Trainer Todd Pletcher played a huge role in helping Life Is Good become one of the best runners in his crop.
Under Pletcher's care, the son of Into Mischief won the 2022 trio of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), Whitney Stakes (G1), and Woodward Stakes (G1).
Now Pletcher can give Life Is Good's stallion career a big boost.
The Hall of Fame trainer will send out Repole Stable's Life Changing in the $300,000 Spinaway Stakes (G1) for 2-year-old fillies Sept. 5 at Saratoga Race Course in a bid to give the WinStar stallion his first graded stakes winner.
"He's off to a tremendous start as a stallion," Pletcher said about the $4.5 million earner, "and it looks like he could be the next up-and-coming stallion. It's usually a good sign when they get off to a fast start like him."
Life Is Good is currently second among freshman stallions in earnings and if Life Changing takes the Spinaway, it would make her dad the initial first-year sire to be represented with a grade 1 winner.
It won't be easy, but Life Changing surely looked the part of a promising juvenile when she romped by 7 lengths at 6 furlongs in her Aug. 1 debut at the Spa.
"She trained forwardly for her debut and showed us good gate speed. She breezed from the gate as good as you'll see. She showed us she has a few gears and acted like a filly who could put forth a good effort in her debut," Pletcher said. "She handled everything well in the race and she was well-behaved in the paddock. After a debut like that, we targeted the Spinaway."
Bred by JAMM Ltd., the daughter of the Smart Strike mare Smart Shopping was bought for $1,025,000 from the Mill Ridge Sales consignment at Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale in 2025.
"We loved her, we loved her sire. I'm a big fan of Life Is Good. (I'm a) shareholder," owner Mike Repole said. "And we loved the family, (with her being) a half sister to (Preakness Stakes winner) Seize the Grey.
"We didn't think she would go to $1 million. We thought she would go for $700,000, $800,000. She always trained well on the farm, trained well at Belmont when she was with Stu (Hampson), came up here (to Saratoga) and trained well, and she ran to how she trains."
While the field of eight features five last-out maiden winners, there are also two fillies coming off stakes wins in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In event that will award a free spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Charles Biggs' Harper's Corner was dazzling in her two starts for trainer Cathal Lynch. The daughter of freshman sire Speaker's Corner won by 7 3/4 lengths in her debut at Laurel Park and then scored by 5 1/4 lengths in the July 3 opening-day Schuylerville Stakes at the Spa.
Joel Politi's Stress Relief rallied from fourth to score by 3 1/2 lengths in the 6 1/2-furlong Adirondack Stakes (G3) at Saratoga in a manner that bodes well for the Not This Time filly's chances in the longer, 7-furlong Spinaway.
"She won going 6 1/2, and now she's got an extra half-furlong, but I think she's bred to go long, too. I think the seven-eighths should fit her well," trainer Kinnon LaRose said. "She's always been a good-looking Not This Time filly. She's got some nice size to her. She's a bit compact, she's not the biggest filly in the world. But she's put on good weight since she's come up here to Saratoga. We let her graze every single day, and we've really seen her change over the last couple months."
Greenwell Thoroughbreds' Angel of Kirk was a sharp, 4 3/4-length winner at the Spa in her July 11 career debut as the Yaupon filly pressed the pace early and moved to the front by the half-mile.
"I think it's going to be a pretty solid group of 2-year-old fillies, but she's always been good. She's been good from the time we started breezing her. She was one we kind of thought would be a Saratoga filly as soon as we started training her," trainer Brad Cox said. "Most of the time that doesn't work out, but in her case it did. She kept stepping up every weekend working well."
BC Stables, Wattswood Stables, Bob Albritton, Jay Graham, and David Baggett's Summer Starlet also showed promise at a longer distance as the City of Light filly rallied from seventh in a 6 1/2-furlong sprint to notch a 6 1/2-length victory for trainer Steve Asmussen at the Spa in her Aug. 8 debut.
Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, September 5, 2026, Race 11Entries: Spinaway S. (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Bandmaster (KY) Jose Lezcano 122 Oscar S. Barrera III 30/1 2 2Summer Starlet (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 122 Steven M. Asmussen 2/1 3 3Cha Cha Baby (KY) Mychel J. Sanchez 122 Robert E. Reid, Jr. 15/1 4 4Stress Relief (KY) Junior Alvarado 122 Kinnon LaRose 8/1 5 5Girvy Girl (KY) Micah J. Husbands 122 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 8/1 6 6Harper's Corner (KY) Paco Lopez 122 Cathal A. Lynch 5/1 7 7Angel of Kirk (KY) Manuel Franco 122 Brad H. Cox 9/2 8 8Life Changing (KY) Flavien Prat 122 Todd A. Pletcher 5/2
