A few months ago, it looked like Whitney Stakes (G1)’s $1 million could become the setting for a blockbuster showdown between Life is good and Flight route .
As it turns out, the undefeated Flightline made the westward flight after winning the Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) in dazzling fashion and is headed to the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) on the 3rd. September at Del Mar.
However, August 6 Whitney at Saratoga Racecourse docked at China Horse Club’s WinStar Ranch and Life Is Good and will still be offering fans one of the best races of the year.
Although only six horses will be entered into the slot draw posted August 3, Whitney will have an electrifying duel with Life Is Good (track 6) participating in a juggling game in Olympiad (post 4), who have won the last five starts, as well as three 1st grade winners—Hot Rod Charlie (Lesson 2), Happy Saver (Lesson 5), and Americanrevolution (Lesson 5) —in the 1/8 mile test at the Spa.
Also entered as longshot Magnifier (lesson 3).
“Whitney is the premier elder horse race in the country other than the Breeders’ Cup Classic,” said Elliott Walden, CEO, president and track manager of WinStar Farm. “We pointed to this race, and it has been on his schedule for a long time since we started thinking about running him in 2022.”
Although Whitney, continues an alarming trend in New York with a small pitch for a small sum, the fight between Life Is Good and the Olympiad promises to be highly entertaining. Both horses possess early speed, especially Life Is Good, the preferred route of 6-5 mornings, triggering the possibility of an electric battle or wither segments that could help a guy stalking like Hot Rod Charlie.
Bill Mott, Olympiad 2-1 shooting instructor, son of Sightstown for the ownership group of Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable and LNJ Foxwoods.
Running with Life Is Good in the early stages is considered tough business for anyone taking on the challenging Whitney quest, a “Win and You’re In” slot offering the winner a free slot. Fees during the Longines Breeders ‘Cup Classic (G1) November 5 at Keeneland.
Life Is Good, which crossed the Triple Crown track last year in 3rd place with an ankle, moves into coach Todd Pletcher’s cage for a fall campaign that culminated in a breakout victory in the race. Bicycle Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) 2021 in Del Mar. Son of Into Mischief bred by Gary and Mary West then rose to the top of the tournament when he scored the lead goal, 3 1/4 length January 29 in the $2.9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes due to 1/ ST BET (G1) presented. Stretched out and sent to the Middle East, he waned late at 1/4 mile and finished fourth in the $12 million Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) on March 26 in Meydan .
Then, a five-fight victory at John A. Nerud Stakes (G2) on July 2 in seven matches put him back on the winning track, and Whitney will be a test of his championship aspirations. older brother.
Pletcher, a three-time Whitney Award winner who also coaches Happy Saver and Americanrevolution, said: “He has always trained impressively and won the Pegasus in the mile and eighth, so I am confident. that he will overcome the distance. “But the Olympiad is on the rise and is a very good horse. It must be a great race.”
Walden said Life Is Good’s most recent work (four July 30 in: 48.25) bodes well for the foal’s chances on Saturday.
“He’s had a great job. Amelia Green, who drives him every day, says it’s probably his best work ever, and that’s hard to quantify because he’s always been there. work like that,” Walden said. “She couldn’t pull him up until he went around another circle. That makes you feel good.”
Winner of seven out of nine starting with earnings of $3,551,700, Life Is Good was purchased for $525,000 from a Paramount Sales consignment at Keeneland September 2019 Sale.
The Olympiad’s five-race winning streak includes a 2nd place win in his last three starts, capped by a 2-1 win over Americanrevolution in a Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) match on July 2. in quick time at Churchill Downs. Before that, he defeated Happy Saver in Alysheba Stakes presented by Sentient Jet (G2).
“We’re excited about running at the Whitney. It’s a tough field, we realize that, but it’s an important race and that’s what horse racing is all about,” Mott said of the clause. bought $700,000 from Gainesway consignment at Keeneland 2019 Last September sale.
Oxbow finished second at the Dubai World Cup and then came in second at Salvatore Mile (G3) June 18 in Monmouth Park after returning home to the US and settling in Keeneland.
“I think (Salvatore) is a bit short for his liking, but from where I stand, I couldn’t be happier when we’re with him,” O’Neill said. “We chose Whitney over Pacific Classic because we don’t want to go back and forth. We have a stable in Keeneland, and Breeders ‘Cup in Keeneland.’ Charlie’ loved Keeneland, like most horses, and it was an easier journey to Saratoga than Del Mar. That makes sense in time and geography.”
Hot Rod Charlie is often in the top three in the lap race, and in a perfect world, O’Neill could envision a scenario with his pony sitting in third place when Life Is Good and Olympiad fight in front of him.
“I’d love to see them soothe each other, and we pick each other up. It would be ideal if that happened,” O’Neill said of the pony led by Edward A. Cox Jr. hybridization. “It will be fun to race to see and be a part of it.”
Happy Saver tested the Mileage Flight and finished six segments in a second slower. Never worse than third in 10 career starts, he’s second in his last four starts, three of them in 1st grade tests. The only tier 2 stake in that time was Alysheba, when he was two and a half years younger than the Olympiad.
The son of Super savings His only rating win was in the 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at 1 1/4 mile as a 3-year-old.
The New York-bred Americanrevolution was entered by Pletcher but is still considered insurance in case something bad happens to Life Is Good in the next few days or if bad weather creates a quagmire on race day . While steady friend Life Is Good has never raced on anything but a fast track, CHC and WinStar’s Americanrevolution was the Empire Classic’s 11th 3/4-length winner on a sloppy track. in Belmont Park.
Cigar Mile winners end in 2021, Structure colt rose from fifth to finish 2 1/4 of the length behind the Olympiad in Stephen Foster.
“He’s a really good horse that’s a notch lower in our minds than Life Is Good,” Walden said of the 1st grade winner. “He could run in (September 3) Gold Cup Trophy. Jockey club (G1), if Life Is Good doesn’t. We just want to make sure Life Is Good is in good shape, see what the weather is like and we” I’ll do a review at the end of the week. We are lucky to have two people as good as them. “
