War of Will sticking to grass for now in Woodbine Mile

Coming off a Grade 1 win in the Maker's Mark Mile on turf at Keeneland on July 10, War of Will is staying on the lawn -- for now -- in Saturday's $1 million Woodbine Mile (G1), trainer Mark Casse said Sunday.

The win in the Maker's Mark was the 4-year-old colt's second try in a row on grass following the Shoemaker Mile (G1) in May at Santa Anita, where he crossed the wire second but was placed fifth via disqualification.

Those two starts came after 10 straight efforts on dirt, dating back to his graduation day at Churchill Downs in November 2018. War of Will had three wins in that productive stretch, including the Preakness Stakes, Risen Star Stakes (G2) and Lecomte Stakes (G3).

Prior to breaking his maiden on dirt, the son of War Front started his career with four straight turf starts. Overall, he has a lifetime record of 16: 5-1-2 with earnings of $1.8 million.

Even with a Grade 1 win on turf, Casse isn't convinced that it's the best surface for War of Will, who is owned by Gary Barber.

"I’d love to try him again on the dirt, because he’s been training at Churchill over the dirt and he’s training so good," Casse said. "But he just won a Grade 1 on the turf, so. And the Woodbine Mile’s a win and you’re in — I just don’t think it would make sense to change surfaces."

War of Will shipped to Woodbine on Sunday, Casse said. He's been working at Churchill Downs since June, breezing a bullet five furlongs in 59.20 on Sept. 5 and 4 furlongs in a flat 49 seconds on Friday, ranking 33rd out of 62 at the distance.

The winner of the Woodbine Mile gets an automatic, expenses-paid spot in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Mile on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The Woodbine racing office was unable to provide possible entries for Saturday's race, but the nominees and their trainers are listed below.

• Admiralty Pier, Barbara Minshall
• Almanaar, Chad Brown
• Armistice Day, Barbara Minshall
• Beau Recall, Brad Cox
• Emmaus, Conor Murphy
• Empire of War, Michael Maker
• En Wye Cee, Todd Pletcher
• Fog of War, Chad Brown
• Halladay, Todd Pletcher
• March to the Arch, Mark Casse
• Marzo, Michael Maker
• Olympic Runner, Mark Casse
• Raging Bull, Chad Brown
• Shirl's Speight, Roger Attfield
• Silent Poet, Nicholas Gonzalez
• Skywire, Mark Casse
• Starship Jubilee, Kevin Attard
• Value Proposition, Chad Brown
• War of Will, Mark Casse