winner Sir Winston (Awesome Again) was fifth. Endorsed ( Medaglia d'Oro) was fourth and GI Belmont S. Drifting out well wide turning into the homestretch as his rivals pursued in vain, the 4-year-old showed what all the pre-race hype was about, crossing the a geared-down 3 1/4-lengths ahead of Knicks Go, who finished a length ahead of Stiletto Boy (Shackleford). Still cruising up front following a :46.35 half mile, the powerful bay was given a couple of jiggles of encouragement approaching the quarter pole. And he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer, quickly spurting off to an uncontested quarter in :23.12 as Knicks Go was content to survey the affair from a second, several lengths behind. Sent off the slight favorite over Knicks Go, Life Is Good rushed out to take the lead despite an awkward step out of stall 4. Rafael Lopez told me to stay positive and told me I could do it.” Also, a couple doctors told me I could make it. Keeping to the theme, Ortiz added, “Thank God, first of all. This horse here has just been really special…This horse is really one of the best horses we've ever had. And as WinStar Farm's Kenny Troutt, who campaigns Life Is Good with China Horse Club, accurately pointed out during the post-race press conference, there must have been a higher force at play, allowing the stars to align on the big day. However, on the big day, 'The Colonel' put it all together to defend his title, while Life Is Good put on a performance that left spectators as wowed as his Breeders' Cup win last fall. 7 in the rearview mirror, forcing him to the sidelines for three weeks and putting him woefully close to missing the big day altogether. Throw into the mix that Ortiz could still see a knee fracture sustained Jan. The GI Pegasus World Cup Turf contender Colonel Liam ( Liam's Map) was coming off a massive layoff, 239 days to be exact, and Life Is Good(Into Mischief), while freakishly fast and seemingly yet to reach his full potential, had to face the likes of likely Horse of the Year Knicks Go ( Paynter) in the day's feature, the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. However, considering the obstacles facing them, one had to concede that it might be a bit too tall of an order. could walk away the winners of both Pegasus features of the afternoon. HALLANDALE, FL–Heading into Saturday's Pegasus World Cup card at Gulfstream, it wasn't much of a stretch to think that trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.
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