As can be expected in mid-June, Wesley Ward is lining up his charges for another Royal Ascot meet, an event that the veteran trainer treasures.
“This is five days of the best horses in Europe at all the distances on the turf, different distances and different ages and colt races, filly races, from five-eighths of a mile to two-and-a-half,” he told Horse Racing Nation on Monday. “It’s just a really, really unbelievably prestigious race meeting that’s been going on for hundreds of years to where it’s ingrained in their culture there, the English and European culture where the best of the best compete.
“And you can really feel the history when you’re there,” he said. “And the fans are so knowledgeable of racing. Their fathers and their fathers’ fathers and fathers’ fathers’ fathers have all been getting duded up and heading to the races and having some champagne and enjoying the five days that they have there. … When you go, you want to bring the best you have and try to get lucky and feel that thrill of winning in it at an event like that.”
This year, he hopes to get lucky with four juveniles who have made one start each. Three are fillies who won their debuts, and the other is a colt who finished third.
Ward discussed the four hopefuls and others in his stable for HRN’s Barn Tour series, starting with the four who will travel with him to England and wrapping up with a 10-year-old who wasn’t ready to call it quits.
Saturday Flirt. Ward bred and owns this Mendelssohn filly, who won a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Keeneland on April 26 by 1 1/2 lengths over 11 others. “This filly, from her very first work, she was very, very smart. If you’ve ever seen her, she’s one of the most beautiful horses you know. A speed horse, typey, fast-looking horse. But different than Ultima Grace, appearance-wise, physically. But she’s going straight up in the air. She used to be a little bulldog when she was growing up. Now she’s heading straight up in the air. She’s kind of a big tall filly now, with bulk to her. She’s just super fast.”
Ultima Grace. The American Pharoah filly led a field of five gate to wire in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on dirt at Keeneland, winning by 3 3/4 lengths. “She’s a beautiful filly, big, kind of tall, rangy filly, and I really didn’t expect her to be as quick and as fast as she is,” Ward said. “And so we kind of took our time with her.” In her first work out of the gate, “she just flew. It was like, wow, where’d this come from? And then she emulated that a week later. It was like, wow, we’ve really got something. And we moved forward with Royal Ascot in the back of our minds, because of course, they’ve got to do it in a maiden race here at Keeneland and she did. I would 100 percent say that turf is her preferred surface, yet her ability got her there on the dirt.”
Burning Pine. This Nyquist filly led gate to wire to win her debut at 4 1/2 furlongs on the dirt at Keeneland in April. “She’s one that came in really late,” Ward said, and wasn’t broken until January. “We start breaking her and then not thinking she would run at Keeneland because we got going so late. And she’s one that we breezed, and it’s like, wait a second here. What do we got? And off of no real big foundation, just kind of getting her learning the gate, she broke, she just kind of flew out of there. And so then we just kept her on the schedule. And she ran the closing day at Keeneland. … We are also thinking that this filly is going to want to go much further. So that’s why we penciled in the Albany for her, which is six furlongs. It’s sort of a race that’s eluded me. I was second years back with a filly in the race, Sunset Glow.”
Honorary American. This colt by Churchill was third in his debut, a maiden special weight at Aqueduct on May 24. “He showed some precocity on on the dirt, so we entered him at Aqueduct on the grass, the only turf race they had for colts, and it rained off. … And he ran well, but when Joel Rosario got off, he said he just was kind of floundering in the last part of the race, couldn’t get a hold of it. Like his pedigree suggests all grass. So we kind of put him on the fence as far as for Ascot and kind of were wanting him to prove that he merited to go. And his first work back was a little quick back from the race. It wasn’t a Royal Ascot workout. … And then he had the fastest work of the day here Saturday. … I said this workout certainly proved that he’s Ascot-worthy for the 2-year-old races.”
Other 2-year-olds
Homie. Another Mendelssohn colt bred and owned by Ward, he won his June 5 debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “Homie had a nice win there. The thing about him is he’s going to be a route horse. … I think he’s going to do better once he goes further. (His) mare was meant to go a mile and a half. To win a first start, five-eighths because of me. But I think he’s better running because of him, and lineage is going to be as they go two turns.”
Touchy. A Nyquist colt and Three Chimneys Farm homebred, he debuted Thursday in the listed Tremont Stakes at Saratoga and was caught late to finish second. “That’s what I call the cat daddy right there. He’s what every trainer – you could put him in any one of the top 20 trainers in the United States or worldwide and they’d love him. …I very rarely ever run 2-year-old, first-time starters in stakes. But I just felt like, Saratoga is coming up, and I’m sure there’s going to be some serious racehorses come out. And I felt like the horse was ready, albeit he had six total lifetime works. But all six were eye-openers. And he’s a big colt but possesses a lot of speed.” Next up for him is the Saratoga Special.
Older horses
Landed. This 3-year-old Omaha Beach filly has a record of 5: 3-1-1 and has won her last two starts, most recently the black-type Bouwerie on Sunday at Saratoga. She’s pointed to a New York-bred stakes in August. “I think she’s graded stakes-worthy, that’s for sure. She’s got a great record and I think that she’ll be ready to jump in with the open company very soon.”
Funtastic Again. The 4-year-old son of Funtastic was off for six months before returning with an optional-claiming allowance win at Turfway Park in January, followed by a third-place finish in the Kentucky Cup Classic (G3) and a close second in the Shoemaker Mile (G1) at Santa Anita on May 27. “I think he’s going to be a really nice turf miler this year. He ran a big, big race out in California. … When you look at those purses down at Kentucky Downs, it’s just down the street from where my horses live here at Keeneland, and that’s something we’ll look at, kind of work back from. That might be his next start, though.”
Chi Town Lady. The 5-year-old Verrazano mare had only two starts in 2023 and returned from an eight-month layoff in February with a win in the black-type Minaret Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Then she was third last out in the Derby City Distaff (G1) on the Kentucky Derby undercard. She is pointed toward the Chicago (G3) at Churchill Downs on June 22. “The goal with her is to get her to the Ballerina (G1).”
Kaufymaker. The 5-year-old Jimmy Creed mare returned from an eight-month break and ran third by a head and a neck in the Intercontinental (G3) at Saratoga on Friday. “She ran a bang-up race there for us, just got beat at the line. Very proud of her. I’ve had her a long time. She’s a very quirky filly, she’s got the same groom since she’s a yearling here at Keeneland. Walks around the barn like an old cow, a little girl could could walk her. But as soon as you put the saddle on and the rider on, it takes a whole system. She’s a half a nut, so to speak. You’d never know it by seeing her cool out after a bath. But you’ve got to have the right riders, you’ve got to go with a pony, otherwise she’s jumping around and getting hot. It’s a whole procession. But she runs like hell when you lead her over to the races.” One possibility for her next start is the Caress (G3) at Saratoga in July.
Nakatomi. The 5-year-old gelded son of Firing Line returned to work recently after finishing third in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) on March 30. “He’s been just an awesome horse to train, fires every time. Ran big in the Breeders’ Cup (Sprint) last year. He had kind of a tough trip. Definitely should have been second and might have won if you watch the race.” He’s pointed to the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) on July 27.
Arrest Me Red. The 6-year-old gelded son of Pioneerof the Nile was 13th last out in the Turf Sprint (G2) on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Before that, he won an optional-claiming allowance at Turfway in March. “He’s kind of getting a little bit long in the tooth now. So we’re going to try a stake over there at Canterbury, a handicap. And we’re going to try to get back on track because he won a nice race there at Turfway. And we’re going to try to have him ready for Kentucky Downs, either an allowance race or something like that over there. Obviously kind of jump back off that. It was a real wet track at Churchill on Derby Day, and so he just didn’t run and the jock just kind of sat on him.”
Bound for Nowhere. Owned by Ward, the 10-year-old gelded son of The Factor won an optional-claiming allowance at Churchill Downs last month after being off since July. “We sort of officially retired him last year, and we kicked him out after his race. And he just did not like it. He just was sulking, unhappy. So we had him out for about six months. And so we brought him back in the barn just to kind of get his spirits back up. And Julio Garcia, that is my main exercise rider, breeze rider, and he’s won 3,000 races, and we put him on just to give the guy something to do. And, boy, that guy couldn’t thank us enough for taking him to the barn, and getting baths and getting groomed.
“So we gave him a few works, and he was just wow. Like he was like he was a 4-year old or a 5-year-old. And so we kind of waited, kind of picked the right race and got lucky and got that jock that’s on a roll. He hasn’t ridden much for me, but the ones he has, he’s been very successful with, Brian Hernandez. And we kind of went over the horse’s antics and issues and what he likes and doesn’t like, and he rode him like he’s been riding him his whole life. He just took him back a little bit and eased him out and off we went. So we’re going to look at probably Kentucky Downs with him. And not that I didn’t like the purse that he won for me, but it’s more for the horse than anything else. He just loves this. He loves being a racehorse. … After that race, he was walking around with his chest sticking out.”