Athletes are often placed in categories based on potential. Then they compete and we find out what they are made of. After the Whitney on August 6, 2022, everyone should know about a really “special” competitor.
Since the day he first toed the track, Life Is Good has been deemed as one of “those” horses. Lightning fast out of the gate, he looked like the next great Kentucky Derby champ as he won his first three career starts by a combined 18 lengths. But then the injury bug bit him and he was sidelined. Transferring to the barn of Todd Pletcher, this fleet-footed son of Into Mischief finished his three-year-old season with a 5 ½ length win in the grade 2 Kelso and a jaw-dropping 5 ¾ length score in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
Entering his four-year-old season with five wins and a second-place finish (beaten a neck by Jackie’s Warrior), Life Is Good was great in the Pegasus World Cup. Putting on a show that will not soon be forgotten, his break from the gate was monstrous and he never saw another horse in a gate-to-wire masterpiece.
His next start in the Dubai World Cup on March 26 raised a few questions as he faded to finish fourth. Was this Life as good as we thought? A geared-down five-length win in the John Nerud Stakes on July 2 provided some clarification, but the Whitney at Saratoga would really tell his tale.
As ready as any runner, Life Is Good broke with his usual magnificence in a super-talented five-horse field and again never saw another horse. As the best horse in the race, he absolutely ran like he was in cruising to a two-length win.
The Whitney win was not only a grade 1 notch in a million-dollar race, it was an affirmation of talent. Watching that performance told us all Life Is Good is REALLY good.
