A Far Thing From a Far 'Cry'

For many years, Isabelle de Tomaso has made a trip to the winner's circle to hand out the trophy following the running GI Haskell Invitational S. The 86-year-old, the daughter of Amory L. Haskell whom the race honors, has her eye on claiming that trophy and will stand a strong chance to do so when her homebred 'TDN Rising Star' Irish War Cry (Curlin) takes his spot in the field Sunday afternoon. The $1-million event is sponsored for the second year by Betfair.com.

“She made it clear to me that this is a race she wanted to run in, though Isabelle has never pushed me to do anything with this horse,” trainer Graham Motion told media assembled on a national teleconference Tuesday afternoon. “She's about as easy-going an owner as I've ever had. There's never been any expectations, but this is a race we've always had as a goal.”

The striking chestnut somewhat remarkably represents the first Haskell starter for Graham Motion, who reported that Irish War Cry has done well since his gritty runner-up effort behind Tapwrit (Tapit) in the GI Belmont S. June 10.

“I went easy on him for the two weeks after the Belmont, but he put in strong six furlongs over the last two weeks and I feel very good about where he's at.”

In fact, Irish War Cry has covered three-quarters of a mile in each of his last three Sunday breezes, covering the distance in a smart 1:12.60 in his familiar environs at his Fair Hill base July 23. And Motion says it's all systems go this weekend.

“I've been really happy with how he's done. I really like having him at Fair Hill,” the conditioner said of the New Jersey-bred, impressive winner of the GII Wood Memorial S., but a disappointing 10th at odds of 48-10 in the GI Kentucky Derby. “The more I look back at Churchill, he really got unsettled in that week leading up to it. He doesn't show it outwardly–he's not an overly anxious horse to be around, but I really do think he got all wound up and I think that probably came through in his race. He's in a routine here, he's gallops, he gets turned out in his paddock and I like the fact that we can ship up to Monmouth the day of the race and really not mess with his schedule too much. I'm hoping that will really play in his favor on the day.”

Motion believes that cutting back to nine furlongs and stepping onto a track known to play kind to horses that race prominently, will serve Irish War Cry well this weekend.

“I really think this is his optimum distance,” said Motion. “I think the Wood Memorial was probably his best race. The nature of the Monmouth track which is notoriously favorable to horses that tend to lay close to the pace and the distance, those should play into his favor.”

The Haskell is Irish War Cry's 'first-things-first' moment, but that hasn't stopped Motion from looking a few weeks ahead into the future.

“Everything is on the table, it's all going to depend on how he runs on Sunday,” Motion said. “I've never run a horse in the Haskell and I've never run a horse in the Travers, so this is a bit of unknown territory for me. I just feel fortunate to have a horse of that caliber to participate in these races. These are the races obviously everyone wants to run in, but at the same time, I want to do right by the horse.”

Irish War Cry is one of potentially three horses out of Irish Sovereign (Polish Numbers) that could be entered Sunday. Five-year-old Irish Strait (English Channel), winner earlier in the meet of the GIII Red Bank S., is a probable runner in the GIII Monmouth S., while 4-year-old filly Irish Defence (First Defence), winner of three of her five career starts, is under consideration for a start against the boys in the John J. Reilly H.

Easy Does It for McCraken in Final Haskell Breeze…

'TDN Rising Star' McCraken (Ghostzapper), last seen posting a facile success in the GIII Matt Winn S. June 17, breezed an easy half-mile in :49 1/5 (15/57) at Churchill Downs Thursday morning and is expected to arrive Thursday to complete his preparations for Sunday's Haskell.

“Everything went good,” said trainer Ian Wilkes. “Brian Hernandez [Jr.] worked him this morning. It was a nice maintenance half, the horse is ready and I really didn't want to do too much with him. Just let him bounce over the track and finish down the lane. He did it with good energy and he galloped out strong.”

Victorious in the Feb. 11 GIII Sam F. Davis S. in his seasonal return, defeating Tapwrit, the Whitham homebred was third to then-maiden Irap (Tiznow) in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S., the form of which has proved strong courtesy of subsequent wins by the latter in the GIII Ohio Derby and GIII Indiana Derby. McCraken suffered a laceration during his eighth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, necessitating some time off.

“I just thought let's plan on a fall campaign for him, Wilkes said. “It was like a puncture wound, it was a deep cut. The problem was that I couldn't stitch it because it had ripped the hide off as well. So we had to be careful about it not getting infected. It bled quite a bit and it bled for a while. It was probably as big as a quarter and it was very deep. It was just on the outside of the ankle and we didn't want the ankle to get infected.”

Wilkes was not willing to say McCraken would have gone closer in the Derby were it not for the cut.

“In the Derby, we'll never know,” he said. “I just don't want to make any excuses and I don't want to take anything away from the horses that beat me. It happened, it's part of racing. That's the Derby, that's why it's special.

Wilkes wouldn't change places with anyone as Sunday approaches.

“I'm right where I want to be for this race and I've got no excuses,” he said. “I think he's got a big race in him. I think his numbers are just going to keep getting better and better the rest of the year. This horse is really on the upswing now. The one thing about this horse is that he's never lost his confidence, he's got a lot of swagger about him.”

Girvin “Stronger and Better” Entering Second Season…

Trainer Joe Sharp saddles Brad Grady's Girvin (Tale of Ekati) in Sunday's Haskell and believes his horse is another on the come following his gut-wrenching loss at the hands of Irap when last seen in suburban Cleveland.

“He came out of the Ohio Derby a lot tighter, a lot fitter, and he's come up to Saratoga and really continued to train like I've never seen him train before,” Sharp said Tuesday. “He's really just blossomed into a stronger and better horse. He hasn't had a bad day since the Ohio Derby.”

The winner of the GII Risen Star S. in February and the GII Louisiana Derby the next month, Girvin went through some well-documented quarter-crack issues in the week leading up to the Derby and never reached serious contention, finishing 13th. But the condition is all but a thing of the past, Sharp said.

“He's more confident, we've been able to keep shoes on both his front feet for the last month, and I think he's just confident in himself both physically and mentally,” he said. “He's feeling good and he's liking the fresh air up here in Saratoga.”

Robby Albarado is set to be at the controls for the first time in the Haskell. Girvin was ridden by Brian Hernandez, Jr. in his first four starts before Mike Smith rode in the Kentucky and Ohio Derbys.

“Robby is a rider that goes everywhere we go. He hasn't ridden a ton for me since I went out on own, but we kind of wanted somebody who could stick with the horse moving forward,” Sharp said. “That was a huge thing for us. We discussed it and I think the main thing is to keep consistency going forward. Robby came and breezed him the other morning [July 23, 5f in 1:01.22, 4/8 at Saratoga] and got along with him really well. He rode against him in New Orleans and had some confidence from just watching him.”