War Affair beats the war drum again

Just a week ago, 2014 Horse of the Year WAR AFFAIR flashed home to win his trial to suggest he was ready to return to racing after a six-month break.

Yesterday, the Bruce Marsh-trained six-year-old again caught the eye in another trial.

Although he did not win, his fast-closing second to Mr Fantastic in the third of nine trials was very impressive.

Ridden by jockey Danny Beasley, the brown New Zealand-bred gelding settled behind early and started to pick up speed after being woken up at the home turn. He kept closing in nicely and finished only half-a-length behind Mr Fantastic.

Marsh was again rapt with the second trial and has targeted his charge for the Group 3 Saas Fee Stakes over 1,400m on Sunday week.

"Very, very good trial and, yes, he will run in the Saas Fee," said the Kiwi trainer.

War Affair has not raced since his gallant third to Debt Collector, who was crowned 2016 champion horse, in the Group 1 Raffles Cup over 1,800m on Oct 30. The son of O'Reilly was later found to have a wind problem and has since bounced back good after a surgery.