Sir Winston Posts Bullet Half-Mile at Fair Grounds

Tracy Farmer's Sir Winston, who has not raced since posting a 10-1 upset in the Belmont Stakes (G1) in June, posted a bullet half-mile work of :47 3/5 the morning of Dec. 8 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for trainer Mark Casse and his assistant David Carroll, who handles the local string. The time marked the fastest of 90 working the distance that day.

After his victory in the Belmont Stakes, the Awesome Again colt was sent to the sideline with a left front ankle injury, spending time at the Casse Training Center in Ocala, Fla. The colt posted six published works there beginning Oct. 23 prior to arriving at Fair Grounds. 

"He shipped in a couple of days ago and he galloped Saturday," Carroll said. "We were looking to just get his feet over the track today in a breeze. The track seemed fast early on, and he's not normally a good work horse, but this morning he went quick and did it very nicely.

"Huge credit to Mitch Downs and crew at Ocala who took him in after the Belmont and have nursed him back," Carroll continued. "They have done a terrific job getting him back to this stage and condition-wise he looks excellent. We'll do something more serious with him next weekend and continue getting him ready to go"

Sir Winston is being pointed to the Dec. 28 Woodchopper Stakes, scheduled to be run over a mile on turf. In a 10-race career, he's run only one other time on grass, but he does have two wins over Woodbine's synthetic surface. 

"It's (restricted to) 3-year-olds and we need to get him started somewhere," Carroll explained. "That's the most logical spot to get him back. Like I said he's not the easiest work horse in the morning so sometimes he needs some racing to get back into form, but we are really happy with Sunday morning's work the way he's been since we've got him back.

"We're looking for a good 4-year-old year with him and the way he's been so far we have no complaints. It's always exciting having the Belmont winner in the barn."

Preakness Winner War of Will Gets Time Off

Following a highly successful and somewhat adventurous 2019 campaign, Gary Barber's War of Will, also trained by Casse, is enjoying some well-deserved time off. 

An awkward start cost him a fair shot in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds, and after recovering from a strained muscle in his right hind end suffered during that event, he went on to finish a troubled eighth (placed seventh) at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). He won the Preakness Stakes (G1) two weeks later at Pimlico Race Course, but failed to finish better than third in his final four starts of the season. 

"Right now he's on the farm," Carroll explained. "We planned on giving him a break after the Breeders' Cup (where he finished ninth in the grade 1 Classic). He didn't miss any dance as a 3-year-old (as he placed ninth in the Belmont) so he's getting a well-deserved break. He'll be at the farm for the foreseeable future and when the time is right, we'll map out a plan for next year."

The son of War Front  has a career record of 4-1-2 from 14 starts and earnings of $1,615,569. War of Will started nine times in 2019 and earned over $1.4 million during the year.