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Life Is Good sets sights on Breeders’ Cup after G1 Woodward victory

by NYRA Press Office

• Life Is Good sets sights on Breeders’ Cup after G1 Woodward victory 
• Blazing Sevens earns 91 Beyer for G1 Champagne victory; likely to ship to Keeneland next weekend
• Nevin delighted with Dancing Buck’s G3 Belmont Turf Sprint victory; Breeders’ Cup status still in flux
•  Atras pleased with runner-up G1 Woodward effort from Law Professor, looks to G2 Fayette next

WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.’s Life Is Good, now a four-time Grade 1 winner, garnered a 97 Beyer Speed Figure for his 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward for horses 3-years-old and upward traveling nine furlongs over a sloppy and sealed main track at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet. 

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the accomplished Life Is Good broke sharply from the inside post under regular pilot Irad Ortiz, Jr. and was quickly maneuvered off the rail and into the three-path to lead the compact field of four at each point of call with Law Professor tracking in third. 

At the three-quarters call, Law Professor was called on by Jose Ortiz to take up second position and make his run at Life Is Good, swinging three-wide and steadily making up ground. Life Is Good dug in when asked by Ortiz, Jr., drifting out a bit in the stretch while Law Professor inched closer. Life Is Good would not be denied, and valiantly fought off Law Professor’s game bid to secure the victory in a final time of 1:49.57 in his first outing over sloppy going. It was another 10 1/4 lengths back to Pletcher’s other trainee, Keepmeinmind, in third. 

Pletcher said he was pleased with Life Is Good’s effort, noting the demanding fractions late into the race. 

“They were coming home pretty good. The last three-eighths went in 36 and one, and going a mile and an eighth, it’s hard to come home that fast, especially on an off and heavy racetrack,” said Pletcher. “I thought it was probably a little better than people might consider just looking at the final margin. Law Professor ran a good race and I’m happy to accomplish what we were hoping to.” 

The win was Life Is Good’s third Grade 1 this year, adding to scores in the Whitney in August at Saratoga Race Course and Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January at Gulfstream Park. His lone start at 1 1/4 miles was an even fourth-place effort in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in March. 

Pletcher said he is confident the 4-year-old son of Into Mischief will handle stretching back out to 10 furlongs in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 5 at Keeneland. 

“From all indicators talking to [WinStar President/CEO] Elliott [Walden] and those guys yesterday, we’re focused on the Classic,” said Pletcher. “He’ll ship to Keeneland tomorrow afternoon and train towards that. If you watch yesterday, he continued to gallop out past the wire. All of his training has given us the confidence he’ll do it.” 

Pletcher also provided an update on top 3-year-old filly Nest, who was last seen posting a strong 4 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Alabama on August 20 at the Spa. The daughter of Curlin will likely take on older rivals in next Sunday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Beldame for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at the Big A. 

Nest has posted three works at Belmont Park since her Alabama victory, most recently breezing a half-mile in 49.42 seconds over the training track on Sunday. 

“She just breezed and we’re happy with that. We’ll look her over in the morning and most likely go to the Beldame,” said Pletcher. 

Owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, Nest is in search of her fourth graded win this year. In addition to her Alabama score, she dazzled with a 12 1/4-length romp in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks in July at the Spa, earning a 104 Beyer for the memorable victory. She also finished a game second to stablemate Mo Donegal when facing males in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets in June. 

Pletcher added that Waterford Stable’s Winters Back, a last-out third in the Grade 3 Bernard Baruch, will likely skip the Grade 3, $150,000 Knickerbocker next Sunday at the Big A and will instead be pointed to an allowance race in the near future.  

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Blazing Sevens earns 91 Beyer for G1 Champagne victory; likely to ship to Keeneland next weekend

Rodeo Creek Racing’s Blazing Sevens earned a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure for his victory in the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack, and is possible to ship to Keeneland next weekend to prepare for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on November 4 at the Lexington, Kentucky oval. 

Blazing Sevens bested a field of six 2-year-olds, all of which were winners at first asking. He settled at the rear of the field early on under Flavien Prat, and advanced through each point of call down the backstretch and moved in between horses around the far turn. Swinging five-wide at the top of the stretch, Blazing Sevens collared Verifying just outside the sixteenths pole and drew off to a 3 1/4-length score. 

Blazing Sevens provided four-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Chad Brown with his fourth victory in the prestigious one-turn mile test for juveniles, having also won with Practical Joke [2016], Complexity [2018] and Jack Christopher [2021]. The dark bay colt additionally provided freshman stallion Good Magic, second to Firenze Fire in the 2017 Champagne, with his first Grade 1 winner as a sire. 

“He looks good this morning,” Brown said on Sunday. “Some of them are leaving today, but there’s a good chance I’ll ship most of them over there [to Keeneland ahead of time].”

Brown expressed concern over the sloppy and sealed track conditions on Saturday after Blazing Sevens ran a distant third over similar conditions in the Grade 1 Hopeful on September 5 at Saratoga Race Course under Manny Franco. 

“I could tell he hated the track. The fact that he got third and galloped out OK was amazing because Manny [Franco] told us that day he hated the track and that he never felt good under him,” Brown said. “These young horses, you’re always learning about. They’re going to catch different surfaces. These are inexperienced horses and you’re going to learn a lot about them as you go. Sometimes it’s going to go your way and other times you’re going to have to retreat. It went our way and this horse moved forward.”

The victory was a sweet one for owners John and Carla Capek of Rodeo Creek Racing, who have three other 2-year-olds that also are trained by Brown. 

“[They] are at different stages of getting on the track. Blazing Sevens is the farthest along in that endeavor, but we’re excited for all of them,” said John Capek. “This is our second crop of racing horses. We’re looking forward to these 2-year-olds and we have a crop of yearlings that are in training right now that we’re excited about as well.”

Blazing Sevens was initially slated for a start in next Saturday’s Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, but the connections ultimately ruled in favor of running locally in his final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, citing an extra week in between races. 

“We were booked for Keeneland a while ago on the probability we might get there and at the last minute we decided to race here as opposed to racing there next weekend, so I think all in all we made the right choice to come here,” Capek said. “Even given the conditions today, the horse ran really well. We were a little concerned with the slop, but he came through and turned it on at the end. Flavien did a great job.”

Purchased for $225,000 from the Eaton Sales consignment at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale, Blazing Sevens is the first progeny out of the two-time winning Warrior’s Reward mare Trophy Girl. 

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Nevin delighted with winning performance from Dancing Buck; Breeders’ Cup status still in flux

Trainer Michelle Nevin expressed pride in a gate-to-wire performance from New York-bred Dancing Buck in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint during the Belmont at the Big A fall meet. The 4-year-old gelded son of War Dancer earned a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure for his five-length triumph in his graded stakes debut.

Owned by breeder J and N Stables in partnership with Diamond M Stable, Dancing Buck has now won three of his last four starts. A two-time open company winner this summer going seven furlongs at Belmont Park and 5 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga, respectively, he finished a late-closing second in the Lucky Coin on September 3 at Saratoga prior to the Belmont Turf Sprint. 

Nevin said Dancing Buck emerged from Saturday’s triumph in good order and is neither confirmed nor ruled out of an engagement in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on November 5 at Keeneland. 

“So far, so good,” Nevin said. “It could be a possibility. We’ll have to regroup and see what the owners want to do and go from there.”

Nevin said she was impressed with Dancing Buck’s ability to carry his speed throughout each point of call over the yielding outer turf. 

“He ran a great race. I love how he broke so sharp and got his spot really quickly and from there, to carry his speed right through was great,” Nevin said. 

The win was a particularly sweet one for owner Diamond M Stable, who campaigned sire War Dancer in the latter portion of his racing career. War Dancer stands at Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions in Stillwater, New York for $7,500. Dancing Buck is out of Frivolous Buck, and comes from the same family as stakes-winner Our Last Buck, who also was trained by Nevin. 

“It’s so exciting, especially for my clients. They owned the stallion, the mare and they bred him. They’re all the way through. It’s really a thrill for them,” Nevin said. 

Earlier on Saturday’s program, Nevin visited the winner’s circle after Jay Em Ess Stable’s Full Moon Madness broke his maiden at third asking. The 2-year-old Into Mischief bay colt earned an 82 Beyer Speed Figure after a pair of third-place finishes at Saratoga this summer. 

“He’s a really big, beautiful horse. Just gorgeous to look at,” Nevin said. “We’ve liked him since the very beginning. In his first couple of races, he was a little bit green and I thought about the blinkers, but we waited until today to put them on and they’ve really helped him focus.”

Full Moon Madness is out of dual Grade 1-winner By the Moon, who is Nevin’s top-earning trainee with a bankroll of over $1.5 million. 

“I hope he’s every bit as good as she was. That would be nice,” Nevin said. 

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Atras pleased with runner-up G1 Woodward effort from Law Professor, looks to G2 Fayette next

Twin Creeks Racing Stables’ Grade 2-winning homebred Law Professor made trainer Rob Atras proud with his game runner-up effort to Life Is Good in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet. 

A 4-year-old son of Constitution, Law Professor stalked in third behind the pace set by Life Is Good in the nine-furlong route contested over a sloppy and sealed main track. At the three-quarters call, Law Professor took up second position under Jose Ortiz and went three-wide in the turn to make a menacing bid for the lead with Life Is Good under steady urging to his inside. The dark bay gelding was all heart to the wire, finishing just 1 1/4 lengths in arrears of the four-time Grade 1-winning Life Is Good. 

“The way he had been training up to the race, he was letting us know he was going to run a big race," said Atras. "We were hoping to see that from him, and he obviously did that and exceeded our expectations to get that close to that kind of a horse.

“I’m not surprised we got turned back by Life Is Good, but I thought for a second we had him. I think it was a great effort. He definitely got me out of my seat,” Atras added, with a laugh. “We’re very lucky to have him.” 

Law Professor arrived at the Woodward from a surprise victory in the restricted Tapit on September 1 at Kentucky Downs. There, he demonstrated similar tactics to the Woodward and tracked in third before unleashing his bid at the top of the stretch and driving to a half-length victory. His resume also includes a Grade 2 score in an off-the-turf edition of the Grade 2 Santa Anita Mathis Mile in December for previous conditioner Michael McCarthy, as well as a runner-up finish to Express Train in the Grade 2 San Pasqual in February. 

“He’s a pretty cool horse,” said Atras. “He can run on anything – turf, dirt, wet track – so, he’s a very unique horse. You don’t see a lot of horses like that anymore.” 

Atras said Law Professor will now be pointed to the Grade 2 Fayette going nine furlongs on October 29 at Keeneland. 

“Going into the Woodward, our plan was to go to the Fayette after. Obviously, we have to see how he comes out of this, but that’s one of our targets,” Atras said. 

 Law Professor now boasts total purse earnings of $614,240 through a record of 4-2-1 from 12 starts.