Life Is Good headed to Breeders’ Cup after Woodward S. (G1) victory

Life Is Good splashes to victory in the 2022 Woodward S. (G1) – NYRA photo

Into Mischief’s Life Is Good is headed to the Breeders’ Cup Classic after his victory in the $500,000 Woodward S. (G1) Oct. 1 at Aqueduct.

Life Is Good got a stiff challenge from Law Professor, but ultimately prevailed by 1 ½-lengths in the nine-furlong race that was conducted over a very sloppy racetrack.

Life Is Good had the lead the entire trip, though Law Professor got within a head near the top of the stretch. After a brief tussle, Life Is Good reasserted himself to secure the win.

Life Is Good has now won four of five starts, three of them in Grade 1s, in 2022. His overall mark stands at 9-1-0 from 11 outings, with earnings of $4,361,700 for CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC.

After winning the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) last year, Life Is Good is likely to try the Classic (G1) this year.

“This was one of those (races), where there was only one satisfactory outcome and that’s to win,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who noted that Life Is Good was shipping to Keeneland on Monday. “We wanted to make sure we did that, while also keeping in mind that we have a bigger goal in five weeks, so we tried to balance that out the best we could.”

Life Is Good’s victory pushed Into Mischief’s 2022 progeny earnings to just shy of $21 million to date, which is on pace to break his record-setting number of $24.4 million last year. His 12 graded winners thus far this year is one shy of his total for all of 2021.