Life is Good did the dirty work on Saturday.
Sent off at odds of 1-20, he went to work and handled three rivals to beat the Grade 1 Woodward by 1 1-2 lengths at Aqueduct on a closed track.
That puts him on a collision course for an East-versus-West matchup against Flyrline in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 5 at Keeneland.
Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Life Is Good uncharacteristically showed a relaxed pace as he led the Woodward field into the turn and back stretch, then had to fight off the challenge of a law professor from the second round, but he did so with authority. .
Now he’s off to Lexington, Kentucky, for what might be his last career start before retiring for education.
“You could tell he had his ears up in the first turn and was very relaxed,” trainer Todd Pletcher told the New York Racing Association.
“Part of being brilliant is being able to move on and move on. It was a logical tactic for today but I don’t think it’s his preferred running style. His real weapons are his high sliding speed and his ability to keep up.
Long shot Thomas Shelby scratched to bring the nine-length Woodward field down to just four horses.
Life is Good, his previous start was a nine-furlong Whitney Command win at Saratoga Race Course on August 6. Woodward was 1-9 on the morning line.
A law professor ridden by Jose Ortiz, Life is Good seemed to demonstrate this as he rose to the occasion to agree with the ups and downs. But life is good, it was simply too good.
“I was confident he would respond when asked, but it’s his first time on a sealed track, and this track hasn’t been played properly since the meeting started,” Pletcher said. “When you’re such a hot favorite, you worry about those things all the time.
This was one in which there was only one satisfactory result, and that was to win. We wanted to make sure we did that, given that we had a big goal in five weeks, so we tried to balance that as best we could.
“The track didn’t help much – it’s not that fast,” Irad Ortiz said. “He just kept quiet, relaxed and gave me everything from the quarter pole to the wire as we waited. If I ask him a little earlier, he can go quickly and move on.”
Also on the card, the Chad Brown-trained Blazing Sevens won the Grade 1 Champaign to run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, which Blazing Sevens’ sire, Good Magic, beat to claim the Eclipse Award in 2017.
On the closing day of the Saratoga meet, the Blazing Sevens were coming off third in the hopes.
In another race with BC Classic implications, Hot Rod Charlie defeated Kentucky Derby winner Rich Streak by a head in the Division II Lucas Classic at Churchill Downs.
“It was an unbelievable effort,” coach Doug O’Neill said. “Rich Strock also ran a winning race.”
Rich Strock, who has topped the board in the Belmont Stakes and Travers since winning the Derby at odds of 80-1, led Hot Rod Charlie by a deep stretch, but Hot Rod Charlie was able to gain a brief lead before the wire. .
“It’s a tough blow, but we’re very proud of our horse’s performance today,” said Rich Stroke’s trainer Eric Reid. “It was a big ask to run against such big horses, and he proved that he’s just as good. He was a bit off the pace today, but he still managed to fight hard to the wire.”
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