Picture this: Life Is Good as a top Derby contender
As fast as Life Is Good ran Saturday while winning the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita by eight lengths and stamping himself as the West Coast’s top 3-yearold, imagine if he’d run straight through the stretch rather than acting like the Disney character Goofy.
Life Is Good’s final time of 1:42.18 for the 1 1/16 miles was exceptional. The main track at Santa Anita has been yielding slow times for the most part this season, but trainer Bob Baffert’s colt said phooey to all that and turned in the fastest San Felipe since Dortmund’s 1:41.65 in 2015.
A colt that I think would have won the 2017 Kentucky Derby if he’d remained healthy, Mastery, won the San Felipe in 1:42.28. I was a big fan of that colt after he won the Los Alamitos Futurity in 2016 while running the 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.56.
Life Is Good’s jockey, Mike Smith, knows a thing or two about good horses, and he’s a huge fan of the son of Into Mischief. Immediately after Saturday’s race, he explained why the colt was drifting out in the stretch.
“He gets to looking at things because he’s out there by himself,” Smith said. “That big screen (in the infield), when it’s lit up they really can see it. He was actually looking at it walking to the gate, he kept seeing the horses, and I thought, ‘This sonofagun is gonna do it again.’ And he did, that’s what he’s looking at.
“In the mornings, he never does it ... he goes right by the screen like it’s nothing, but it’s not on. We might wanna get ‘em to turn it on a couple of mornings maybe. I’m telling you, he really looks at it.”
Can he go a mile and a quarter and give Baffert his record seventh Kentucky Derby victory on May 1?
“The mile and a sixteenth is a good tell all, and if they’ll get that they’ll certainly get the mile and an eighth (Santa Anita Derby distance on April 3),” Smith said. “Once you can get a 3-year-old to get the mile and an eighth, I leave it up to Bob. Bob’s the man. He can get them that other eighth of a mile that they need. He always does.”
Here’s our latest Kentucky Derby Super Six, with a new leader of the pack:
Some are concerned about this colt drifting out through the lane in the San Felipe, but there’s a logical explanation and it didn’t seem to bother Baffert.
A lot of folks were concerned about Authentic barely holding on to win last year’s Haskell, but not Baffert. He knew the colt could go a mile and a quarter, and he did, with relative ease while winning both the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic en route to Horse of the Year.
If Baffert’s not concerned, who am I to worry?
Next race: Santa Anita Derby on April 3.
The 2020 2-year-old male champ made his first start of 2021 a winning one, taking the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 27 by 4 ¼ lengths as the 4-5 favorite with Luis Saez aboard.
“You never know when they go from (ages) 2 to 3,” winning trainer Brad Cox told the Louisville Courier Journal. “Just because they’re training well doesn’t mean they’ll move forward. But I thought he moved forward today.”
The Tapit colt is 4-0 and certainly one of the main ones to watch between now and May 1.
Next race: Blue Grass Stakes on April 3.
3. GREATEST HONOUR » Another son of Tapit, the Shug McGaughey-trained colt rallied from eighth to win the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 27 and improve his record to 3-1-2 in six career starts.
“He’s going to be a lot better when he goes a lot longer,” jockey Jose Ortiz told the Courier Journal after Greatest Honour ran the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.02.
Next race: Florida Derby on March 27.
This Hard Spun colt relished the added distance, romping by 10 ¼ lengths in the Smarty Jones Stakes on his first try around two turns Jan. 22.
He’s part of the Cox brigade that also includes Mandaloun.
Next race: Rebel Stakes on Saturday.
Jockey Florent Geroux’s main Derby hopeful after he won the Risen Star Stakes
by 1 ¼ lengths with a nice 98 Beyer Speed Figure on Feb. 13.
Not big on horses coming from Louisiana to try to win the Derby, but this guy’s trainer obviously knows what he’s doing.
Next race: Louisiana Derby on March 20.
Baffert has given the son of Street Sense two sprint races and 4 1⁄2 lengths in gate-to-wire fashion for trainer Kenny McPeek. Robby Albarado is in town to ride the Daredevil filly. She ran at nine different tracks in 2020 with six different jockeys in 10 starts.
• Life Is Good, an impressive 8-length winner of Saturday’s Grade II San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, closed as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager on Sunday. Essential Quality, who remained unbeaten with a 4 1⁄4-length victory in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 27, closed as the 5-1 second choice and Greatest Honour checked in at 6-1. The “all others” option closed at 7-1 and was followed by Caddo River (16-1), Mandaloun (171) and Concert Tour (17-1).
• Caddo River and Concert Tour top an eight-horse field for Saturday’s $1 million Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1⁄16mile race is a major prep for the Grade I Arkansas Derby on April 10. Caddo River, the 9-5 morning-line favorite, drew the rail and will be ridden by Florent Geroux. The Bob Baffert-trained Concert Tour, unbeaten in two starts, is the 2-1 second choice and will be ridden by Joel Rosario. Baffert also is running Hozier, a 12-1 longshot, and he’ll have Martin Garcia in the saddle.
— Art Wilson
now is set to go two turns in Saturday’s Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
He gives owners Gary and Mary West a legit shot to visit the Churchill Downs winner’s circle on Derby day.
Next race: Rebel Stakes on Saturday.