Life Is Good taking the middle road

DEL MAR, Calif. – A lot has changed with Life Is Good since he announced himself for the first time to the world here at Del Mar 11 months ago, but one thing hasn’t – his brilliance.

Life Is Good missed the Triple Crown owing to a minor injury, and his owners changed trainers and thus the coast on which he is based, but Life Is Good has continued to race and train like a special horse. He heads the list of 11 horses – two of whom are expected to go in other Breeders’ Cup races – who were announced on Wednesday as pre-entries for the $1 million Dirt Mile on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Life Is Good is now with Todd Pletcher, who took over as his trainer when owners China Horse Club and WinStar Farm moved him from his original trainer, Bob Baffert. Pletcher will be trying to win the Dirt Mile for the second time, having done so with Liam’s Map in 2015 at Keeneland.

“One thing they have in common is tremendous talent,” Pletcher said. “Both are very capable of running in three different races. You could make the argument they’d be very tough in the Sprint, and they could get a mile and a quarter as well,” he said, referencing the Classic.

But, as with Liam’s Map, the decision with Life Is Good was made to target the Dirt Mile. Life Is Good, who won his first three starts with Baffert, has made two starts for Pletcher since returning to action, both around one turn. And in five starts lifetime, he’s never gone beyond 1 1/16 miles.

As with Liam’s Map, “We’re going in the race we feel fits the best at the time,” Pletcher said.

“It might have been different if we’d have had more time to prepare him. Then we might have looked at the Classic,” Pletcher said. “For Life Is Good, the way he’s been prepared, the Dirt Mile is the best fit this year.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount on Life Is Good. He rode him for the first time when capturing the Grade 2 Kelso, a one-turn mile, in his last start.

There were no surprises among the pre-entered horses, with the nine expected to run all in. The two who were crossentered were C Z Rocket, whose first preference is the Sprint, and Stilleto Boy, whose first preference is the Classic.

Horses can be pre-entered in up to two races at this stage. Next Monday, when final entries are due and posts drawn, horses can only be entered in one race.

Pletcher will double up with Mind Control, winner of the Parx Dirt Mile in his last start. Both are scheduled for their final works later this week at Belmont Park, and are scheduled to fly to California this weekend.

The nine expected to run are Eight Rings (Juan Hernandez the rider), Ginobili (Drayden Van Dyke), Jasper Prince (Yuichi Fukunaga), Life Is Good, Mind Control (John Velazquez), Pingxiang (Yuga Kawada), Restrainedvengence (Edwin Maldonado), Silver State (Ricardo Santana Jr.), and Snapper Sinclair (Joel Rosario).