Gary Barber's War of Will (War Front), winner of the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 16 at Fair Grounds, continued his preparations for the $1-million, GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby Mar. 23 at the same track with a five-furlong move in 1:01.60 (19/48) in NOLA Saturday. The bay went to the track at 5:45 a.m. with young jockey Declan Carroll aboard and recorded splits of :12.40, :24.60, :37.80, and :50.20. He galloped out in 1:13.80.
“We just wanted to keep him focused and have a target today,” said David Carroll, assistant to trainer Mark Casse. “Once he had his target and it was time to go, he just kept on going. I thought last time maybe he eased up a little bit but today he was totally focused and Declan was very, very happy with him. He's just a beautiful piece of work. Every time he works it's just that way with him. He's very push button and is in a great place mentally and physically. The horse is just a privilege to be around and has been this way from the word 'go' last year.”
Undefeated in three starts since being moved to the dirt, War of Will broke his maiden at Churchill Downs last November and then proceeded to take the Jan. 19 GII LeComte S. before the Risen Star.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
