War Court Must Catch Maycocks Bay to Take Durham Cup

Searching for his breakthrough moment at the graded level, War Court meets graded stakes winner Maycocks Bay and three other foes in the CA$175,000 Durham Cup Stakes (G3), a 1 1/16-mile main-track test Sept. 19 at Woodbine for 3-year-olds and up. 

Trained by Ron Sadler, War Court and his honest, no-quit nature made an immediate impression on the veteran conditioner after joining forces more than a year ago.

"He's a very genuine horse. He's a marvelous animal. We really like him," said Sadler, who captured the Bold Venture Stakes (G3) with Souped Up Aug. 15 at Woodbine.

"He pretends he's grumpy, but he's not. He's a very nice horse. He tries every jump of the way. He's not a speed demon, but he will certainly finish and run very well every time he's given a chance."

An 8-year-old son of Declaration of War out of the Bernardini mare Kindersley, War Court last appeared in the Aug. 1 Seagram Cup Stakes (G3) at Woodbine, delivering a fifth-place effort.

The homebred of Chiefswood Stables, who won 2025 Sovereign Awards as Canada's outstanding breeder and outstanding owner, made his season debut June 20, also at Woodbine, finishing seventh in a 7 1/2-furlong allowance optional claimer on the inner turf.

It's been a gauntlet of graded stakes winners for War Court, who has lined up against Paramount Prince, Runaway Again, and Ice Chocolat, among several other talented rivals, across his two starts this year.

"We've been facing bears, and it's been very difficult, but he does try," Sadler said. "The problem I've had is not being able to have much of a prep race for these. It's very difficult finding a race for a horse like this, and then when you do find the race, it's very tough. So, we've been fighting that."

Over 16 starts, War Court has finished in the top three nine times, crafting a 5-1-3 mark.

As the seasoned gelding returns for another shot at the Durham Cup, so too does Sadler, who came up a head short of Dresden Row with Ron's Gizmo in the 2024 installment.

"We'd like to see a very strong performance from him," Sadler said of War Court. "Obviously, we'd like to win, so we'll see if he'll cooperate."

Keveh Nicholls gets the call.

The late-running War Court will have to catch Godolphin's Maycocks Bay, who led at every point of call in the Eclipse Stakes (G2) when he last competed on the Tapeta surface at Woodbine. The Mike Stidham trainee has since been third and second in a pair of starts on turf.

William T, Friendly Ghost, and Sedburys Ghost complete the field.