Sprint king Wesley Ward looking to go the distance with new breeding venture

As Wesley Ward approaches his 11th consecutive Royal Ascot meeting with an unrivalled record among his American-based colleagues of ten winners to his credit, he is seeking to reach even more milestones – and not only as a trainer.

With a strike force of nine horses comprising eight promising juveniles and veteran sprinter Bound For Nowhere readying for this year’s Royal competition, Ward is also aiming to achieve Group stakes success at Ascot as a breeder.

Two-year-old colt Maven, who has already made history as the first offspring of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to win a race in North America, could try to capture the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes. Ward bred Maven and also trained and co-owned his dam, the multiple stakes-winning Any Given Saturday mare Richies Party Girl.

After overseeing major works by Maven and six of his other Royal Ascot runners over the Keeneland turf course on Sunday, Ward related that breeding his own runners has become a major part of his strategy to develop his stable beyond precocious juveniles.

While Royal Ascot has boosted him to a new level as a trainer, he said he would also like the chance to work with more horses that could be contenders in races such as the Kentucky Derby.

The powerful Maven and Tyler Gaffalione had a workout at Keeneland on SundayCredit: Michele MacDonald

"Royal Ascot created a little niche where I have some keen interest from a lot of different owners – owners from all over the world are giving me chances with prospects," Ward reflected. "And then after Royal Ascot is over, you still get to keep the horses and train them and hopefully develop them into Breeders’ Cup horses. It’s really helped me; I’m very lucky.

"But in one sense it’s hurt in that I’m kind of pigeon-holed into having a barn full of turf sprinters. That’s great in that at least people think I’m good at something," he observed with a laugh. "But I would kind of like to broaden out a little bit. As I’m getting older and getting grey hair, I hope to get a chance to get some different types of horses, horses that can go a distance."

With 25 mares at his farm located near his training stable at Keeneland, Ward, 51, said he is breeding with the intention of giving himself more opportunities to hone Classic and other major race contenders over middle distances. His plan is to race the horses he breeds and not to sell in the commercial market.

"I race everything," Ward said of the horses he breeds. "What I’m doing is breeding to hopefully get a little more longevity and distance ability."

Maven, who is racing in the colours of Ward’s partner in Richies Party Girl, Richard Ravin, has a pedigree that could produce just about anything. Ward has also entered the colt in the five-and-a-half-furlong Tremont Stakes on dirt at Belmont Park on Friday.

Richies Party Girl won three turf stakes at sprinting distances, hence Ward expects she will influence her son’s capabilities for races like the five-furlong Norfolk Stakes, while American Pharoah lends talents that made him champion juvenile male and took him through the Classic series culminating with the 12-furlong Belmont Stakes.

Maven’s dam was fast enough at two that Ward and Ravin took her to Deauville, and while she finished fourth in the Group 3 Prix du Calvados, she was ahead of the likes of eventual Fillies' Mile and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Chriselliam.

For Maven’s debut, Ward sent him to Aqueduct in New York, where the robustly-made chestnut won a maiden special weight dash on dirt by a half-length.

"He's continuing to do great," Ward said of Maven. "He really flattered himself in his debut and we think he's continued to move forward from that race. He seems to have mostly taken after his dam, so he looks like he's going to be a sprinter."

Maven worked four furlongs on turf on Sunday while ridden by jockey Tyler Gaffalione and in company with two-year-old filly Anna’s Fast, a debut winner at Keeneland who was the first to score for her sire, Fast Anna. Both juveniles were timed in 48.40s, fourth-fastest of 16 works on the day at the distance.

Ward has not yet decided on which Royal Ascot target he will seek with Anna’s Fast, a $470,000 two-year-old purchase at the OBS March Sale by owners Sam Ross and Mike Hall of Breeze Easy LLC. Ward and Breeze Easy won the Norfolk last year with Shang Shang Shang, and Ward also took the Norfolk with No Nay Never, now an emerging sire for Coolmore, in 2013.

Ward has developed a relationship with Coolmore in which the Irish-based operation "has been exceptionally good to me," he said. He has six juveniles by American Pharoah in his care and bred another youngster by the Triple Crown winner, the filly Wish Way, a daughter of his champion female sprinter Judy The Beauty.

Among Ward’s other intended runners for Royal Ascot is Breeze Easy’s juvenile filly Karak, the first winner for her sire, Poule d’Essai des Poulains and Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Karakontie when she was best in a five-furlong maiden special weight turf race at Belmont Park on May 25. Karak was a $365,000 OBS March acquisition.

Ward said he still is weighing up options for some of his Ascot competitors. At this point, he has European champion Lady Aurelia’s half-sister Lady Pauline, owned by breeder Stonestreet Stables, as a possible Queen Mary Stakes candidate along with Kimari.

Bound For Nowhere will return for a third tilt at the meetingCredit: Rcaing Post / Scott Burton

Lady Pauline, whose sibling won the 2016 Queen Mary and Prix Morny as well as the King’s Stand Stakes the following season, is already in Britain, having finished second in a conditions race against colts at Ascot last month. The chestnut trounced males in her Keeneland debut, winning by nine and three-quarter lengths on dirt in April.

Kimari, who like Lady Pauline is a daughter of Munnings, blasted to a 15-length victory in a four-and-a-half-furlong dirt dash at Keeneland in April for David Mowat’s Ten Broeck Farm. In her work at Keeneland, Kimari earned a bullet designation as co-fastest of the day and distance when she drilled four furlongs in 47.80s, a time equalled by stablemate Chili Petin.

Owned by Gatewood Bell’s Hat Creek Racing and by City Zip, Chili Petin will aim for the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes as the follow-up to her Keeneland maiden victory on dirt on April 17. Also pointing to the Windsor Castle is Foolish Humor, a Distorted Humor filly who won her five-furlong debut on turf at Belmont Park on May 2 for Andrew Farm.

Ward said Nayibeth, who along with Foolish Humor worked four furlongs on turf in 48.60s, will target the six-furlong Albany Stakes. The first starter and winner for her sire, Carpe Diem, Nayibeth was another handy debut winner at Keeneland.

Meanwhile, Bound For Nowhere, the now five-year-old son of The Factor who was third in last year’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes and fourth in the 2017 Commonwealth Cup, worked a bullet five furlongs in 58.40s.

"They’ve all had excellent workouts," Ward said of his Royal contingent. "Each week, they kind of trade places about which one is better in the morning, which is good because hopefully that means I will have a big week [at Ascot].

"I’m happy with where we’re at and this is an exciting time of year for me. We’ll see what happens. But we need some sunshine over there – that’s a key. We don’t need rain. We need fast and firm, no boggy ground," he said.

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