What is the top matchup this sports weekend ?…That’s an easy one… It’s the battle between Knicks Go and Life Is Good in the Pegasus at Gulfstream Park on January 29.
Virtually even on the morning line (Knicks Go 6-5, Life Is Good 7-5), many view this face off of four-legged gladiators as a toss-up. Let’s take a quick gander at the credentials and then you make the call.
Knicks Go is perhaps the most powerful classic distance runner in the game today. Having scored in eight of his last ten starts since coming under the care of the brilliant training of Brad Cox, this six year old son of Paynter has been nothing short of prolific. A track record for the mile distance at Keeneland (1:33.85), fastest fractional mile ever run at Prairie Meadows (1:35.06), six graded stakes scores, and two Breeders’ Cup wins (2020 Dirt Mile, 2021 Classic) all have come while running out of the Brad Cox barn. Having Joel Rosario in the irons again is a major plus in this the final start of his racing career.
Life Is Good maybe the fastest of the freshly turned four-year-olds. Possessing speed, speed, and more speed, this son of Into Mischief is just a neck away from perfection. Five wins in six starts with his lone defeat coming in the grade 1 Allen Jerkins off a nearly five month layoff exudes his quality. Those five victories were by a combined 29 ½ lengths in a geared down fashion at the finish. He too is a Breeders’ Cup champion with a huge score in the 2021 Dirt Mile to his credit. In that race at Del Mar, he actually turned in faster opening fractions (21.88 quarter mile, 44.94 half mile) than Knicks Go did in his record-setting run. His final time was 1:34.12. Cutting his racing teeth under the care of Bob Baffert, his last three starts have been out of the Todd Pletcher barn. Top jock Irad Ortiz Jr. will be back aboard and that bodes well.
Sooooooo… who YOU got????
This hillbilly is a Knicks Go guy. Drawing the rail can sometimes be not good but in this scenario it favors Knicks Go. The break could very well decide this one as each wants the lead. Coming out of the number one hole and a short run to the first turn at Gulfstream in the mile and an eighth means saving ground will be on his side. Absolutely more seasoned, Knicks Go seems to thrive when pressed early. When coming around the far turn, he just seems to build steam like a runaway locomotive.
Both have powerful strides and your best bet may be an exacta box, but in the end, we like the experience and seasoning of that beautiful gray they call Knicks Go. Regardless of who you like, we all win when there are matchups like this….Back a horse and get paid!!!! 
Jockey Mike Smith guides Life Is Good to the winner’s circle after their victory in the Grade III, $100,000 Sham Stakes, Saturday, January 2, 2021 at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia CA.
© BENOIT PHOTO
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