Irish War Cry Has Motion Entering New Territory

With a GI Kentucky Derby, a G1 Dubai World Cup and three Breeders' Cup successes to his name, Graham Motion has reached the highest level of the game numerous times, but when 'TDN Rising Star' Irish War Cry (Curlin) enters the starting gate for Saturday's GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park, the British-born trainer will confront a new challenge: competing a top 3-year-old as the clear favorite in a Triple Crown prep race. Most recently, Isabelle de Tomaso's undefeated New Jersey-bred colt played the role of upsetter in the Feb. 4 GII Holy Bull S., winning the race by 3 3/4 lengths and leaving heavily favored juvenile champion Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile) in his wake [video]. But with Saturday approaching, Motion was reflective about his new spot on everyone's Kentucky Derby radar.

“I don't ever remember being in a position close to this,” Motion said. “Obviously, I've followed these races closely, like we always do. I'm not even sure I've ever been in a position to participate–[2011 Kentucky Derby winner] Animal Kingdom ran in an 'a other than' allowance race down here, and we certainly weren't even thinking Derby at the time. In that respect, this horse is already much more accomplished, although it would be very unfair to compare the two of them.”

While champion Animal Kingdom is among the most versatile American horses in recent memory by virtue of his proficiency on all three racing surfaces, Irish War Cry presents Motion with a unique–but likely more straightforward–assignment as an undefeated 3-year-old placed squarely on the Kentucky Derby trail from the outset of his sophomore season.

“It's been fairly uncomplicated,” Motion explained, speaking of his colt's progression since the Holy Bull. “He's come out of the race well. I had only planned on working him once, and that went very smoothly, so I've been very pleased with him. I think, as time goes on, he's sharper and sharper. He's really growing into a strong 3-year-old–which is what happens at this time of year.”

Irish War Cry has shown tangible improvement with each start–from his flashy late-running maiden score [video] to his hard-fought win over the talented O Dionysus (Bodemeister) in the Dec. 31 Marylander S. [video], and culminating with his decisive wire-to-wire victory in the Holy Bull. When confronted with the decision to enter the chestnut in one or two more Derby preps following his recent win, Motion's instinct was to give his trainee the benefit of added seasoning.

“I try not to get too far ahead of myself in these situations,” Motion added. “Once I sat down and thought about him, he's a relatively lightly raced colt. I think I'm in a position where if we are good enough to be around in the first weekend in May, he needs the experience. So I wasn't really in a position to be passing up on [the Fountain of Youth].”

Regardless of the future racing schedule, Motion remains realistic about the challenges posed by Irish War Cry's rapid ascendancy to the top of the 3-year-old heap.

“I do worry that I've asked a lot,” he acknowledged. “I'm glad that this time we get to run back at a distance that he's already run at, so it's been a good progression for him. He certainly seems to handle it very well; he seems to be a smart horse.”

Motion is well acquainted with the family of Irish War Cry, having conditioned four of the colt's siblings for de Tomaso. Irish War Cry's 5-year-old half-brother Irish Strait (English Channel) recently finished third in the GIII Tampa Bay S. in his graded stakes debut Feb.11, while Irish Defence (First Defence), a once-beaten 4-year-old half-sister to the pair, had her first workout of the year Feb. 23 at Fair Hill.