War of Will had his head in his feed tub Sunday morning when a visitor stopped by trainer Mark Casse's barn at Fair Grounds. He also had a hearty meal last night not long after winning the Risen Star, a follow-up to his Lecomte Stakes win here last month, and jogged on the concrete outside the barn early Sunday morning to the satisfaction of assistant trainer David Carroll.

"We're very happy with him today," Carroll said. "Sure, he had a race, but he came out of it very well."

War of Will remains on track to start March 23 in the $1 million Louisiana Derby. The 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points he earned in the Risen Star bring his total to 60 and he will obviously be part of the Derby field, provided all goes well between now and then. 

Still, Casse and owner Gary Barber are forced with the usual tough choices facing a 3-year-old that runs through the Fair Grounds series of 3-year-old dirt-route stakes. After the Louisiana Derby, War of Will already will have made three starts this year, and it would be difficult to cram another race between Fair Grounds and the Kentucky Derby. The alternative - and it's almost certain to be the one chosen - is to just train the colt toward the Derby through the six-week gap following the Louisiana Derby. That kind of break might challenge some young, talented horses, but War of Will, by all accounts, has a generous disposition and ample class, and he also gets plenty out of his morning workouts.