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War Of Will Adds To Grade 1 Résumé With Maker’s Mark Mile Victory On Keeneland Turf

Gary Barber's War of Will eased past longshot Parlor in the final yards to win the 32nd running of the $300,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1) for 4-year-olds and up by a nose Friday afternoon at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

With Tyler Gaffalione aboard, War of Will raced in the clear after breaking from post 10 and tracked the pace set by High Crime and Parlor, who raced through fractions of :23.17 and :46.91.

Approaching the stretch, Parlor put away High Crime, completing six furlongs in 1:11.09. Under Florent Geroux, Parlor opened a daylight advantage but was unable to hold off the final surge from War of Will and Gaffalione.

“Getting the last race out of the way (May 25 Shoemaker Mile-G1 at Santa Anita on the turf) got the nerves out,” said Gaffalione. “Taking the blinkers off helped him relax beautifully going around there. And when I called on him he finished up nicely.”

Trained by Mark Casse, War of Will covered the mile on a firm turf course in 1:34.55. It is the first Maker's Mark victory for Casse and Gaffalione.

“We're so excited,” said Casse, who was not at Keeneland, where War of Will was saddled by assistant trainer David Carroll. “It's great for everybody. We're just so excited.

“Tyler gave him a tremendous ride,” Casse added. “I wasn't sure (at the finish if he won). I wasn't sure until they put (his number) up. (My wife) Tina and I were just jumping up and down. It's means so much to the horse. We love him so much. And it means so much for a stallion prospect and everything (to be a Grade 1 winner on dirt and turf). Gary Barber and I will have to talk about (if he goes back to dirt or remains on turf). But everyone knows how much we love him, and it's so wonderful.”

The victory was worth $180,000 and increased War of Will's earnings to $1,796,069 with a record of 16-5-1-2 that includes a Grade 1 dirt victory in last year's Preakness.

A Keeneland sale graduate, War of Will is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of War Front out of the Sadler's Wells mare Visions of Clarity (IRE).

War of Will returned $13.80, $6.80 and $3.60. Parlor paid $20.40 and $7 and finished a neck in front of favored Raging Bull (FR), who paid $2.40 to show under Joel Rosario.

It was another half-length back to Without Parole (GB), who was followed in order by Emmaus (IRE), English Bee, Hembree, High Crime, Everfast and Next Shares.

“That was a tough one to lose,” said Mike Maker, Parlor's trainer. “He's had a tough trip last couple of times and I thought he had a good chance today. He ran his race. I sure thought he was going to hang on. He got out of the gate well and handled the turf well. No excuse. He was just second best.”

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Four Graces Wins Beaumont At Keeneland, But Unlikely To Stretch Out For Kentucky Oaks

Whitham Thoroughbreds' homebred Four Graces set a track record by winning the 35th running of the $100,000 Beaumont Stakes (G3) by 4¾ lengths over Sconsin at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., on Friday. She covered the Beard Course of 7 furlongs, 184 feet over a fast main track in 1:24.90 for a stakes and track record.

Jockey Julien Leparoux put Four Graces on the lead with second choice Wicked Whisper just to her outside as the two raced through early fractions of :22.29 and :44.37.

At the head of the stretch, Four Graces put Wicked Whisper away, opened a daylight margin and cruised to the finish line well clear of Sconsin. For Leparoux, it is his third Beaumont victory with previous wins coming in 2009 with War Kill and 2016 with Lightstream.

“She's a fast filly,” said Leparoux. “The track is pretty quick today too. But she was doing it very nicely for me in a good rhythm. That's the way she likes to run – free – and she makes that big kick at the end.

“I'm surprised we broke the track record, really,” he added. “But she's getting much better right now and she's doing very good.”

Trained by Ian Wilkes, Four Graces picked up 20 points toward the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) on Sept. 4 and hiked her total to 40, a figure that ranks 12th. The Oaks is limited to the top 14 point earners to pass the entry box.

The victory was worth $60,000 and boosted Four Graces' earnings to $194,450 with a record of 5-4-0-0. It was her third consecutive victory and second Grade 3 having won the Dogwood at Churchill last month.

Wilkes said he was not inclined to stretch out Four Graces around two turns to the Oaks distance.

“I'll talk to (owner) Mrs. (Janis) Whitham and (most likely) we'll point to the Test (G1, going 7 furlongs on Aug. 8 at Saratoga),” he said.

Four Graces is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Majesticperfection out of the Seeking the Gold mare Ivory Empress. She returned $3.40, $2.40 and $2.10. Sconsin, who picked up her initial eight Oaks points, paid $3.20 and $2.40 under James Graham. Turtle Trax, who finished 4¾ lengths back in third under Brian Hernandez Jr. and paid $3 to show. Wilkes also trains Turtle Trax, who picked up four Oaks points to raise her total to six.

Wicked Whisper (12 Oaks points) finished fourth followed by Slam Dunk.

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Heider’s Pricey Spur-Of-The-Moment Buy Eyes Opening Day Schuylerville At Saratoga

When owner Scott Heider of Heider Family Stables attended the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in upstate New York last August, he was strictly there to sell a Curlin colt, but a certain Tapit filly at the Gainesway consignment barn was just too enticing to pass up.

That filly, Thoughtfully, is a top contender for the Grade 3, $100,000 Schuylerville on July 16, Opening Day at Saratoga Race Course.

She showcased a strong display of talent in career debut on June 11 at Churchill Downs winning by 8 ¾ lengths for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. In the 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight over the main track, Thoughtfully broke sharply under Ricardo Santana, Jr. but allowed two runners to her inside to dictate the early pace. By the quarter pole, Thoughtfully was in command and all it took was a few shakes of the reins by Santana for her to draw off in style.

The promising dark bay filly was hammered down for $950,000 at the yearling sale and could prove to be well worth the investment.

“I was up there selling a Curlin colt out of [Grade 1 winner] Taris and that's all I was there for. I had no intention of buying anything,” Heider said. “[Bloodstock agent] Donato Lanni reached out to me and told me there was a filly that I should look at. That Monday afternoon, I texted Steve and asked him to look at her for me and later that day he said 'I've seen the filly. She is special'. When she walked into the sales ring, I was sitting next to John Sikura [of Hill n Dale Farm] and just stepped on the gas.”

The pressure of buying a horse for such a large sum of money was relieved when Thoughtfully won so emphatically on debut.

“There are not a lot of Tapit fillies that are ready to go as early as June,” Heider said. “She has a great mind and is really classy. She got mentally ready very early. When she won like that Steve called me up and my response was, 'That's what a good Asmussen filly looks like'.”

Heider praised Asmussen for his ability to condition progeny of Tapit, who are sometimes known for being hard to handle.

“The Tapits can be complicated and tough to handle but Steve knows how to work with them,” Heider said. “If you ask Steve or the help around the barn about the filly they would smile and say that she doesn't act like a typical Tapit. She's very sweet. After the race, before she went into the winner's circle, she just kind of stood there and stared at the big screen. It was pretty neat because Ricardo was just letting her do it. She had to have stood there for about 15 seconds.”

Thoughtfully, bred in Kentucky by Gainesway, is the seventh progeny out of the Seeking the Gold broodmare Pension who has produced all winners including graded stakes winner Annual Report and dual turf stakes winner Giant Payday. Her granddam is Grade 1-winner Furlough and she comes from the same family as champions Heavenly Prize and Dancing Spree as well as Grade 1 winners Dancing Forever, Fantastic Find and Finder's Fee.

As far as the Curlin colt Heider sold? He is named King Fury, and was bought by Kenny McPeek for $950,000, which is exactly what Heider paid for Thoughtfully.

“The irony was that we paid the same amount for the filly that we sold the colt for,” said Heider.

Heider could be getting off to a rocket start to the Saratoga meet as he also will have Please Flatter Me entered in the $85,000 Shine Again on July 17.

The Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Munnings made her 4-year-old debut finishing a distant second to Grade 1-winner Guarana in a seven-furlong Churchill Downs allowance race. This was her first start since finishing seventh to eventual Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Covfefe in the Grade 1 Test last August at Saratoga.

“Hopefully we have a nice weekend,” Heider said. “We brought her back after the winter and she chased Guarana around. Her only bad effort was in the Test. She got really nervous in the paddock that day and was all washed out. All the people there made her a little on edge and mentally she wasn't right. Her race was pretty much over in the paddock.”

A winner of four of eight career starts, Please Flatter Me is a three-time stakes winner on the Mid-Atlantic circuit where she was previously conditioned by Mark Reid. She acquired graded stakes black type when finishing second to Covfefe in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness last May at Pimlico.

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Monmouth To Cap General Admission Tickets For Haskell Day At 500

Monmouth Park is putting 500 general admission tickets on sale for the July 18 TVG.com Haskell Stakes starting at noon on Saturday, July 11, on the track's web site at www.monmouthpark.com.

Tickets cost $100 apiece and include admission, a Haskell hat, a program and parking. Ticketholders will also have access to limited seating.

At the present time, these will be the only tickets available to the general public for the $1 million, Grade 1 Haskell, the centerpiece of the Monmouth Park meet. Attendance at the track is limited by a state mandate in the ongoing effort to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“In meeting our commitment and obligations to our sponsors, horsemen and season box holders we're limited to offering 500 tickets to the general public at this time,” said Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, which operates the track. “We're grateful for Gov. Phil Murphy's leadership during these difficult times and appreciate his willingness to work with us in allowing fans on site. It's imperative we do our part, in what has become the new normal, to help slow the spread of the virus.”

General admission tickets will only be available online. There will be no ticket sales on Haskell Day.

Presently, there are no plans for additional tickets to be made available to the general public. Should Gov. Murphy issue any revised executive orders which allow Monmouth Park to increase attendance capacity for Haskell Day those tickets will then be put on sale.

Those purchasing general admission tickets will be able to enter the track through the Main Grandstand entrance.

Gates open at 10:30 a.m. on Haskell Day, with a first race post time of noon.

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