They could have put him in Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile or Sprint, where he would have been a top pick in both positions, but his connections Life is good (Into Mischief – Beach Walk, by Distorted Humor) chose to send their versatile 4-year-old to GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.
While no Flightline beat (Tapit) that day, Life Is Good threw it down with its undefeated opponent, forcing Flightline to chase him through the brilliant initial fractions of: 22.55 and: 45.47. The Classic only marked his third loss, but Life Is Good was far better than the start of his last career.
Coach Todd Pletcher said: “It was a tough decision to decide what was the right race for Life is Good on Breeders’ Cup Day. “We feel that with his hard work and success, he deserves a chance to win the Old and Horse of the Year championships. We let him do his thing with his running style, which is high airspeed, and he took it to Flightline. I think he went out of style.”
Campaigned by the China Horse Club and WinStar Ranch, Life Is Good is the winner of nine races from 12 career starts. One ‘Rising star TDN’ When it debuted at the age of two, Eye-catching Bay has remained in the rating holdings ever since, scoring eight ratings wins in his career. His resume includes four Class I wins, starting with a certain score in last year’s edition of Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and then this year adding to the Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. , Whitney S. and Woodward S.
“What makes Life Is Good so special is that he has the unique ability to go fast and move that speed over a distance on the ground,” Pletcher reflects. “As a coach, he is very healthy, very healthy and loves his job. Every day he’s on the pitch, he trains exceptionally and has a great attitude.”
Last year’s edition of GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., where Life Is Good passed second place ahead of the Season Final Champion Men’s Sprinter Jackie’s Warrior (Music by Maclean), was a race that WinStar’s Elliott Walden remembers as one of the foal’s most impressive performances.
“That race, for me, was one of his best,” Walden said. “He was just beaten when he was sacked for 170 days. I think when people remember Life Is Good as a racehorse, they’ll remember he’s been in all the big races. We don’t mind running him at distances that might not suit him best, whether it’s seven feathers over Jackie’s Warrior or a mile and a half over Flightline. He’s one of the great players we’ve had at WinStar. “
Life Is Good arrived at WinStar Farm the morning after the Breeders’ Cup and received a warm welcome from his WinStar and China Horse Club connections. Todd Pletcher also stopped by to see off his student, the so-called ‘Scooter’, around the barn.
“He has been a huge part of our steady work for almost two years,” explains Pletcher. “We will miss him a lot, but at the same time we are really pleased that he can retire to a farm like WinStar and have the opportunity to prove himself as a stallion. We are looking forward to seeing his children.”
Into Mischief’s son was bred by Gary and Mary West Stable and sold for $525,000 a year in 2019. His Beach Walk Dam is not among the many Class I rated. Mineshaft mare Bonnie Blue Flag, whose family includes multiple Diamondrella (GB) Class I winners (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), Spectrograph winning Group 3 (Medaglia d’Oro) and the highest-ranked title runner (Tapit).
Walden compared Life Is Good’s physique and temperament to his male counterpart.
“He was about 16 years old, so he was a little older than Into Mischief,” Walden said. “He has a little more range and range, but all the parts of an agile horse. You can see when he moves how he just shows up with great, quick action that will transform into a sport horse. Into Mischiefs has a real desire to run and Life Is Good shows he wants to compete at every level, every race and every set. With Into Mischief and also twisted humor at the bottom, he gets a double dose of that competitiveness. “
Life Is Good’s $100,000 initial fee will be one of the highest for this year’s crop, but Walden says it was cautious in its selection process when it began filling out the first book. of the male.
“We plan to breed her with about 160 mares,” says Walden. “We have a lot of requests every week, but we don’t take every mare. We are thinking about where each mare will fit into her group. We’re making him deserve a $100,000 fixed fee, so we’ve turned down a lot of mares and are being very strict about it.”
He continued, “I think from the point of view of what we have here at Winstar, he’s going to be at the top of the pile compared to the great horses we’ve had. Joining Into Mischief and with his physical presence as well as athleticism, we are very excited about his next career. “
