War of Will noses out Parlor in Maker's Mark Mile to become dual-surface Grade 1 winner

War of Will has long had a flair for the dramatic. On Friday, the 4-year-old colt became a Grade 1 winner on dual surfaces when getting up in the final jumps to nail a tough-luck Parlor in the Grade 1, $300,000 Maker’s Mark Mile on the Keeneland turf.

Getting a terrific stalking trip under Tyler Gaffalione, War of Will finally wore down Parlor in the last couple of jumps to prevail by a nose. It was his first victory since he captured the Preakness in May 2019.

Raging Bull, the 6-5 favorite in a field of 10 older horses, was late on the scene to be third in a hectic finish, just a neck behind Parlor and another half-length before his Chad Brown stablemate Without Parole, the 2-1 second choice. Less than two lengths separated the top seven finishers.

War of Will, trained by Mark Casse for Gary Barber, became a major contender for the 2019 Kentucky Derby with romping scores in the Lecomte and Risen Star, then was a no-show when ninth when subsequently diagnosed with a minor physical problem in the Louisiana Derby. He then was a major player in the traffic incident that led to the disqualification of Maximum Security from first in the Kentucky Derby.

With all that as an eventful backdrop, the colt then rallied to victory in the Preakness, giving Gaffalione and Casse their first Triple Crown wins.

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“He’s just such a tremendous horse and we all love him,” said David Carroll, the Casse assistant who was on hand on a hot afternoon to saddle the colt. “His last breeze really set him up for this, I think.”

War of Will, a Kentucky-bred by War Front, returned $13.80 as third choice after finishing the two-turn mile in 1:34.55 over a firm turf course.

High Crime, a 27-1 shot, set the pace in the 32nd Maker’s Mark, with Parlor a clear second and War of Will a clear third. Down the stretch, Parlor lengthened stride and appeared on his way to a breakthrough upset at 24-1, but War of Will dug in for his fifth triumph from 16 career starts.

War of Will had been defeated in his five starts since the Preakness, including his last two when wearing blinkers, but his connections believed his most recent start, a fifth-place finish in the May 25 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita, provided a solid foundation for his Maker’s win.

“Getting the last race out of the way and taking the blinkers off helped,” said Gaffalione. “He really finished up nicely.”

Now that he has won Grade 1 races on dirt and turf, Gaffalione was asked which surface might suit the colt better.

“He can go either way,” said Gaffalione. “He’s just a quality horse.”

Parlor, ridden by Florent Geroux for Mike Maker, has come tantalizingly close on several occasions in big turf races in his 29-race career, including narrow defeats in his two prior starts at the Churchill Downs spring meet.

The defeats of the Brown favorites denied the trainer his 100th Grade 1 victory, at least for the moment.

The $2 exacta (10-3) paid $247.20, the $1 trifecta (10-3-4) returned $412.70, and the 10-cent superfecta (10-3-4-8) was worth $139.49.

The five-day July meet continues Saturday with six graded stakes topped by the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes. Sunday is closing day at the Lexington, Ky., track.