Mark Casse | Horse Racing Free Tips

Art Collector Heads Churchill Workers

Bruce Lundsford’s Art Collector (Bernardini), winner of the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. in his latest start, worked over a muddy Churchill Downs track Saturday morning. Trained by Tom Drury, the colt carved out fractions of :12.80 and :24.60 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.20 and six panels in 1:14.80.

“It’s so nice to have a horse who is versatile and can really run over any surface,” said Drury. “He did everything very easily this morning and it was really just a perfect work. We are still taking things one day at a time. We just have to get there and we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”

Drury indicated the colt remains on course to make his next start in Sunday’s Runhappy Ellis Park Derby ahead of a tilt at the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby. Also targeting Ellis’ Derby next weekend, Jackie Rojas, Wayne Scherr and Raymond Daniels’ Necker Island (Hard Spun) covered four furlongs in :47.80.

Other possible Kentucky Derby contenders that recorded breezes Saturday were John Oxley’s GIII Lecomte S. winner Enforceable (Tapit) (five furlongs in 1:02.60) and Lloyd Madison Farm’s GIII Indiana Derby runner-up Major Fed (Ghostzapper) (four furlongs in :50.20).

“I was very happy with how [Enforceable] worked this morning,” said 21-year-old Declan Carroll, whose father, David, oversees trainer Mark Casse’s Churchill Downs string. “He did everything in stride. I was just the pilot.”

Highlighting the fairer set Saturday morning, Peter Callahan’s Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) worked five furlongs in 1:01 in preparation for the Aug. 15 GI Alabama S. at Saratoga. The chestnut, who was runner-up behind Art Collector in the Blue Grass last month, carved out intermediate fractions of :13.40, :26.40 and :38.20 before rounding out the move in 1:14.20 for six furlongs, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols.

“She worked really good and handled the muddy surface well,” Brian Hernandez Jr., who was aboard for the work. “She’s a very talented filly as we saw in the Blue Grass how well she handled running against the boys. She cruised along out there this morning.”

Trained by Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver, who is automatically qualified for the Sept. 4 GI Kentucky Oaks with 350 points, annexed the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks, GIII Fantasy S. and GII Santa Anita Oaks earlier this spring.

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Casse Team ‘Very Pleased’ With Got Stormy Ahead Of Fourstardave Title Defense

Gary Barber's multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Got Stormy, still seeking her first win of the season, fired a bullet work over the Oklahoma training turf course Friday morning ahead of her expected title defense in the Grade 1, $400,000 Fourstardave on Aug. 22 at Saratoga.

The 5-year-old Get Stormy mare went out just before 10 a.m. and was clocked in 1:00.50 over the firm going, fastest of nine horses at the distance. It was her second work since arriving in Saratoga and first on the grass; she breezed a half-mile in 48.32 seconds on the main track July 22.

“I'm happy with the work,” Jamie Begg, assistant to trainer Mark Casse, said. “Some races she's been getting a little bit aggressive up front, so we started her off slow and let her come home with a good kick, and she did it well. We're very pleased.”

Got Stormy capped 2019 with a popular victory in the Matriarch last December at Del Mar, her second career Grade 1 triumph. The first came last summer over males in the one-mile Fourstardave, a “Win and You're In” race for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile in November at Keeneland.

“I think track condition could maybe play a role in whether or not we go that route,” Begg said, “but that's where we're initially pointing at this point.”

Second in last year's Breeders' Cup Mile, Got Stormy has eight wins, four seconds, three thirds and more than $1.5 million in purse earnings from 22 lifetime starts. She is undefeated at Saratoga, capturing the Fasig-Tipton De La Rose – her only ungraded race in the last 11 – prior to her 2 ½-length triumph in last year's Fourstardave.

Got Stormy opened this year running fourth in the Grade 3 Endeavour at Tampa Bay Downs, then shipped cross country and finished second in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile March 7 at Santa Anita. Given a brief freshening, she was fourth in the Grade 3 Beaugay June 3 and Grade 3 Poker July 4, both at Belmont Park.

The connections are hoping a return to one of her favorite surfaces, plus a spate of good weather, will prove the right combination to get Got Stormy back on the winning track. Prior to her current stretch, she had never lost more than two consecutive races.

“She clearly really likes this turf course,” Begg said. “It was a little wet earlier in the meet but there's been a little less rain recently. I think it's starting to dry out because speed's been holding a little better on it. We'll see. Hopefully it keeps going that way and we'll get a good race out of her.”

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Classic Winner War of Will to Claiborne Upon Retirement

Claiborne Farm has purchased an interest in Classic winner War of Will (War Front–Visions of Clarity {Ire}, by Sadlers Wells), who will stand at the Paris, Kentucky farm upon the conclusion of his racing career. The winner of a trio of a trio of graded events at three, including the GI Preakness S., the Gary Barber-campaigned colt most recently scored in the GI Maker’s Mark Mile over the Keeneland turf July 10. War of Will’s 2021 stud fee will be announced following the Breeders’ Cup.

“War of Will has an outstanding pedigree, and combined with his race record, he should be very appealing to breeders,” said Claiborne’s Walker Hancock. “He’s a Classic winner on dirt at three and a Grade I winner on turf at four, which places him in rare company. 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.”

To date, 4-year-old War of Will has earnings of over $1,796,000 and four graded stakes wins for trainer Mark Casse.

“I am very proud to be standing War of Will at Claiborne alongside his famous father,” said Barber. “War of Will has a special place in my heart having brought so much joy to me and my family. He is a once in a lifetime horse.”

Runner up in the GI Summer S. at Woodbine at two, the bay kicked off his 3-year-old campaign with back-to-back wins in the GIII LeComte S. followed by the GII Risen Star S. Seventh in a roughly-run edition of the GI Kentucky Derby, he took the Preakness by 1 1/4 lengths and added a third-place effort in the GI Pennsylvania Derby later in the season.

“I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to be around a lot of good horses, but I have to put War of Will right there at the top. He has a special place in my heart,” said Casse. “He’s a class act. There’s a reason we call him WOW. It’s not just because of his initials. Everything he does is a WOW. The way he looks. The way he trains, and his pedigree. I’m excited to see him go to Claiborne and follow in his father’s footsteps.”

Looking ahead, Casse added, “Our plan is to point towards the Woodbine Mile next, and then, hopefully, the Breeders’ Cup.”

Bred in Kentucky by Flaxman Holdings, War of Will is out of Visions of Clarity, a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner and GI Breeders’ Cup Mile hero Spinning World. Visions of Clarity is also responsible for Group 1 winner Pathfork (Distorted Humor) and multiple stakes winner Tacticus (A.P. Indy). War of Will is one of sire War Front’s 21 Grade I/Group 1 winners.

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Preakness Winner War Of Will To Stand At Claiborne Farm Upon Retirement

Claiborne Farm has purchased an interest in War of Will, a dual surface Grade 1 winner and American classic champion.

The son of Claiborne's emerging sire of sires War Front scored his most recent victory in the July 10 Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland, going a mile on the grass. War of Will will stand at the Paris, Ky., farm upon his retirement from racing, Claiborne announced July 30.

“War of Will has an outstanding pedigree, and combined with his race record, he should be very appealing to breeders. He's a classic winner on dirt at three and a Grade 1 winner on turf at four, which places him in rare company,” said Claiborne's Walker Hancock. “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.”

To date, 4-year-old War of Will has earnings of over $1,796,000 and four graded stakes wins for trainer Mark Casse and owner Gary Barber.

“I am very proud to be standing War of Will at Claiborne alongside his famous father,” said Gary Barber. “War of Will has a special place in my heart having brought so much joy to me and my family. He is a once in a lifetime horse.”

In just his second career start, War of Will was introduced to Grade 1 level company, running a determined second in the Summer Stakes (G1) at Woodbine.

Coming off a maiden victory to end his 2-year-old campaign, War of Will kicked off his 3-year-old campaign brilliantly, with decisive back-to-back graded stakes victories going over a mile on dirt. With Tyler Gaffalione in the irons, the son of War Front easily bested subsequent Grade 1 winner Hog Creek Hustle and Group 2 winner Plus Que Parfait to take the G3 LeComte Stakes by open lengths. One month later, eventual Kentucky Derby winner Country House, and multiple graded stakes winners Owendale and Mr. Money proved to be no match for War of Will in the G2 Risen Star Stakes.

Following a contentious Kentucky Derby, War of Will became trainer Mark Casse's first classic winner with a triumphant victory in the Preakness Stakes.

In this year's Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland on July 10, War of Will moved into the prestigious group of dual surface Grade 1 winners. Going one mile on the firm turf, the now 4-year-old War of Will fended off Group 1 winner Without Parole and two-time Grade 1 winner Raging Bull.

“I've been fortunate enough in my career to be around a lot of good horses, but I have to put War of Will right there at the top. He has a special place in my heart,” said trainer Mark Casse. “He's a class act. There's a reason we call him 'WOW.' It's not just because of his initials. Everything he does is a 'WOW.' The way he looks. The way he trains, and his pedigree. I'm excited to see him go to Claiborne and follow in his father's footsteps. Our plan is to point towards the Woodbine Mile next, and then hopefully the Breeders' Cup.”

Bred in Kentucky by Flaxman Holdings, War of Will is out of the stakes-winning Sadler's Wells mare Visions of Clarity, who is a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner and Breeders' Cup Mile winner Spinning World. Visions of Clarity also produced Grade 1 winner Pathfork and multiple stakes winner Tacticus.

War of Will is just one of sire War Front's 21 Grade 1 winners. An international super sire on all fronts, War Front (Danzig – Starry Dreamer) has seven million-dollar earners and is quickly emerging as a sire of sires.

His sons include Grade 1 winner Declaration of War, who sired two-time graded stakes winner Silver Prospector and three-time graded stakes winner Decorated Invader; five-time graded stakes winner The Factor, the number-one fifth-crop sire of multiple Grade 1 winners, plus recent Grade 2 winner Factor This; Summer Front, a four-time graded stakes winner himself, sired recent Grade 2 winner Speaktomeofsummer and Grade 2-winning Kentucky Derby hopeful Ete Indien; and three-time Grade 1-winning champion Air Force Blue, who's first crop are now 2-year-olds, sired recent debut winner Beauty Queen.

War of Will's 2021 stud fee will be announced following the Breeders' Cup.

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