Casse goes for Bourbon 4-peat

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mark Casse had a sneaky feeling that he rather enjoys running 2-yearolds in the Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland – but didn’t know exactly why until informed he has won the last three runnings.

“Is that right?” Casse said. “I didn’t even realize we’d done that. Well, while we’re at it, let’s just go ahead and make it four.”

Casse stands a solid chance to do just that Sunday when saddling War of Will and Blockbuster for a wide-open 28th running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Bourbon, a Win and You’re In event toward the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Although War of Will has gone winless in two starts, both over the Woodbine turf, he nonetheless figures as one of the favorites in an oversubscribed field of 14 (plus one also-eligible) in the 1 1/16-mile turf race, while Blockbuster enters off a sharp debut victory at Kentucky Downs last month.

War of Will, a War Front colt owned by Gary Barber, “might be a maiden, but he’s a really good maiden,” said Casse with a laugh, whose prior Bourbon victories came with Airoforce (2015), Keep Quiet (2016), and Flameaway (2017).

“My brother Justin bought him last spring in France, and once we got the colt into serious training at Saratoga this summer, I thought, ‘We need to get going with this one.’ ”

After running third in his Aug. 24 debut, War of Will led to deep stretch of the Grade 1 Summer on Sept. 16 before settling for second. His 76 Beyer Speed Figure from the Summer is second-highest among this bulky field – surpassed only by the 82 earned by Concrete Rose in a debut sprint triumph – and the best for any distance at a mile or more.

“I really don’t know if we had him tight enough for either start, but after he breezed here the other day, we decided this is probably the right spot if we want to run in the Breeders’ Cup,” Casse said.

War of Will will break from post 1 with Drayden Van Dyke in from California to ride. Blockbuster will have Julien Leparoux aboard breaking from post 6.

Blockbuster’s “race is probably even better than it looks on form,” Casse said. “Julien put him to a drive fairly early and circled the field, and a lot of times a horse will flatten out when they make that big move. I’m not sure how much he beat, but he deserves a shot in this.”

Indeed, the competition will be much stronger for Blockbuster this time. Aside from his stablemate, the opposition with major upside includes Ice City Ghost, a last-out winner of the ungraded Sunday Silence at Louisiana Downs; Henley’s Joy and Tracksmith, the respective one-two finishers in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile; Concrete Rose, the lone filly in the field; and a sizable contingent of last-out maiden winners led by Current, who figures to draw strong mutuel support with Jose Ortiz riding for Todd Pletcher.

The Bourbon, first run in 1991, directly precedes the Grade 1 Spinster as the eighth of 10 races Sunday, when first post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern. The Bourbon will be part of a 90-minute broadcast on NBC Sports.