Woodward Stakes Predictions: For Life Is Good This Race Should Be Nothing More than a Prep

Odds taken from TwinSpires Sportsbook.

Woodward Stakes Predictions and Best Bets

Here are my plays ($50 in total)

$50 Exacta – Life Is Good over Keepmeinmind = $50

Top Pick: Life Is Good (1/5)

Life Is Good, a multiple Grade 1 winner and earner of better than $4-million, towers over just four others in Saturday’s Grade 1 Woodward at the Belmont fall meet being held at Aqueduct.

A 4-year-old son of Into Mischief trained by Tood Pletcher, he sports a near flawless record with eight wins from ten career starts. Among his wins were consecutive Grade 1 scores in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and the 2022 Pegasus World Cup.

Most recently Life Is Good was victorious as a heavy favorite in the prestigious Whitney Stakes at Saratoga eight weeks ago over Grade 1 winners Happy Saver and Hot Rod Charlie.

Saturday’s Woodward is also a Grade 1 but lacks the kind of competition that he has faced in his four races so far this year.

If Life Is Good somehow stumbles in the $500,000 race on Saturday, the most likely upsetter would be Keepmeinmind, who is also trained by Pletcher.

A 4-year-old son of Laoban, he was a Grade 2 winner back in his juvenile season. Although he has yet to score a stakes win since, he has kept top competition throughout his career.

After a nice allowance win at Saratoga to begin his season, Keepmeinmind finished fifth behind Olympiad last month in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Thomas Shelby, Law Professor and Informative round out the field for the 9-furlong Woodward.

Woodward Stakes Predictions and Race Analysis

Life Is Good

The class of the field by a long way, this race should be nothing more than a prep for him before the Breeders’ Cup. While the 10-furlongs of the Breeders’ Cup Classic remains a question for the son of Into Mischief, he is now well proven at the 1 1/8-miles he will see in the Woodward.

With controlling speed and superior talent, it’s pretty hard to see him being beaten here. Drawn to the inside with leading rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. look for him to cruise right out the lead and take this field all the way around.

While the result is not likely in question for the Todd Pletcher trainee, we should find more about his chances in the Breeders’ Cup Classic by the way he performs here. Clearly, he is the top pick.

Keepmeinmind

After a winless 2021, in which he raced in one big race after another and was often competitive, it was nice to see this one roll to victory in an allowance race in his 2022 debut. Unfortunately, he could not build upon that last time, finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

That was a significantly deeper field than this, though. Third time off the layoff, he should be at his best as he finds a field that he can handle — other than Life Is Good.

With his talented stablemate going right out for the lead, look for this son of Laoban at the back of the pack early, waiting to make one run. It looks like a very good spot for him to pick up the pieces after the heavy favorite discourages others. He should be along for second.

Law Professor

This son of Constitution is a pretty interesting horse. A stakes winner on both turf and dirt, he has been pretty solid switching back and forth between the two surfaces.

Previously based in Southern California, he proved he can win elsewhere with a solid stakes score at Kentucky Downs on the turf last month. While it’s true that he has failed in big spots before, he has run well enough in several others to make me believe he can compete for second here.

Likely to be sitting third early, he could get the jump on Keepmeinmind and be the biggest threat to hold that one off for second on Saturday.

Thomas Shelby

Now trained by David Jacobson, this speedy 6-year-old turned in a good prep for the Woodward by easily defeating allowance foes at Monmouth Park. It was his eleventh career win in 30 starts. Those two things alone put him in this race with everyone other than the heavy favorite.

Unfortunately, I think his running style puts him at a disadvantage on Saturday. As a true speed horse, he will either have to try to deal with Life Is Good early, or lay off him which is not how he does his best running. Either way, I believe he has his work cut out for him in this one.

Informative

Every once in a while this son of Bodemeister steps up and pulls off an upset. Last year he did it in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile. This year it came in his last race in the Grade 3 Iselin. While those wins at Monmouth Park are nice, Life Is Good at a different level.

Having said that, if he can bring his best on Saturday, like those wins at Monmouth, he is a threat to rally into exotics. Of the late runners, I do like Keepmeinmind better as a horse with more class.  As with the three above him, he’s probably only running for second here.

How to watch the Woodward Stakes