A Second Coming For Irish War Cry

With the 2017 Belmont Stakes right around the corner, there has been speculation regarding how Irish War Cry will hold up against other contenders racing to win the third jewel of the Triple Crown.

On the morning of May 6th, Irish War Cry was one of the favored horses to win the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports. It was hard not to expect the three-year-old to perform well after securing wins in the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. This, however, was not the case as the colt remained in third place during the majority of the 1-1/4th-mile race before falling behind to finish in 10th place.

The only other loss in his career was at the Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 4th. Irish War Cry came in seventh place, which was a full 21 lengths behind first place winner Gunnevera.

Both losses were disappointing, but Trainer Graham Motion still believes that the horse can perform to his full potential in the upcoming Belmont Stakes.

“The Derby, like the Fountain of Youth, is a little bit of a head-scratcher. Physically, I can’t give an answer why he ran so poorly in the Fountain of Youth or the Derby, other than the fact that they were run on slightly weird tracks,” said Motion. “Gulfstream was really deep and cuppy that day. It was dried out. Churchill was kind of the other extreme. It was kind of wet and tacky. It was just a very clingy, sticky track. Does he need a perfect track? I don't know.”

Irish War Cry skipped the Preakness Stakes, which has made it even harder to gauge how the horse will perform in the 2017 Belmont Stakes. LegalHorseBettingSites.com thinks that after training with Motion at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, MD, Irish War Cry will take his shot at redemption.

The exclusive training center is expansive, featuring a one-mile dirt track that surrounds a seven-furlong Tapeta all weather surface. There is also a seven-furlong grass course that is used for multiple purposes including steeplechase racing. On Saturday, Irish War Cry covered six furlongs in 1:14 on the main track at the facility.

How the colt will handle the 1-1/2 mile distance at Belmont Park is yet to be determined, but Motion is confident that the horse’s current demeanor will work in his favor.

"The other thing about the Derby experience, I think it's a lot for the horses to deal with. Every day is a lot of commotion. You know, we came in late, so he was kind of the center of attention a little bit, and I think it was a lot for him to deal with. I like the fact that he's been here (at Fair Hill), very much like we did before the Wood. We were able to come here and keep him here to the last minute, and he's in a routine that he's used to.”

History goes to show that this routine is beneficial to securing a win. Motion tried a similar training approach before Irish War Cry went on to beat Cloud Computing by seven lengths in the Wood Memorial. Cloud Computing was the winner of the 2017 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico..

Irish War Cry will have one last training day at Fair Hill before heading to Belmont in Elmont, NY. This gives the horse two days to run in NY before racing in the 2017 Belmont Stakes. The three-year-old has not had training on the large sandy surface of Belmont Park, however, Motion does not foresee this as a major issue.

“I thought the advantages of keeping him here overtaking him up and breezing on the track – I just preferred to keep him here. He handled Aqueduct fine without working there, and I think, hopefully, he can do the same at Belmont.”