Life is Sweet looking to rain on Gold Cup parade

Life is Sweet was an easy winner of Santa Margarita (Benoit Photo)

PARADING (Pulpit) will be going for his third straight victory while taking

on 12 rivals in the $700,000

Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) Saturday, but the real star of the show is the Grade

1-winning filly LIFE IS SWEET (Storm Cat). Beaten just 1 3/4 lengths by her

undefeated stablemate and reigning champion Zenyatta (Street Cry [Ire]) in the

Milady H. (G2) last out, the John Shirreffs runner is stepping up her game while

taking on the boys in the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup over the Cushion Track.

Life is Sweet broke her maiden and scored an allowance victory last year

while under the tutelage of Bill Mott on the East Coast. She also recorded a

pair of seconds against stakes company, most notably the Sands Point S. (G2) to

round out her three-year-old season in May of last year. However, the bay lass

really came to life when showing up in Shirreffs' barn in California, opening

2009 with three straight wins against graded rivals.

Life is Sweet closed from the rear of the pack in each of those victories,

taking the El Encino S. (G2), La Canada S. (G2) and Santa Margarita Invitational

S. (G1), all over Santa Anita's Pro-Ride. Those latter two came at nine

furlongs, and she cut back to 1 1/16 miles in the Milady last out, but found her

finishing kick not quite enough to keep pace with Zenyatta in late stretch.

She'll attempt to carry her run farther in this one while only toting 113

pounds, including regular rider Garrett Gomez.

Informed could offer up another surprise against graded rivals (Benoit Photo)

Other contenders in the Gold Cup include the top four from the June 13

Californian S. (G2). INFORMED (Tiznow) held RAIL TRIP (Jump Start) by three

parts of a length in that test, while DAKOTA PHONE (Zavata) was another head

back in third and SONG OF NAVARONE (Sultry Song) a neck farther back in fourth.

That was the third straight time Rail Trip and Dakota Phone had faced off,

following the former beating Dakota Phone in the Santana Mile H. and finishing

second to that one's third in the Mervyn LeRoy H. (G2).

Two races later at Hollywood Park eight distaffers will square off in the

one-mile

Royal Heroine Mile S. (G2), formerly known as the CashCall Mile. TUSCAN

EVENING's (Ire) (Oasis Dream [GB]) only stateside loss from five starts came as

a third in the Las Cienegas H. (G3) to GOTTA HAVE HER (Royal Academy), and the

Jerry Hollendorfer charge avenged that result last out when holding her rival to

second by a half-length in the Redondo Beach S. The two will go at it again in

the Royal Heroine, while also tackling the likes of VISIT (GB) (Oasis Dream

[GB]), LEMON CHIFFON (Lemon Drop Kid) and PATRICIA'S GEM (Mineshaft).