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SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2019 T O D A Y I N T H E T D N DUAL-SURFACE GISW CATHOLIC BOY WINS THE DIXIE MITCHELL ROAD DOES FAMILY PROUD IN GALLORETTE LEXITONIAN UPSETS NEWLY UPGRADED CHICK LANG RISING STARS NEW YORK CENTRAL, MUCHO GUSTO SCORE POWER GAL EARNS FIRST GRADED WIN IN SELENE I N T D N E U R O P E MUSTASHRY DOMINATES THE LOCKINGE CRYSTAL OCEAN DELIVERS AGAIN Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe/International SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2019 WAR OF WILL GETS THE OP/ED: DESERVING PREAKNESS WIN FOR A CLASSY BUNCH by Bill Finley TRIP, REDEMPTION IN When the horses crossed the wire in the GI Kentucky Derby, trainer Mark Casse, owner Gary Barber and jockey Tyler PREAKNESS WIN Gaffalione knew they had been the victim of bad luck. War of Will (War Front) lost all chance when Maximum Security (New Year=s Day) crashed into him. He wound up crossing the wire eighth. In the immediate aftermath of the race, Casse, Barber and Gaffalione probably figured this would be a situation where they could simply move on, regroup and hope for a better result next time with their colt. They couldn=t have known that they=d find themselves in the middle of a circus. Controversy. Lawsuits. A media firestorm. A $20-million challenge race that will never happen. Accusations that their horse, who was mugged in the Derby, was actually the mugger. Gary West, the owner of Maximum Security, who crossed the wire first in the Derby only to be disqualified for bothering War of Will, was understandably upset that racing=s greatest prize Two weeks ago, it was the agony of defeat and then some. was snatched away from him. But he just couldn=t let it go, with Saturday it was the thrill of victory for Mark Casse | Horsephotos the situation hitting its most bizarre moment when West by Joe Bianca somehow came up with the theory that it was War of Will who caused all the problems in the Derby and not Maximum BALTIMORE, MD--Two weeks ago at Churchill Downs, Gary Security. Never mind that the Churchill Downs stewards Barber=s War of Will (War Front) drew the rail and rode that unanimously agreed that Maximum Security prompted the fence all the way into menacing contention on the waning collision and every photo and video tape out there conclusively strides of the far turn run. But when jockey Tyler Gaffalione backed up their opinion. tried to find a seam to let his horse run to GI Kentucky Derby Barber chose to stick up for his horse, issuing a statement that glory, there was none there, as has been rehashed extensively in read, in part: AIt has recently been brought to my attention that the time since the race=s controversial disqualification. Saturday Mr. Gary West stated on Fox News that my horse War of Will at Pimlico Race Course in the GI Preakness S., the hulking bay caused the infraction in the Derby. I categorically deny this false had a nearly identical journey after pulling the one-hole again. accusation. The video evidence irrefutably shows that his horse, The only difference--besides the weather--was the sea parted Maximum Security, caused a major infraction that almost led to this time, and War of Will took advantage, running away in the a catastrophe and in doing so, denied my horse and others of a stretch and holding sway late to give sweet redemption to his better placing.@ connections, particularly the 24-year-old Gaffalione, riding in his It was a reasonable reaction to an unreasonable accusation. first Preakness. It was also a first American Classic success for Casse never took any of the bait. He just kept repeating how trainer Mark Casse. fortunate he felt that War of Will was not seriously hurt and that AIt really hasn=t hit me yet,@ Gaffalione said in the race=s the Derby pileup didn=t cause a calamity on the racetrack, the aftermath. AI can=t even put it into words. I can=t thank my family last thing the sport needed after all that had gone wrong at enough for all the support. He=s got so much heart. We always Santa Anita. knew he had the ability, we just had to get a little bit lucky and today was our day.@ Cont. p3 Cont. p7 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 Sunday, May 19, 2019 Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN 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 Photographer/Photo Editor Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew [email protected] Social Media Strategist Justina Severni Director of Customer Service Vicki Forbes War of Will (War Front) leads the field of thirteen and cruises to victory in Saturday’s GI [email protected] Preakness S. | Horsephotos Marketing Manager Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen TACITUS WORKS TOWARDS BELMONT 17 Director of Information Technology Juddmonte Farms’s Tacitus (Tapit), fourth across the line, but placed Ray Villa third in the GI Kentucky Derby, worked towards the GI Belmont S. [email protected] Bookkeeper OMAHA BEACH RETURN TO CA ON HOLD 18 Terry May [email protected] Would-be Kentucky Derby favorite Omaha Beach (War Front) has yet to recover sufficiently to make the trip from Kentucky to California. WORLDWIDE INFORMATION International Editor Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN TODAY’S GRADED STAKES [email protected] EST Race Click for TV European Editor 7:33p Desert Stormer S.-GIII, SA TJCIS PPs TVG Emma Berry [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 18 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • MAY 19, 2019 Preakness S. cont. was extremely proud. A lot of people asked, >Is this revenge?= In front of a crowd of 131,256 that enjoyed perfect conditions No. I just wanted to win.@ with temperatures in the mid-70s and a light breeze, the 144th Barber was in France for the Cannes Film Festival and unable Preakness got off to an eventful start when longshot Bodexpress to attend the race, but entrusted Casse with getting War of Will (Bodemeister) reared up at the start and lost jockey John ready off of two weeks= rest after the top four finishers across Velazquez, who quickly got up and walked off the track. War of the wire in the Derby passed on running. Will took a slight stumble a stride out of the gate, but quickly AAnybody that knows me or follows my training knows I=m asserted his speed before deferring to let Warrior=s Charge aggressive and I=m not afraid to take chances,@ Casse said. (Munnings) go on with it early. Sticking to the fence in the APersonally, I don=t think [running in the Preakness after the garden spot, a pocketed fourth, behind sharp fractions of :22.50 Derby] is done enough. I think too many times trainers are too and :46.16, War of Will was more settled than in the sloppy- worried about their win percentages. We=re not afraid to run track Derby, when he was tossing his head around noticeably. them.@ Inching a bit closer to the front-runner as three-quarters went In addition to getting through the hole that didn=t materialize up in 1:10.56, Gaffalione stayed patient with a handful of horse in the Derby, Gaffalione credited War of Will=s ability to remain until giving his colt some light calm during the race as a coaxing just inside the five- determining factor in the sixteenths pole. Soon after, Preakness=s differing result. Warrior=s Charge drifted out AHe relaxed more than usual one path and Gaffalione seized today. That was the key,@ he said. the opportunity, pushing War AWe warmed him up to do so. of Will through the opening Mark said, >Just jog him today, let three-sixteenths out. Kicking him walk, try to keep him as calm clear past the eighth pole as as possible, and it worked out. Warrior=s Charge began to We just followed Warrior=s falter, he remained in charge Charge the whole way around from there and hit the wire a there. He came off the fence comfortable 1 1/4 lengths to going into the turn, and I thought the good. Everfast (Take about waiting to go outside him, Charge Indy), the second- but he kept going out, out, out. longest shot on the board at Down to the line in Preakness 144 | Horsephotos So I took my shot and went 29-1, finished with a flourish along that same rail to edge through there. The horse didn=t hesitate and he finished the Owendale (Into Mischief) for second money in a head bob, job.@ while Warrior=s Charge held on for fourth. Race favorite and War of Will=s victory came after two weeks of back-and-forth >TDN Rising Star= Improbable (City Zip) acted up in the gate and in the media about the disqualification of Maximum Security never fired, checking in sixth at 5-2.