological – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

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Two Sixty Gives Casse-Barber Team Third Straight Selene Triumph

Two Sixty dashed to the lead out of the gates and never looked back in the $125,000 Selene Stakes (Grade 3) on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

The victory marks the third straight in the Selene for the trainer-owner combination of Mark Casse and Gary Barber, and second in a row for jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson, who also won last year's edition in rein to Power Gal. For Casse, it was his record-tying (Yonnie Starr) sixth Selene score.

One of three Casse trainees in the field of seven, Two Sixty set out on a front-end mission in the 1 1/16-mile main track stakes event for 3-year-old fillies, posting splits of :24.12, :48.81 and 1:13.36 en route to the three-quarter-length triumph. The final time was 1:45.01.

Saratoga Vision, the longest shot on the board at 84-1, slipped between horses and found a seam towards the rail to close for second-place honors just ahead of the favored Queen's Plate eligibles Owlette and Merveilleux.

“It was clear on paper that Owlette was going to be pace, but they took the blinkers off. So right off the hop, I wanted to get away and set myself at the front with conviction and that's what happened,” said Wilson. “As we eased into the backstretch, I took a little bit of a hold of her. I glanced between my legs and saw that I had a length or so of daylight that I could ease back and have her take a breather. She pricked her ears as we came around the three-quarter pole top of the backstretch and it was great. And then I just waited to hear them… waited to hear them… waited to hear them… waited to hear them… She dug hard, she ran fast and she held them off.”

Two Sixty returned $21.20 to win for the 9-1 upset.

“It's Mark Casse, Gary Barber, you can't go wrong,” said Wilson of picking up the winning mount. “Mark is a fantastic trainer and he puts these horses in races and they can win. I followed instructions. We went with the flow of that. She ran a bang of a race at Gulfstream before she went in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile [ninth]. She went to the lead, set some solid fractions and held them off in hand. She had to work a little harder today, but that's kind of the way it panned out for us.”

Bred in Florida by Shade Tree Thoroughbreds Inc., the Uncaptured–Jim's Lonesa filly entered the Selene off a fourth-place finish in the six-furlong Star Shoot Stakes during her Woodbine debut on June 13. The win was her second in five starts this year, having also captured the Gasparilla Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in January. Two Sixty now boasts a record of 4-1-1 from 11 starts lifetime and is closing in on the $500,000 mark in career earnings.

Casse stablemates Diamond Sparkles and American Tap finished fifth and seventh, respectively, with Livin in the Six sixth.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues, without spectators, on Sunday at Woodbine Racetrack featuring the Grade 3 Seagram Cup. Post time for the first race is 1 p.m.

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