'He’s got the foot of a horse that would like the mud over here in America' - Wesley Ward cautiously optimistic about Bacio's Nunthorpe chances

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Wesley Ward may not be at York to see Bacio’s Group 1 showdown today but he will be “yelling and screaming” for a sprinter who “couldn’t be better mentally and physically”.

The colourful trainer is too busy at home in the US to come across to see his brilliantly speedy three-year-old attempt to follow up Royal Ascot success in the Coolmore City Of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes.

The colt was favourite for Britain’s 5f championship event from the moment entries were made, only to drift in the betting as rain has turned the ground softer than anything he has previously experienced.

Ward remains optimistic and told the Racing Post overnight: “He’s got a foot of a horse that would like the mud over here in America.

“He’s never run on it but if the race was run here you’d look at his hoof and you’d say ‘man, that horse is going to run in the mud’. Now whether he runs in the soft, that’s another story – I don’t know.”

Wesley Ward: “He’s got a foot of a horse that would like the mud over here in America"Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Ward has had Acapulco and Lady Aurelia finish second from three previous Nunthorpe runners and will not miss his latest attempt to land the elusive prize, even if he is 4,000 miles away.

He said: “I’ll be watching here in my barn in Keeneland, with all the boys who’ve done all the work. We’ll all be yelling and screaming for him here in Kentucky.”

Bacio earned a crack at the Nunthorpe by bolting up in the Palace of Holyroodhouse at Royal Ascot, making all to score by nearly four lengths.

He has been back in Britain for 11 days, under the supervision of assistant trainer Blake Heap, and Ward said: “He’s been doing great, he’s thriving over there.

“It’s just a question of him stepping into Group 1 company. We’ve been swimming at the shallow end his whole career and now we’re in the deep end. We’re taking on the toughest of the tough over there but he couldn’t be better mentally and physically.”

Reflecting on that Ascot handicap success, he said: “He did everything and more than we would have expected. He was training lights out, as he is now, going into the race and I thought looking at the field that he would be better than them, and he was.”

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