War of Will gains 50 Derby points with Risen Star victory

NEW ORLEANS – War of Will was the best horse on paper, the best-looking horse in the paddock, and comfortably the best horse in the actual running of Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds.

War of Will, saddled with post 13 and a relatively short run into the first of the Risen Star’s two turns, broke from the gate on cue for jockey Tyler Gaffalione, briefly raced behind Dunph into the first turn, was passed by the wide-drawn Gun It, who seized command through an opening quarter-mile in 23.71 seconds and a half in a quick 47.36.

But Gun It was no match. War of Will swallowed him up early, at the three-furlong pole midway around the far turn, and went clear. Gaffalione cropped his mount past the three-sixteenths pole, mainly to keep him focused, and though Country House briefly loomed a danger, War of Will comfortably held him at bay.

The winning margin was 2 1/4 lengths, the winning time was 1:44.59 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track - solid, but unspectacular. War of Will, heavily bet from the start, paid a mere $4 to win in a 14-horse field.

“He handled easily the whole way,” Gaffalione said. “He just keeps getting better.”

War of Will, purchased in France as a 2-year-old by trainer Mark Casse’s brother, Justin, raced on grass his first four starts last year – and was good at it.

As a once-started maiden, he was second by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine to the gifted Fog of War. But following a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Casse and owner Gary Barber switched War of Will to dirt, which has proved a fruitful move.

War of Will won a maiden race in the slop last November in his dirt debut, then captured the Lecomte Stakes here on Jan. 19 by four lengths. That earned him 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, and with 50 more from Saturday’s score, War of Will currently leads the points standings with 60 and is comfortably in the Derby field. Country House got 20 points from his stakes debut, Roiland 10, and Hog Creek Hustle five.

“The Louisiana Derby, as long as he’s healthy and happy, that’s where we’ll go next,” Casse said.

Casse strongly believes War of Will is a serious Triple Crown-series prospect and he may well be right, but War of Will now has gotten virtually the same trip – outside, racing in the clear – in his three dirt starts, and it’s hard to know how he’ll respond to more demanding circumstances. For the second race in a row he came somewhat headstrong leaving the clubhouse turn for the backstretch, but that, his connections believe, is mainly a function of having to be tapped for speed from the gate to secure position from an outside draw.

“Some people are saying he’s not settling,” Casse said. “He’s not settling because he’s sent. Horses are harder to slow down than a car. I’ve said this all along, we train him in the morning and make him relax; if they throw a big [fraction] at him, he’ll sit.”

Casse also thinks War of Will might lose some focus when he makes the lead early. All of which means there are areas of potential improvement. The colt, by War Front out of Visions of Clarity, by Sadlers Wells, lacks nothing in the physicality department. He’s tall, long-legged, and filled out like a horse older than one whose true third birthday doesn’t come until April. Stamina will be no concern, and as he did in the Lecomte, War of Will galloped out well past the wire still full of life.

Also worth noting: The second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-place finishers - Country House, Roiland, Hog Creek Hustle, and Limonite -- were 11th, 14th, 13th, and 12th after a half-mile, suggesting War of Will ran against the general race flow.

Country House, shipping from Gulfstream after a third-start maiden win in which he overcame a terrible break, did a lot of good things in the Risen Star before failing to finish off his race the right way. Still 11th past the three-furlong pole, Country House switched out under Luis Saez and got a head of steam into the top of the stretch, but as he passed Mr. Money (who loomed and faded like a colt a race from his best), with only War of Will still to catch, he lugged in badly.

“When he came to the stretch, I thought he was going to win, but then he started lugging in, lugging in, lugging in,” said Saez, who never could get his mount fully back in the game again.

“He’s never done that before,” trainer Bill Mott said. "Maybe it was the lights. Who knows?”

While the Saturday card began at 12:30, the Risen Star didn’t go off until 6:17, after dark.

Country House finished 1 1/2 lengths clear of Roiland, who ran a remarkable race to be third. James Graham urged his mount at the start, but to no avail, Roiland, as has become his habit, dropped to the tail of the field. At the half-mile pole, Roiland raced five lengths behind Hog Creek Hustle, who was second-last, and trailed War of Will by nearly 20 lengths. Roiland gained contact with the field around the far turn and continued very strongly through the stretch.

“He ran to the way he’s been training,” trainer Tom Amoss said.

Hog Creek Hustle, second in the Lecomte, ran a similar race and was fourth Saturday. Limonite, starting for the first time since the Nov. 24 Kentucky Jockey Club, was a solid fifth despite getting into several spots of traffic from the three-furlong marker to deep stretch. He should move forward in his next start.

After Limonite came Manny Wah, Mr. Money, Owendale, Chase the Ghost, Henley’s Joy, Dunph, Gun It, Plus Que Parfait, and Frolic More. As the 6-1 second choice, Plus Que Parfait was the race’s big disappointment.

War of Will became just the third horse this millennium to pull the Lecomte-Risen Star double. Right now, he’s not disappointing anyone.