CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm’s brilliant 4-year-old colt Life Is Good defeated an all-star field in Saturday’s $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1), finishing 3 ¼-lengths in front of Knicks Go under a hand rider from Irad Ortiz, Jr.
Life Is Good was in front the entire 1 1/8-mile trip, as the expected early duel with Knicks Go never materialized. Life Is Good was too quick out of the gate for his main rival. He got the first half-mile in a solid :46.35 and six furlongs in 1:10.15. Ortiz asked his mount only briefly at the top of the stretch, and he cleared off easily to finish up in 1:48.91 on a fast main track.
His Beyer Speed Figure of 110 is a career-best, one point better than his performance in winning the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in November.
“We were committed to letting him run his race,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who named the G1 Dubai World Cup in March as Life is Good’s likely next target. “You know Knicks Go is a fast horse. We didn’t know for sure how it was going to play out. There was the potential for a speed duel there. He broke and I didn’t think his first step was great, but he recovered pretty quickly and got to the turn in good shape. Knicks Go maybe didn’t bounce away as quick as he does sometimes, so we kind of had the advantage at that point.”
Life Is Good has won six of seven starts, five in graded stakes, and has earned $2,814,200 to date. He was bred by the Gary and Mary West Stable, Inc. and sold to his owners for $525,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
