Casse reshuffles his deck with War of Will, Got Stormy
Had War of Will not scratched from Saturday’s $75,000 Sunshine Forever Stakes at Gulfstream Park, trainer Mark Casse, who this week found out he’s heading into racing’s Hall of Fame, was preparing to send Got Stormy out west for another Grade 1 start.
But because Gary Barber owns both Grade 1 winners, a change of plans came easy to the barn once War of Will drew the outside post in a Sunshine Forever field of 12.
Casse and Barber agreed there’s a “good shot” Santa Anita Park is able to resume racing, making the May 25 Shoemaker Mile (G1) on turf next for War of Will. The mare Got Stormy, meanwhile, will stay home for next Saturday’s $75,000 Powder Break at Gulfstream.
“It’s just a step to the next big race, whatever that is,” Casse said.
Got Stormy, a daughter of Get Stormy, came into her own last season, beating males in Saratoga’s Fourstardave (G1), running second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and finishing out her year with a victory in Del Mar’s Matriarch (G1).
This season, she needed the race when fourth in Tampa Bay Downs’ Endeavour (G3) to open her 5-year-old campaign. Last out, Got Stormy was a close second to River Boyne in Santa Anita’s March 7 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1).
“She loves to run,” Casse said. “She does her best when she’s running. You can see by her works — you work her and you can’t hardly slow her down. I’ve always felt that if they’re happy and healthy, run them.”
War of Will, meanwhile, remains unraced since the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He campaigned on turf at age 2, placing in multiple stakes before breaking his maiden on dirt and going on to win the 2019 Preakness. Now, Casse is hoping to make him a Grade 1 winner over multiple surfaces.
The trainer said March to the Arch, a Grade 2 winner for Live Oak Plantation, will also travel for the Shoemaker Mile.
Casse doesn’t have plans to run in other Santa Anita stakes. He’s awaiting a resumption of racing in New York for the 2019 Belmont Stakes winner Sir Winston, who traveled for the Dubai World Cup (G1) but didn’t get to race, and Perfect Alibi, a Grade 1-winning 3-year-old filly.