War of Will, Got Stormy staying sharp just in case

Though trainer Mark Casse said he has about 80 percent of his horses with him at his training center in Ocala, Fla., among the ones who are elsewhere are Grade 1 winners War of Will and Got Stormy.

Both horses worked Sunday over the turf course at the Palm Meadows training center. War of Will, last year’s Preakness winner, went a half-mile in 50.00 seconds outside of orange traffic cones referred to as dogs. That was his second breeze on turf. It came 11 days after he went five furlongs in 57.75 inside the dogs. At 2, War of Will went winless in four starts on turf, though he did run second in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine.

“Our hopes are to try and win a Grade 1 with him on the grass,” Casse said. “He’s training extremely well. We’re waiting for a place to go.”

War of Will has not raced since finishing ninth in last November’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Got Stormy, beaten a neck by River Boyne when facing males in the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on March 7, worked a half-mile in 47.65 seconds Sunday inside the dogs on the Palm Meadows turf.

“She’s training with nothing in sight,” Casse said. “They’re training every day. We slowed down their work cycles. We’re trying to do enough where if they say we’re going to run in a couple of weeks we’re ready.”

Meanwhile, Casse’s Belmont Stakes winner Sir Winston is at Belmont Park with assistant trainer Jamie Begg after arriving back from Dubai where he was scheduled to run in the $12 million Dubai World Cup on March 28 before that card got postponed.

“It’s not like we’re going anywhere right now,” Casse said. “I’d just as soon him be with Jamie. He’s kind of his horse. He’s had him and done well with him.”