Outside-Drawn Life Is Good Favored in Six-Horse Whitney

A few months ago, it seemed as if the $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1) could be a setting for a blockbuster matchup between Life Is Good  and Flightline .

As it turned out, the undefeated Flightline took a flight west after winning the Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) in dazzling fashion and is pointing to the Sept. 3 TVG Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar.

Nevertheless, the Aug. 6 Whitney at Saratoga Race Course landed WinStar Farm and China Horse Club's highly gifted Life Is Good and will still offer fans one of the best races of the year. NBC and Peacock will broadcast the race as part of programming that begins at 5 p.m. ET that will include the Longines Test Stakes (G1).

Though only six horses were entered at the Aug. 3 post position draw, the Whitney will feature an electrifying showdown with Life Is Good (post 6) taking on a juggernaut in Olympiad  (post 4), who has won his last five starts, as well as three grade 1 winners—Hot Rod Charlie  (post 2), Happy Saver  (post 5), and Americanrevolution  (post 5)—in the 1 1/8-mile test at the Spa.

Also entered is longshot Zoomer  (post 3).

"The Whitney is the premier older horse race in the country other than the Breeders' Cup Classic," said Elliott Walden, CEO, president, and racing manager for WinStar Farm. "We've been pointing for this race, and it's been circled on his schedule for a long time since we started thinking about running him in 2022."

Though the Whitney continued an alarming trend in New York with a small field for a dirt stakes, the battle between Life Is Good and Olympiad promises to be highly entertaining. Both horses possess early speed, particularly Life Is Good, the 6-5 morning-line favorite, igniting the possibility of an electrifying battle or withering fractions that could help a stalker like Hot Rod Charlie.

"It could turn out to be us chasing Life Is Good on Saturday," said Bill Mott, who trains 2-1 shot Olympiad, a son of Speightstown  , for the ownership group of Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable, and LNJ Foxwoods.

Running with Life Is Good in the early stages figures to be a difficult chore for whoever takes up the challenging assignment in the Whitney, a "Win and You're In" stakes that provides the winner with a free spot in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 5 at Keeneland.

Life Is Good, knocked off the Triple Crown trail last year at 3 by ankle chips, moved to trainer Todd Pletcher's barn for a fall campaign that culminated with a breakthrough win in the 2021 Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar.

The son of Into Mischief   bred by Gary and Mary West Stables then vaulted to the top of the division when he recorded a front-running, 3 1/4-length score Jan. 29 in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by 1/ST BET (G1). Stretched out and sent to the Middle East, he weakened late at 1 1/4 miles and finished fourth in the $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) March 26 at Meydan.

After that, a five-length victory in the July 2 John A. Nerud Stakes (G2) at seven furlongs put him back on the winning track, and the Whitney will be a litmus test for his championship aspirations. He is a winner of seven of nine starts with earnings of $3,551,700,

"He's always trained so impressively and won the Pegasus at a mile and an eighth, so I'm confident he'll handle the distance," said Pletcher, a three-time Whitney winner who also trains Happy Saver and Americanrevolution. "But Olympiad is on a hot streak and is a very good horse. It should be a great race."

Olympiad's five-race win streak features grade 2 victories in his last three starts, capped by a 2 1/4-length victory over Americanrevolution in the July 2 Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) in fast time at Churchill Downs. Prior to that, he beat Happy Saver in the Alysheba Stakes Presented by Sentient Jet (G2).

"We're excited about running in the Whitney. It's a tough field, we realize it, but it's an important race, and that's what horse racing is all about," Mott said.

While the Whitney will not mark his first appearance in a grade 1 stakes, that initial try for the colt bred by Emory A. Hamilton at the top level was a tumultuous fourth-place finish behind Americanrevolution in the Dec. 4 Cigar Mile Handicap Presented by NYRA Bets (G1). Another rival clipped his heels early, and then Olympiad was pushed six-wide.

"I don't know what you can call the Cigar," Mott said. "We could have picked an easier grade 1 than the Whitney and traveled around, but the top two horses in the country are Flightline and Life Is Good. They are the most talked about horses, and if we want people talking about our horse we have to beat them."

While the Whitney will offer a free spot in the Classic to the winner, Olympiad already punched his free ticket to the Breeders' Cup by taking the Stephen Foster. It is the grade 1 prize of the Whitney that is coveted.

Hot Rod Charlie may own just four wins in 16 career starts, but 12 in-the-money finishes and career earnings of $5.15 million reflect how consistent he has been in the sport's top races for trainer Doug O'Neill and the ownership group of Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss.

Officially second in both the 2021 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) after the disqualification of Medina Spirit earlier this year and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), the son of Oxbow   was second in the Dubai World Cup and then was second by a head in the June 18 Salvator Mile (G3) at Monmouth Park after returning home to the U.S. and settling in at Keeneland.

"I thought the (Salvator) was a little short for his liking, but from where I stand, I couldn't be happier with where we are with him," O'Neill said. "We chose the Whitney over the Pacific Classic because we didn't want to go back-and-forth. We have a stable at Keeneland, and the Breeders' Cup is at Keeneland. 'Charlie' loves Keeneland, like most horses do, and it was an easier journey going to Saratoga than Del Mar. Timing-wise and geography-wise it made sense."

Hot Rod Charlie is usually in the top three during the backstretch run, and in a perfect world, O'Neill can envision a scenario with his colt sitting back in third as Life Is Good and Olympiad battle it out ahead of him.

Happy Saver tested Flightline in the Met Mile and finished six lengths behind in second. Never worse than third in 10 career starts, he was second in his last four starts, three of them in grade 1 tests. The one grade 2 stakes in that stretch was the Alysheba, when he was 2 1/2 lengths behind the streaking Olympiad.

The son of Super Saver  's lone graded stakes win came in the 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at 1 1/4 miles as a 3-year-old.

The New York-bred Americanrevolution was entered by Pletcher but looms as insurance just in case something goes awry with Life Is Good in the next few days or if a patch of bad weather creates a quagmire on race day.

Entries: Whitney S. (G1)

Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, August 06, 2022, Race 10

• Grade I
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $1,000,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 5:43 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Americanrevolution (NY)	Luis Saez	124	Todd A. Pletcher	5/1
2	2Hot Rod Charlie (KY)	Flavien Prat	124	Doug F. O'Neill	9/2
3	3Zoomer (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Mark E. Casse	30/1
4	4Olympiad (KY)	Junior Alvarado	122	William I. Mott	2/1
5	5Happy Saver (KY)	John R. Velazquez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	8/1
6	6Life Is Good (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	124	Todd A. Pletcher	6/5