War of Will, Tacitus Head Field of 6 for Jim Dandy

A week after one of the summer's classics for 3-year-olds was contested at the Jersey Shore in stifling humidity, the division is turning up the heat once again.

While the temperatures are expected to be much more pleasant in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. this weekend, six of the year's best 3-year-olds will generate some electric energy when they square off July 27 in the $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G2) at Saratoga Race Course.

Last week, it was Maximum Security, the disqualified winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), who stepped into a steamy spotlight when he captured the TVG.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park. 

In the Jim Dandy, two more of the leading performers from the 2019 Triple Crown trail will return from seven weeks of rest following the Belmont Stakes (G1) in a 1 1/8-mile test that promises to serve as a springboard to the division's eagerly awaited showdown in the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) at the Spa on Aug. 24.

Juddmonte Farms' Tacitus, second in the Belmont Stakes and third in the Kentucky Derby, will once again meet up with Gary Barber's Preakness Stakes (G1) winner War of Will, who was unplaced in the two bookend legs that opened and closed the Triple Crown.

"The Jim Dandy is a big race," said Mark Casse, who trains War of Will. "It's at Saratoga and I'd love to add it to his resume."

War of Will finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby when he bumped with Maximum Security, lighting the fuse on an incident that led to the first disqualification of its kind in the Kentucky Derby's 145-year history. The son of War Front  rebounded with a 1 1/4-length victory in the Preakness, but then failed to fire in the Belmont Stakes. He checked in a tired, disappointing ninth at 7-2 odds, prompting Casse to give him a freshening in advance of the summer classics.

"He's doing great. I'm really happy with the way he's come out of this short little rest and he's training super," Casse said about the winner of four of 11 starts with earnings of $1,491,569. 

Barber acquired War of Will through bloodstock agent Justin Casse, Mark's younger brother, for $285,000 from Oak Tree Farm's consignment to the 2018 Arqana May 2-year-old Breeze Up Sale.

Tacitus, a homebred son of Tapit  out of the champion filly Close Hatches trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, ran into some traffic issues when he finished a fast-closing second as the 9-5 favorite in the Belmont Stakes. He wound up a length behind Casse's now-sidelined Sir Winston in the June 8 Test of the Champion.

"He's doing fine," Mott said. "He was doing very good going into the Belmont and he seems to be doing very well now. I wouldn't say there's been any huge change in him."

Tacitus has been remarkably consistent since he posted a maiden win in his second start. In his last five starts, he has three wins, including victories in the Wood Memorial Presented by NYRA Bets (G2) and Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2), followed his two in-the-money finishes in the Triple Crown.

While Tacitus has been training sharply at Saratoga, Mott believes a race over the track should come in handy, especially when the Midsummer Derby rolls around next month.

"I don't think a race over the track ever hurts," Mott said.

Though there's a field of six, there should be a lively pace in front of War of Will, who figures to stalk from the outside, and Tacitus, a closer who landed post five, with Tax and Global Campaign on hand.

Sagamore Farm and WinStar Farm's Global Campaign has not raced since May 11 when he notched a 1 1/4-length victory in the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park, a victory that was flattered a month later when Sir Winston, the runner up in the Peter Pan, jumped up and won the Belmont.

The son of Curlin  was second in the early stages of the Peter Pan and from post four he should be alongside Tax on the front end in the early stages of the two-turn test.

Tax put his speed to good use in the Belmont Stakes despite suffering a minor hoof injury prior to the 1 1/2-mile classic. Claimed for $50,000 at 2, Tax pressed the pace of Joevia most of way before he weakened in the stretch and wound up fourth, 2 3/4 lengths behind Sir Winston.

Since then, Tax's hoof has healed and trainer Danny Gargan is expecting a strong effort from the son of Arch owned by R.A. Hill Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Hugh Lynch, and Corms Racing Stable.

"He worked tremendous the other day and is doing really, really good right now," Gargan said. "He's doing way better than he was before the Belmont. He had some issues then and I thought about not running. We changed his shoes, we glued his feet and since then he has blossomed.  He looks phenomenal and couldn't be doing better than he is. He looks so good now, it's crazy."

Though Tax, who has post 2, enters the Jim Dandy looking for his first victory since his Feb. 2 score in the Withers Stakes (G3) and will face three graded stakes winners Saturday, Gargan points to races like the Belmont Stakes and a second-place finish in the Wood Memorial only 1 1/4 lengths behind Tacitus, as reasons for optimism.

"When you enter races like this, you expect to find a field as good as this," he said. "But he was only two or three lengths away from beating these horses, so if he improves a couple of lengths we could wind up in the winner's circle."

Centennial Farms' Mihos, who was fourth in the Dwyer Stakes (G3), and Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Laughing Fox, who was fifth in the Preakness, are also entered in a stakes that's unlikely to settle any of the debate over leadership of the division. With the Travers four weeks away, the Jim Dandy's primary function is to move the conversation forward until a certain 1 1/4-mile jaunt around the Spa in late August provides some definitive answers.

"For the most part, all this talk about an Eclipse Award is fun for conversations, but what's happened recently won't matter when the time comes," Casse said. "What happens in the next 60 to 90 days will decide everything. So for now, the good news is that the sport is about running and not talking, and we'll see what happens from here on."

Entries: Jim Dandy S. Presented by NYRA Bets (G2)

Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, July 27, 2019, Race 11

• Grade II
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $600,000
• 3 yo
• 6:51 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Laughing Fox (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Steven M. Asmussen	-
2	Tax (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Danny Gargan	-
3	Mihos (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	James A. Jerkens	-
4	Global Campaign (KY)	Luis Saez	120	Stanley M. Hough	-
5	Tacitus (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	122	William I. Mott	-
6	War of Will (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	124	Mark E. Casse	-