Irish War Cry Back in Training

One week after Irish War Cry turned in his second timed workout at Fair Hill Training Center, trainer Graham Motion said his millionaire stakes-winning protégé is on the road to recovery. 

In what Motion described as a "worst case scenario," Irish War Cry's last out in the June 16 Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs did not go according to plan. The 4-year-old, who suffers from an electrolyte imbalance commonly known as the "thumps" that is often exacerbated by hot weather, was pulled up during the race by jockey Jose Ortiz as the pack hit the far turn, before being vanned off the track for medical evaluation. Irish Way Cry was later assessed and described by Motion as "in good order" by the end of the night.   

Although the race had been scheduled for 9:50 p.m. ET, an time that should have mitigated the effects of the condition, unseasonably high temperatures of more than 90 degrees sparked a flare-up. Ortiz, who is familiar with the colt's condition, recognized almost immediately that the heat was affecting his mount and pulled him up to prevent injury. 

"After he ran Stephen Foster night, I made the decision to give him about a month where he didn't have to do very much," Motion said. "He had a bit of downtime, and we've been gradually building him back up."

Irish War Cry headed back to the track for his first timed work July 29, breezing four furlongs in :51.20 at Motion's Fair Hill base in Maryland. He worked four furlongs again Aug. 9, shaving more than two seconds off the clock for a final time of :49 flat. 

Although Motion said he is pleased with the colt's progress, he has not set plans to run him again until the weather cools off. Motion said a tentative start could happen in September, but he has no set target. 

"It's a learning curve," Motion said, "but I do think that the most significant thing will be not running him back in the hot weather. I've had a specialist monitoring him both times he's worked because I really want them to monitor him and make sure that we are doing the right thing. 

"He's very bright and he's been fine ever since those few days after the Stephen Foster. … Obviously, in an ideal world, I'd like to pick out one race in mid to the end of September that might get him to the Breeders' Cup if he is to perform the way we know he can."