War of Will gave War Front, a popular international stallion and one of Kentucky’s biggest commercial standouts, a milestone first American classic winner in 2019. He later showcased his sire’s versatility by becoming a dual-surface Grade 1 winner, and will now get a chance to build his own legacy while continuing to bolster War Front’s reputation. This fall, War of Will took up residence alongside his sire at historic Claiborne Farm, after the Hancock family’s Paris, Ky., operation purchased an interest in the colt earlier in the year. “War of Will has an outstanding pedigree, and combined with his race record, he should be very appealing to breeders,” Claiborne’s Walker Hancock said. “War Front is one of the most successful sires of his generation, and there is no doubt he is becoming a sire of sires. We believe War of Will has the capability to follow his father’s success.” War Front will have some two dozen sons at stud worldwide in 2021 as he looks to build his reputation as a sire of sires. His first son to stud, in 2013, was The Factor, who continues to be a consistent sire. His sons in Kentucky also include Summer Front, with several stakes performers from his first two crops; current solid freshman sires Air Force Blue and Hit It a Bomb; and Omaha Beach, whose first foals arrive next year. Omaha Beach, who won the 2019 Arkansas Derby, and War of Will were milestone horses for their sire, as they were the first two sons of War Front to win Grade 1 races around two turns on dirt. War of Will won the 2019 Preakness Stakes following an adventurous trip in the Kentucky Derby in which he was promoted to seventh upon the disqualification of Maximum Security. He displayed his versatility in scoring the second Grade 1 win of his career the following year, as he won the Maker’s Mark Mile on the Keeneland turf during the track’s one-off July meeting. That win made him the third horse to win both an American classic and a Grade 1 race on the turf, joining Secretariat and California Chrome. War of Will concluded his career with 5 wins from 18 starts and earnings of more than $1.8 million. He also took the Grade 2 Risen Star and Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes early in his 3-year-old season, finished second in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes on the Woodbine turf while still a maiden, and was third in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby on dirt and the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile on turf. Bred in Kentucky by Flaxman Holdings, War of Will is out of the stakes-winning Sadler’s Wells mare Visions of Clarity, also the dam of Group 1 winner Pathfork and multiple stakes winner Tacticus. Visions of Clarity, a half-sister to Irish classic winner and Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Spinning World, is from one of the most prolific families in history, tracing to the great broodmare Best in Show through that one’s daughter Minnie Hauk and Group 1-winning granddaughter Aviance. The family is responsible for Kentucky Oaks winner Blush With Pride and her outstanding daughter Better Than Honour, dam of champion Rags to Riches and fellow Belmont Stakes winner Jazil. It also is the extended family, in North America and Europe, of champions Aldebaran, Close Hatches, El Gran Senor, Malinowski, Peeping Fawn, Try My Best, and Xaar, and Grade 1/Group 1 winners Bahamian Pirate, Chief Contender, Chimes of Freedom, Denon, Domedriver, Good Journey, Saddex, Senure, Siskin, Thewayyouare, and Yagli. In Japan, another distant branch of this family is responsible for Group 1 winner Fusaichi Pandora, dam of Horse of the Year Almond Eye. In Australia, Best in Show’s descendants include Group 1 winner and leading sire Redoute’s Choice, as well as Group 1 winners Al Maher, He’s No Pie Eater, Hurricane Sky, Platinum Scissors, and Umatilla. War Front line extends to New York War Front will have another Grade 1-winning son entering stud this year, as Fog of War starts out at Questroyal/Hidden Lake Farm near Stillwater, N.Y. He will be the second son of the popular international sire in the Empire State, joining War Dancer at Irish Hill and Dutchess Views Stallions, also in Stillwater. Fog of War raced in the colors of Peter Brant, who came back into racing in 2017, some 20 years after disbanding a massively successful stable. As the owner now branches into the lucrative New York stallion market, Fog of War will stand as the property of Brant’s White Birch Farm and Chris Larsen’s Three C Stables. “I’m excited to partner with Peter Brant to bring Fog of War to stud in New York,” Larsen said. “This will give breeders access to the world’s most successful sire lines. Peter and I love as well taking advantage of the lucrative New York breeder awards and restricted racing programs. We think Fog of War is destined to be New York state’s great sire.” Fog of War won both his starts as a juvenile, including the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine, defeating War of Will by three-quarters of a length. He returned to make five more starts in 2019 and 2020, and was stakes-placed. Fog of War, who is out of the Group 3-winning Galileo mare Say, boasts an outstanding female family. Say is out of Grade 1 winner Riskaverse, whose relatives include Horse of the Year Havre de Grace, champion Plugged Nickle, Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, Grade 1 winners Christiecat and Gay Mecene, and leading sire Raja Baba. Farther back, another branch of the family has produced even more outstanding sires, a positive sign for a young stallion prospect. This is the extended family of champion and leading sire A.P. Indy, fellow classic winner and classic sire Summer Squall, champion and successful sire Lemon Drop Kid, and successful sires Deerhound, Foxhound, and Wolfhound. Ocala Stud lands G1 winners Ocala Stud, which already stands some of Florida’s most consistent sires with the likes of Adios Charlie and Awesome of Course, continues to bolster its roster by adding Grade 1 winners. Its newcomers this year include Win Win Win and Seeking the Soul, both of whom blossomed as older horses. Florida-bred Win Win Win comes from another of the state’s most prominent programs, as he raced as a homebred for Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Stud. The son of Hat Trick won the Pasco Stakes, finished third in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby, and was second in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes early in his 3-year-old season. Later that summer, he won the Manila Stakes on turf. Win Win Win went on to score his signature victory in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga this season as a 4-year-old, defeating a field that included Grade 1 winners Complexity, Whitmore, Mind Control, and Firenze Fire. Seeking the Soul, by Perfect Soul, earned more than $3.4 million over more than four seasons of racing as a homebred for Charles Fipke. He earned his biggest victory in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap in 2017 at Churchill Downs, besting Grade 1 winners Hoppertunity and Diversify. Seeking the Soul enjoyed another solid season at Churchill Downs in 2018, winning the Grade 3 Ack Ack, finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, and finishing third in that year’s edition of the Clark. He went on to win Churchill’s Grade 2 Stephen Foster in 2019. Seeking the Soul’s other five stakes placings included a runner-up effort in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup.