War of Will, an emerging favorite for this year’s Kentucky Derby, suffered a set back at Saturday’s Louisiana Derby and finished ninth. Video replays show that War of Will had a bad step on his hind leg just as he was out of the gates at the Fair Grounds, which he failed to recover from.
The colt’s trainer Mark Casse reportedly said on Sunday that War of Will is looking better. They suspect that he caught his muscle as he was taking off. “I feel fortunate that he’s okay first and foremost. We’re fairly certain that he probably caught his patella a little bit at the start. So, what we’ll do is we’ll do some exercising and probably laser treatment to strengthen the patella muscle. But we feel optimistic that we can still make the Derby,” said Casse.
War of Will Odds Still Favor Him
Thanks to his earlier wins in the Lecomte and Risen Star races, War of Will has enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby race. He’ll be shipped later this week to Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., to get ready for the May 4 race.
Before the stumble, the colt’s odds were at 100-1 on William Hill’s futures board. But now they’ve dropped to 7-1 after winning three races on the dirt turf. Currently, as of Monday, they’ve climbed to 20-1.
Underdog Rises to the Top
The Louisiana Derby saw an upset win with By My Standards dominating the Fair Grounds dirt turf earning 100 qualifying points. The Bret Calhoun-trained colt didn’t even feature on the futures listings board and will be the trainer’s fist entry in the Kentucky Derby. On Monday, By My Standard’s odds were at 20-1. “He’s ready,” Calhoun said about the colt, “We have to maintain what you’ve got. The Derby is a whole different deal. It’s not just the race, it’s everything that goes into going up there. We’ll do a lot of stuff preparing him for hat. He’s got a great mind, we’re lucky in that sense that he’ll handle everything.”
It looks like this year’s Run for the Roses is anyone’s race. Will War of Will, a horse who was a favorite to win, take the Rose blanket or will By My Standards, an underdog in this race, claim the title?
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