Life Is Good scores front-running win in Santa Anita's Sham
Trainer Bob Baffert's smashing debut winner Life Is Good improved to 2-for-2 when scoring a front-running victory over stablemate Medina Spirit in the Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Saturday.
With Hall of Famer Mike Smith in the irons, Life Is Good was hustled to the front of the five-horse field and maintained a clear advantage through fractions of 23.56, 46.67 and 1:10.66 for six furlongs. He remained well clear of the field until the final sixteenth of a mile, when a closing Medina Spirit finally spurred Smith to ask Life Is Good for run and the colt responded to score by three-quarters of a length.
Life Is Good, who through two starts has followed the same path of 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, completed one mile on a fast track in 1:36.63. It was another 13 lengths back to Parnelli in third with his stablemate Waspirant for trainer John Shirreffs checking in fourth.
While things got tight in the end, Smith noted the outcome was never in doubt.
“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," Smith said. "He could see himself, and he got to looking, but I was watching as well so I saw the horse coming on the outside.
"I didn’t want to panic. I just showed it (the stick) to him a little bit. What I liked really was after the race, when I stood up and the (other) horse got next to me, he jumped back in the bridle and I mean I had to pull him up.
Added Baffert: "It's exciting – he passed the two turn test."
Life is Good returned $2.40 as the 1-5 favorite.
Life Is Good earned 10 qualifying points toward the 2021 Kentucky Derby. He joins stablemate Spielberg, winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. Medina Spirit, who was also exiting a debut maiden win, earned four points. Parnelli gets on the board with two points, while Waspirant added another point to give him two following his fourth in the American Pharoah (G1).
“Medina is a nice horse, he’s a good horse and I could tell that Mike was just cruising out there,” said Baffert. “I always feel that the second race is most important. You’re going up against winners. I think Mike did a great job, just sort of cruising out there and it was just the kind of race we were looking for.
Owned by CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm, Life Is Good romped by 9 1/2 lengths when debuting at 6 1/2 furlongs on Nov. 22 at Del Mar. Likewise, Authentic broke his maiden sprinting at Del Mar in November and came back to win the Sham. He would go on to win the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic on his way to likely Horse of the Year honors.
Life Is Good provided Baffert with a record seventh win in the Sham, which was first run in 2001.
Smith indicated Life Is Good, a $525,000 auction purchase as a yearling, still has a lot left to reveal on the track.
“He’s just very, very talented. We don’t know yet how talented," said Smith, who won his fourth Sham and third in the last four years. "We haven’t gotten close yet.”
The next stop on California's road to the Kentucky Derby is the 1 1/16-miles Robert B. Lewis (G3) on Jan. 30, which also awards qualifying points on a scale of 10-4-2-1. Among those under consideration are Spielberg and Hot Rod Charlie, runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile for trainer Doug O'Neill.