Is Life Is Good the best of an excellent 3-year-old crop?
In a crop that includes the solid-as-they-come trio of 3-year-olds who ran 2-3-4 Saturday behind Knicks Go in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, it’s hard not to wonder whether another sophomore, Life Is Good, is the best of the bunch.
One matter that should not be debated is that the 2021 group of 3-year-olds is a very strong group.
Life Is Good, Medina Spirit, Essential Quality, Hot Rod Charlie and Dr. Schivel all came with very good efforts on Breeders’ Cup Saturday, which is nothing new from the consistent excellence they have displayed all season long.
We also should not forget the strong accomplishments of Mandaloun, Jackie’s Warrior, Rombauer, Golden Pal, and Midnight Bourbon this year. Nor can we be less than excited by the potential of up-and-coming horses such as Flightline and Americanrevolution.
From the opening bell of 2021, it has been a very good season for 3-year-old males, but the Triple Crown is the glamour portion of the division. Everyone watches the Kentucky Derby, and the Preakness and Belmont follow closely behind. Because of this, and their challenge of Knicks Go Saturday in the big one, it is easy to think of Medina Spirit, Essential Quality and Hot Rod Charlie as the division leaders.
Life Is Good did not run in the Triple Crown, nor was he part of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but his talent is no longer deniable.
Turning away a brief challenge by the older Ginobili with disdainful ease, Life Is Good soared down the Del Mar stretch on his way to an emphatic 5 3/4-length victory in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. It was as easy as he pleased, and it all came after being pressured early into throwing down blistering fractions of :21.88, :44.94, 1:08.76.
Those are not supposed to be early splits of a horse who wants to carry his speed over a two-turn mile, but Life Is Good made it look all too easy.
It is easy to make comparisons to what Life Is Good did Saturday to the performance of Knicks Go a year ago. Last year, it was Knicks Go who set the crazy fast fractions in the Dirt Mile before coasting home much the best at Keeneland. Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic win by the 5-year-old son of Paynter was the culmination of an ascent that began in force one year ago.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, and previously trained by Bob Baffert, Life Is Good is now a winner of five of six career starts. The only loss for the son of Into Mischief came when beaten a neck by the top sprinter Jackie’s Warrior in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) this summer at Saratoga. Keep in mind, that game defeat came after a layoff of nearly six months.
Before Saturday, the bay colt owned by WinStar Farm and China Horse Club had seasonal highlights in romping wins in the Kelso Handicap (G2) and San Felipe (G2) and a 3/4-length score in the Sham Stakes (G3). In the latter two, which were in January and March, he was clearly best in back-to-back wins over his former stablemate, Medina Spirit.
Despite his near spotless record, which began with a 9 1/2-length maiden win in his debut last November at Del Mar, Saturday marked his first victory in Grade 1 racing.
And for that reason, I don’t expect Life Is Good to be named 3-year-old champion at the end of the season. That title likely will go to either the Belmont winner, Essential Quality, or the horse who finished first in the Kentucky Derby, Medina Spirit.
Either of those choices are clearly worthy, and they ran well in the Classic, but after Saturday’s tour-de-force in the Dirt Mile, I wouldn’t expect either one to defeat Life Is Good on the square.