Life Is Good back in the spotlight for G1 Woodward
At 0h02, on September 30, 2022 • By BELMONT AT BIG A
WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.’s multiple Grade 1-winner and $4-million earner Life Is Good headlines Saturday’s 69th running of the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.
This year’s edition of the prestigious nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds and upward will mark its first running at Aqueduct Racetrack since 1967 when Hall of Famer Damascus bested champions Dr. Fager and Buckpasser. Initially run at Belmont Park in 1954, the Woodward called Saratoga Race Course home from 2006-20 and made a return to Big Sandy last year.
The Woodward co-headlines an action-packed program which also includes the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne – a “Win And You’re In” qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland. Also on the card is the Grade 2, $200,000 Miss Grillo, a “Win And You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint.
Life Is Good’s sensational record includes seven graded stakes victories, three at Grade 1 level, as well as nine triple digit Beyer Speed Figures.
A 4-year-old bay son of Into Mischief, Life Is Good has banked $4,086,700 through a 10-8-1-0 ledger, which includes a last out two-length victory in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Whitney on August 6 at Saratoga Race Course over Grade 1-winners Happy Saver and Hot Rod Charlie, which garnered a 107 Beyer. He displayed the same frontrunning fashion to victory in his prior effort in the seven-furlong Grade 2 John A. Nerud on July 2 at Belmont Park, which saw a career-best 112 Beyer.
Life Is Good has remained in Saratoga this month following the summer meet, where he has continued to impress Pletcher with his strong morning training. On Saturday, he breezed five furlongs in 1:00.76 over the Spa main track.
“He’s a very consistent and impressive horse to watch train,” said Pletcher, who previously won the Woodward with Lawyer Ron [2007], Quality Road [2010] and Liam’s Map [2015]. “He’s basically done that every single time we’ve breezed ever since he came to us. You always want things to go smoothly. He’s an extremely talented horse. We just always hope that everything goes according to plan. It doesn’t ever surprise me, but it is just remarkable how consistent he’s been every single day he’s out there. Every breeze is impressive and that’s just what we’ve come to expect of him.”
With the Woodward being held at the Big A this fall, the race will be contested around two turns as opposed to Belmont’s one-turn configuration for the nine-furlong distance.
Irad Ortiz, Jr., the pilot aboard all three of Life Is Good’s Grade 1 victories, will retain the mount from post 1.
