SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2019 WAR OF WILL LOOKS FOR TAKING STOCK: WAR FRONT REEMERGES AS A DIRT SIRE By Sid Fernando NOLA SWEEP IN LA DERBY Last summer at Saratoga, I sat down one afternoon in the pavilion at Fasig-Tipton with Claiborne's Walker Hancock and Bernie Sams to discuss the belated emergence of Blame (Arch), who'd stood the 2018 breeding season for only $12,500 after starting out for $35,000 in 2011. They'd stayed the course with him and were finally seeing the results they'd expected all along, and Bernie hinted then that his stud fee would rise to $30,000 this year, as it did. After Blame, the conversation wandered to War Front (Danzig), Claiborne's flagship sire, and I mentioned in passing that he was a Apremier turf horse@ and Aan exceptional sire of turf milers,@ fully expecting they'd nod in unison and agree with me. I was surprised by their immediate and forceful responses. AHe's not a turf horse. He's both,@ Sams barked, with a lot of expression. AThe first couple of crops were dirt and turf. Nobody thought of breeding all turf to him back then.@ War of Will | Sarah Andrew AThe Factor was dirt from his first crop, and so was Soldat,@ by Joe Bianca Hancock said. APlus, he had [Claiborne and Adele Dilschneider's Gary Barber=s War of Will (War Front) will attempt to homebred] Departing on dirt from his third crop.@ complete a feat only accomplished by two horses in the past The Factor, now at stud at Lane's End, was a fast sprinter who 25 years--sweeping Fair Grounds=s trio of GI Kentucky Derby won the Gl Malibu S. at Santa Anita; Soldat won the Gll Fountain preps--when he goes postward as the favorite in Saturday=s of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park; and Departing won the Gll Super $1-million GII Louisiana Derby at the New Orleans oval. Already Derby at Louisiana Downs. a convincing winner of the track=s GIII Lecomte S. and GII Risen Cont. p4 Star S., the imposing bay will try to follow in the footsteps of International Star (Fusaichi Pegasus) in 2015 and Friesan Fire (A.P. Indy) in 2009 in his final dress rehearsal for the first IN TDN EUROPE TODAY Saturday in May. AIDAN O’BRIEN STABLE TOUR Third on debut over the Woodbine turf last August, War of Kevin Blake gets the rundown on all of Ballydoyle’s top Will=s lack of a diploma didn=t dissuade trainer Mark Casse from runners as the Flat season begins to rev up in Europe. trying him in top company after that, and the colt fared well. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. Cont. p3 PUBLISHER & CEO Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Saturday, March 23, 2019 Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN News and Features Editor Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Amie Morosco Advertising Assistant/Dir. Of Distribution Rachel McCaffrey On the eve of the GII Louisiana Derby, Ian Bennett gallops 'TDN Rising Star' Country Photographer/Photo Editor Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew House (Lookin At Lucky) as the sun rises on Fair Grounds Race Course. | Sarah Andrew [email protected] Social Media Strategist ‘EMPRESS’ SEEKS REPEAT WIN IN NOLA Justina Severni 10 Serengeti Empress (Alternation) ran the field off their feet Director of Customer Service in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. and looks to repeat in Saturday’s Vicki Forbes GII Fair Grounds Oaks. [email protected] Marketing Manager Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen FEDERAL CASE TURNS BACK FOR HUTCHESON 11 Federal Case (Gemologist) looks to rebound in Gulfstream’s Director of Information Technology Ray Villa GIII Hutcheson S. after a disappointing seventh in the GII Holy [email protected] Bull S. Bookkeeper Terry May TODAY’S GRADED STAKES [email protected] EST Race Click for TV WORLDWIDE INFORMATION 4:34p New Orleans H.-GII, FG TJCIS PPs TVG International Editor 5:10p Muniz Memorial H.-GII, FG TJCIS PPs TVG Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN 5:44p TwinSpires.com Fair Ground Oaks-GII, FG TJCIS PPs NBC Sports [email protected] 6:10p Hutcheson S.-GIII, GP TJCIS PPs TVG European Editor Emma Berry 6:13p TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby-GII, FG TJCIS PPs NBC Sports [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 14 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • MARCH 23, 2019 LA Derby cont. from p1 another shot at him. The second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh Second, beaten less than a length at 10-1, in the GI Summer S., runners from the Risen Star re-oppose, led by runner-up and he was then fourth, also beaten under a length, in the >TDN Rising Star= Country House (Lookin At Lucky). Ninth in his GIII Bourbon S. and fifth in the GI Breeders= Cup Juvenile Turf. career bow over the Belmont turf, the chestnut was second at Dropped back into maiden 49-1 Dec. 1 at Aqueduct and ran company to earn cap and gown in an eye-popping race to break his his dirt debut Nov. 24 at Churchill, maiden Jan. 17 at Gulfstream, the i250,000 Arqana May buy overcoming a disastrous start and has made the main track his new showing a devastating turn of home, scoring powerfully by four foot to win going away. Thrust lengths in the Lecomte and into the deep end in the Risen overcoming a wide draw in a Star, he once again broke 2 1/4-length annexing of the awkwardly and showed Risen Star. That effort, though greenness, but rallied from 12th two points lower than the to be a clear second. Lecomte on the Beyer scale, was A duo of new shooters rate elevated by the fact that the next upset glances. Wertheimer et four horses under the wire all Frere=s Spinoff (Hard Spun) came from well out of it, while graduated as the favorite last Country House | Sarah Andrew War of Will chased a strong pace summer at Gulfstream and from second. He tuned up for this assignment with a sharp half- followed up with a good third in the GII Saratoga Special S. Laid mile breeze in :47 3/5 (3/31) here Mar. 15. up for over six months, the homebred out of GISW Zaftig (Gone War of Will=s superiority in Fair Grounds=s first two preps West) returned with a dazzling 11 3/4-length romp in a Tampa hasn=t deterred his competition from those races from taking allowance Feb. 22. Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 14 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • MARCH 23, 2019 LA Derby cont. Spinoff returned to trainer Todd Pletcher=s Palm Beach Downs base afterward and most recently drilled five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 (1/4) Mar. 16. Silverton Hill=s steadily improving Sueno (Atreides) looks for his Cont. from p1 breakthrough score after a pair of good seconds. Graduating for an $80,000 tag last August at Del Mar, the $61,000 Keeneland September buy captured the Gold Rush S. off the bench Dec. 1 at Golden Gate and was runner-up at 18-1 in the GIII Sham S. Jan. 5 at Santa Anita. The dark bay then completed the exacta in the GIII Southwest S. Feb. 18 at Oaklawn, a result that was flattered by third-place finisher Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy) returning to upset the first division of the GII Rebel S. last Saturday in Hot Springs. Click the photo above to watch Lucas Marquardt=s recent visit DID YOU KNOW? with Walker Hancock and War Front at Claiborne Farm Copper Bullet (More Than Ready) All three, however, were also multiple surface graded winners was tabbed as a that showcased their sire's versatility from the beginning. The “TDN Rising Star” Factor was a Grade l winner on all-weather; Soldat was a Grade Visit the TDN Rising Stars section lll winner on turf; and Departing was a Grade ll winner on turf. Cont. p5 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 14 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • MARCH 23, 2019 Taking Stock cont. War Front | Claiborne The Coolmore group figured out War Front's quality early on when they raced his second-crop runner Declaration of War with breeder Joe Allen--also the owner and breeder of War Front--to successes in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Ascot and the G1 Juddmonte International at York, and they soon began buying his auction yearlings while patronizing the stallion with their Galileo and Sadler's Wells mares. Those purchases and matings have yielded impressive results for them, including such stallion prospects as G1 Dewhurst S. winner War Command; triple Group 1-winning juvenile Air Force Blue, also a Dewhurst winner; and U S Navy Flag, a three-time Group 1 winner at two and three, who also won the Dewhurst. Others raced by them or associates have landed at other farms, including Hit It A Bomb, winner of the Gl Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland, who is now at Spendthrift; and Lancaster Bomber, the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner at The Curragh, who stands at the National Stud in England and then on to South Africa later this year.