Horses to Watch: Life Is Good, Medina Spirit impress in Sham
In this biweekly series, racing analyst Keeler Johnson shares promising horses from his handicapping watch list, reviewing runners who have recently caught his eye and previewing horses scheduled to run back in the near future.
New to the Watch List
This Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old ran a gutsy race against favored stablemate Life Is Good in the Sham (G3) at Santa Anita on Saturday. Overlooked at 9-1, Medina Spirit tracked his acclaimed rival through fractions of :23.56, :46.67, and 1:10.66, then flat-out refused to concede down the homestretch. Despite trailing Life Is Good by four lengths at the top of the stretch, Medina Spirit steadily diminished the gap through the final furlong, hitting the wire less than a length behind while pulling 13 lengths clear of the rest.
A son of Protonico out of a mare by Brilliant Speed, Medina Spirit sold for just $1,000 as a yearling and for $35,000 as a 2-year-old in training. But he has the pedigree to excel running long, and his effort against Life Is Good suggests this previously unheralded sophomore is set for a big season. It takes determination to run down a loose, unchallenged leader like Life Is Good, and while Medina Spirit couldn’t quite reach even terms, he certainly gave it a gallant try. I’m excited to see what his future holds.
A son of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Kentucky Pharoah showed little in his first two starts on dirt, but he’s absolutely thrived since switching to turf. After wiring a 1-mile maiden race at Gulfstream Park by 3 3/4 lengths, Kentucky Pharoah wheeled back two weeks later to dominate Gulfstream’s Dania Beach Stakes on Saturday.
Once again sent straight to the lead, Kentucky Pharoah carved out steady splits of :23.60, :46.80, and 1:10.47, then sprinted the final two furlongs in :11.66 and :11.94 to trounce his pursuers by three lengths in 1:34.07. Produced by the three-time graded stakes winner Strut the Course, who won running as far as 1 1/4 miles, Kentucky Pharoah looks like a bright young turf star in the making for Calumet Farm.
Recent winners
Prevailed as expected in the Sham, and while the son of Into Mischief had to work a bit harder than anticipated, his final time of 1:36.63 was legitimately fast. The Santa Anita main track isn’t as quick as it used to be, so Life Is Good received a lofty 101 Beyer for his effort.
The question is, can Life Is Good handle longer distances? The way his lead diminished down the homestretch is cause for pause, but Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith told Santa Anita that the bay colt wasn’t fully focused.
“He didn’t know what he was doing going twice around, and he just got the lead and was looking out at the infield on the big screen he could see himself, and he got to looking, but I was watching as well so I saw the horse coming on the outside,” explained Smith. “I didn’t want to panic, I just showed it to him a little bit. What I liked really was after the race, when I stood up and the horse got next to me he jumped back in the bridle and I mean I had to pull him up.
“He’s just very, very talented. We don’t know yet how talented. We haven’t gotten close yet.”
Now, that’s an exciting thought.
Fired off a big effort to win the San Gabriel (G2) on Saturday at Santa Anita, tracking splits of :23.02, :46.95, and 1:11.62 before pouncing to victory by 2 1/4 lengths. His swift final time of 1:46.63 for 1 1/8 miles produced an excellent 103 Beyer speed figure.
Anothertwistafate now has won stakes races on turf, dirt and synthetic tracks, giving him a wide variety of racing options for 2021. From a mile to 1 1/8 miles, on any surface, Anothertwistafate will be a runner to reckon with.
Off the watch list
Chaos Theory
Failed to fire in the Joe Hernandez (G2) on Friday at Santa Anita, racing near the back of the pack throughout before passing a couple of tired rivals to finish fifth. Perhaps cutting back from 6 1/2 furlongs to 5 furlongs will help him rebound, but I’ll want to watch Chaos Theory’s next race before returning him to my watch list.
Fighting Force
Had every opportunity to vie for victory in the Dania Beach Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream but couldn’t keep up with the front-running Kentucky Pharoah when the real running began, weakening to finish second by three lengths. Considering Fighting Force was favored at 3-5, this was a bit of a disappointing effort, so I’ll want to see how he fares next time before jumping back on the bandwagon.
Laker Mamba
Broke awkwardly in a 7 1/2-furlong turf allowance race on Sunday at Fair Grounds, then failed to challenge while rallying wide from behind a slow pace. The son of Nyquist finished a distant fourth out of six, and though his effort was surely better than it appeared given the difficult circumstances he faced, I was expecting a stronger finish from the 6-5 favorite.
Parnelli
Proved no match for Life Is Good and Medina Spirit in the Sham, finishing 13 lengths behind in third place after failing to keep up on the far turn. He did earn a couple of Road to the Kentucky Derby qualification points, and the Sham was a fast race on paper. But for the time being at least, Parnelli appears to have reached a form ceiling.
Wildman Jack
Ran below par in the Joe Hernandez, pressing splits of :21.56 and :44.13 before weakening to finish sixth of seven, beaten 5 1/4 lengths. Perhaps the early pace was too swift — closers swept the trifecta while all the speed horses faltered. But I was surprised to see Wildman Jack give was as readily as he did, considering he was beaten just three lengths against a much tougher field in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) last time out.
Here is my competed, updated list of horses to watch: