Living The Life Seeks Third PID Masters

HnR Nothhaft's Living The Life, a four-time stakes winner and an earner of nearly $1 million, certainly has nothing to be ashamed of regarding her 34-race career—but it's hard not to wonder what could have been if she arrived in North America a handful of years earlier.

Granted, the Irish-bred 6-year-old Footstepsinthesand mare is grade I-placed on dirt, but she has never won on the surface or on grass since moving to Gary Mandella's Southern California barn in 2014. She is, however, undefeated on synthetic surfaces.

The problem is, with the synthetic era well over in Southern California, all of her victories have been out of town. Living The Life has won all five of her North American synthetic starts, including back-to-back scores in the $400,000 Presque Isle Downs Masters (gr. II), a race she'll try to win for an unprecedented third straight time Sept. 19 at the Erie, Pa., track.

In the race's short history, two other standout females have won back-to-back. Informed Decision, the champion female sprinter of 2009, won the Presque Isle Downs feature that year and in 2010, and Groupie Doll, the two-time sprint champion, won the race in 2012 and 2013.

"So few horses have been able to do anything like that in a race of significance," Mandella said of the prospects of winning the Masters for a third straight year. "It's not the Kentucky Derby or the Breeders' Cup, but it's a nice race with a nice purse and it's an accomplishment for any horse to win a race like this three years in a row. She deserves every accolade if she can do it again."

BOSSERT: Living The Life Repeats in PID Masters

On her path to Presque Isle this year, Living The Life ran admirably in three straight dirt stakes—a fourth in the Santa Monica (gr. II), and thirds in the Santa Maria (gr. II) and Santa Margarita (gr. I)—then came in 11th in the Royal Heroine (gr. IIT) on turf before shipping to Golden Gate Fields for her true calling on Northern California's synthetic surface.

Racing against males for the first time in the All American Stakes (gr. III) May 30, she dug in to edge Southern Freedom by a neck for her first victory around two turns. Her other victories for Mandella—she also had four synthetic wins and a turf score in England before—were a 2014 Del Mar allowance in her U.S. debut, when the main track was still synthetic, and the Camilla Urso Stakes back at Golden Gate in 2015.

LAMARRA: Living The Life Beats Males in All American

"She's beaten the boys, she's won long, she's done all that," said Mandella, who has considered sending her to Woodbine for stakes, but ultimately opted not to for a variety of reasons. "She's never been beaten in America on synthetic, but give her credit. She's grade I-placed on dirt, but if she had come to America a few years prior she could have really, really excelled. Instead of running for $100,000 in stakes, she could be running in big races all year at places like Keeneland and Santa Anita."

Mandella admits he can't quite put his finger on why his mare runs best on synthetic, but noted that what exactly makes a good synthetic horse was a point of contention during the previous era.

"We had synthetic as a year-round surface and some of trainers' frustrations with it was that you couldn't figure out, from a conformation standpoint, what made a good synthetic horse." Mandella said. "Some just run well. Some just bounce over the surface."

Living The Life got her bounce on with a local work Sept. 12 at Presque Isle, but may be up against the best field she's faced for the 6 1/2-furlong sprint.

Multiple graded stakes winners Sarah Sis, Birdatthewire, and Cactus Kris loom as threats. Sarah Sis last visited the winner's circle in the Chicago Handicap (gr. III) on the Arlington International Racecourse synthetic in June. Cactus Kris took the May 8 Hendrie Stakes (Can-III) at Woodbine, but has finished fourth behind Living The Life in the last two Masters. Birdatthewire, the lone grade I winner in the field, will make her first start on synthetic in the Masters.

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The most likely challenger according to the morning line, however, is multiple graded stakes-placed Elusive Collection, a 4-year-old Elusive Quality   filly who won the Etobicoke Stakes at Woodbine in September of 2015. She is winless in four starts since, but ran a tight second to Midnight Miley—and 2 3/4 lengths clear of Cactus Kris—last time out in the Seaway Stakes (gr. III) at Woodbine.