He was bred in New Jersey by Isabelle de Tomaso,[1] daughter of Amory Haskell, founder of the Monmouth Park Racetrack.

[2] His sire is the Hall of Fame champion Curlin, and his dam, Irish Sovereign, was a de Tomaso homebred mare, who won three races in 13 starts.

[1] Irish War Cry began his three-year-old season in February at Gulfstream Park, where he was ridden by Joel Rosario and won the Holy Bull Stakes by a solid 3+3⁄4 length margin, defeating challengers Gunnevera and Classic Empire.

[4] In his next race, a month later, Gunnevera turned the tables and won the Fountain of Youth Stakes, with Practical Joke second while Irish War Cry tired and finished a distant seventh, 21 lengths behind the winners.

He had a poor start, where he ducked to the inside and caused difficulties for other horses, but at one point challenged for the lead before he faded in the stretch and finished 10th.

[10] When several top contenders missed the Belmont, Irish War Cry became the favorite for the race with Tapwrit as the second choice.

As the gap between the two narrowed, Tapwrit started bearing out to the center of the track before drifting back towards the rail, where he bumped lightly with Irish War Cry.