Ward Barn Ready for Big BC Weekend

by J.M. Severni 

Trainer Wesley Ward has been busy readying his barn this week for the biggest Breeders’ Cup weekend in his stable’s history. The conditioner with send out six hopefuls with Sunset Glow (Exchange Rate) in the GI Juvenile Fillies Turf,Luck of the Kitten (Kitten’s Joy) and Hootenanny (Quality Road) in the GI Juvenile Turf, Undrafted (Purim) and No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) in the GI Turf Sprint and Judy the Beauty (Ghostzapper) in the GI Filly and Mare Sprint. Ward, who is known for sportingly venturing to Europe with his horses, has taken a number of different paths to the Breeders’ Cup. 

Ten Broeck Farm’s Sunset Glow, who is sure to be one of the favorites in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, opened her account with a second at Presque Isle in May before graduating at Belmont in June. Second in the 
G3 Albany S. at Royal Ascot, she returned to the states with wins in the GII Sorrento S. Aug. 6 and the GI Del Mar Debuante Aug. 30. Ward noted that she’s done well since returning to her homebase at Keeneland and appears ready for the upcoming test. 

“We flew her in right after her win at Del Mar and she settled in absolutely phenomenally,” Ward offered. “You got to kind of watch her to where she doesn’t put too much weight on because she’s a thriver and a really good feeling horse. She’s doing fantastic. Every time she goes out there and breezes, it’s an eye-opener for me. I’m looking for her to go in to this race and run fantastic.” 

Ward’s duo in the Juvenile Turf exemplify the various routes taken to the World Championships. Ramsey homebred Luck of the Kitten debuted with a second at Saratoga before donning cap and gown at Arlington in 
August. Runner-up in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sept. 6, he went on to wire the local Zuma Beach S. Oct. 5. Coolmore’s Hootenanny tallied up a few more frequent flier miles on the way to Santa Anita. Successful in his Keeneland debut in April, the colt then completed the trifecta in Pimlico’s muddy Rolicking S. Hootenanny made his trans-Atlantic ship worthwhile with a win in Ascot’s Windsor Castle S. and a second in the G1 Darley Prix Morny over the summer. He registered a five-panel bullet in 1:01 2/5 at Keeneland Monday. 

“That was the best work of any horse I have running in the Breeders’ Cup,” Ward commented. 

Both colts have solid early speed and Ward noted that he’s going to leave the race positioning to the jockeys. 
“In the Juvenile Turf, obviously we’ll get Mike Smith [on Luck of the Kitten] and Frankie Detori [on Hootenanny] together and whoever breaks the best will go on, and the other horse will maybe sit right off of them,” Ward offered. 

Wes Welker’s Undrafted will go up against Ice Wine Stable and the Coolmore partners’ No Nay Never in the Turf Sprint. The former tallied his first graded stakes victory with a rallying win in the GIII Jaipur S. on the Belmont S. undercard before a respectable fourth in Newmarket’s G1 Darley July Cup S. at Kentucky Downs. Most recently, the chestnut was third in the Kentucky Turf Dash S. Sept. 24 and registered a five-furlong work in :59 1/5–the fastest of 27 at Keeneland Oct. 19. 

The lightly raced No Nay Never, who annexed Ascot’s G2 Norfolk S. and G1 Darley Prix Morny last summer, opened his 3-year-old season with a second in Gulfstream’s GII Swale S. in March. The well-traveled dark bay took the summer off and returned to wire Keeneland’s GIII Woodford S. Oct. 4. Both horses will be trying the downhill turf course for the first time next Saturday, but Ward sees that as an advantage. 

“I trained in Southern California for 17 years, prior to moving about 10 years ago,” Ward explained. “It seems like it’s different from the realm of what we conventionally do here with turning to the left, but in training there for 17 years, you find that it’s really just kind of a seamless type of a race. You make a really easy right turn then a gradual left turn to where you turn for home. You cross the dirt, which takes the horses about two jumps to do that, and then you’re onto the main track. Sometimes it can be an advantage because with horses that come from behind, they can go a little faster, especially with a horse that comes down the hill for the first time. Naturally, horses are herd animals and they follow others. Other horses that are speed horses, where they generally are used to going in turf sprints and shooting out for the lead, going down that hill for the first time they are a little bit apprehensive for the first part because it’s something new to them, so they relax a little bit and conserve that energy. So when they cross that dirt and the jockeys start asking them, they’re going to give you all they got anyways, so sometimes that can be and advantage opposed to a horse who’s run over the course a few times and might be so familiarized with it, they might just a little bit too quick early, knowing the surroundings of the whole track. There are a lot of different variables to consider, but at the end of the day, I think it’s going to be the best horse who will win, and it’s not because of a horse coming in to a new track or surrounding that’s going to get them beat.” 

Since her second in last year’s Filly and Mare Sprint, Ward has planned to bring Judy the Beauty back to the Breeders’ Cup for another shot at the title. The 5-year-old mare had made just four strategically scheduled starts this year, with tallies in the GIII Las Flores S. at Santa Anita Mar. 9 and in Keeneland’s GI Madison S. Apr. 12 before a fourth in the GI Humana Distaff at Churchill May 3. She took a three-month break over the summer and returned with a win in Del Mar’s 
GIII Rancho Bernardo H. Aug. 17. 

“This is a race we planned on from a year ago,” the trainer said. “I mapped out her schedule, I brought her off a long layoff out in Santa Anita, a track I know she relishes and she ran second in the Breeders’ Cup last year, and she just blossomed in there in her first start back fresh. The main goal for the spring was to get a Grade I win on her resume, which we did, when she came to her favorite track, which is Keeneland, and won that convincingly. She came out of the race well and she relishes time between starts. The race over on Derby Day at Churchill–and Churchill is probably her least favorite track to train on, because I’ve trained there sporadically being so close in proximity to Keeneland–she really hasn’t worked like a tiger there in years past. The race looked too good to pass up, so I went against all I like to do with giving them time, and I went in the race as the favorite, thought I’d win it based on her being the best horse in the race, and she, so to speak, gave me the finger. I gave her quite a bit of time to recover.” 

Ward explained that, although he had planned on sending Judy the Beauty to the GI Ballerina S. at Saratoga, he opted to send her to the Rancho Benardo when he was unable to secure Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez. 
“I originally planned on going to the Ballerina at Saratoga and had a whole year-long plan for her with the rider I’d secured, Johnny V, who knows her so well and she runs so well for him, and unfortunately, about a week prior to the race, he bounced me for another horse of Pletcher’s. Left with that short of notice, being Pacific Classic weekend out in California and Travers weekend, it sort of locked out the more prominent riders for her. So, I had to make a quick decision with what to do with her, so I went in the opposite direction and went out to California. I’ve always wanted Mike Smith to ride this filly and I would have gone in the Ballerina had I been able to get Mike to come out to ride here there, but unfortunately, he was committed to a horse on the day, so I took her to him and ran in the Rancho Bernardo. She just ran fantastic, she ran a beautiful race. She ran so well I really think I could have won the Ballerina, which really, really disappointed me.” 

Ward said that the mare has been training well into the Breeders’ Cup race, and he expects her to run well. 

“She had a fantastic work there in her first main track work out in :57 so couldn’t be coming into this race any better,” he said. 

Overall, Ward is optimistic about next weekend. 

“I’m really excited for these guys,” the conditioner offered. “You spend 24-7 with them and you do everything you possibly can to get them to, especially, this particular weekend. You want them the best you can get them, and I think they’re headed that way.”