Wesley Ward

Runaway Belmont debut winner Roderick (Into Mischief), scratched out of Friday's deep GII Saratoga Special S., has been tabbed as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in Saturday's GII Best Pal S. at Del Mar. Roderick crushed a trio of rivals on debut for trainer Wesley Ward on Long Island June 21, including runner-up Zippy Baby (Cairo Prince), who returned to graduate next out at Saratoga. Purchased by Breeze Easy for $550,000 as a KEESEP yearling, Roderick is a full-brother to GIII Southwest S. winner One Liner and hails from the same...

Wink, a debut winner at this trip over the Belmont lawn June 12, made it two-for-two with a front-running victory at Monmouth Sunday. The chestnut filly sprinted right out to the early lead and raced keenly through an opening quarter in :21.12. In front by three lengths entering the straight, the favorite held sway over her late-closing stablemate Flying Aletha. "We liked her as soon as we got her on the grass," said winning trainer Wesley Ward. "You put her on the turf and she flies. She's all go and...

5th-Saratoga, $72,000, Msw, 7-26, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:02.36, fm. OUTADORE (c, 2, Outwork--Adore You {SP, $276,240}, by Tactical Cat) was let go at 6-1 as the less fancied of a pair of juvenile runners saddled by a trainer whose prowess with young horses--especially on turf--is well documented, and he proved to be the "right" Ward while providing his first-crop sire (by Uncle Mo) with a second winner and first on the lawn. Irad Ortiz, Jr. had ridden Outadore's stablemate River Tiber (War Front)  to a fourth-place run on debut at...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency WELL-RELATED JUVENILES DEBUT AT THE SPA 5th-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, 5fT, 3:28p.m. Wesley Ward unveils Breeze Easy's $290,000 KEESEP purchase OUTADORE (Outwork) in this turf sprint. Out of SP Adore You (Tactical Cat), the gray is a half to SW & MGISP Piedi Bianchi (Overanalyze) and SW Mine Reader (Gemologist). American Gentleman (American Pharoah) also makes his career bow in this spot. The $240,000 KEESEP buy is out of a half-sister to GISW Connect (Curlin) and MSW Tani Maru (Cherokee Run). Shug McGaughey saddles another...

Ten Broeck Farm's Owlette (Frac Daddy) looks to record her fourth stakes win in Saturday's GIII Selene S. at Woodbine. Conditioned by Wesley Ward, the Ontario-bred filly took last year's Shady Well S. and Victorian Queen S. and subsequently won the June 13 Star Shoot S. in her 2020 bow. Never worse than second in six career starts, including four wins over Woodbine's Tapeta, Owlette will be joined for the first time by Luis Contreras. Always armed and dangerous at Woodbine, Mark Casse saddles a pair of fillies for Gary...

8th-Keeneland, $79,935, Alw, 7-8, 3yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.02, gd. MAVEN (c, 3, American Pharoah--Richies Party Girl {MSW, $357,085}, by Any Given Saturday), the less fancied of a pair of Wesley Ward runners at 3-1, turned this event into a one-horse affair for a barn that wins more than its fair share of sprints on the Lexington lawn. A debut winner while earning a strong 84 Beyer Speed Figure in April of his 2-year-old season, the chestnut traveled overseas to annex Chantilly's G3 Prix du Bois that June. He had been...

1st-BEL, $64K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:15 p.m. Gary Barber's Frankel At Ascot (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) is one of several well-bred juveniles set to square off in this turf dash. The Mark Casse pupil was a €535,000 Arqana August yearling purchase by Justin Casse. She is out of stakes-winning juvenile Ascot Family (Ire), making her a half to precocious MGSW and GISP Family One (Fr) (Dubai Destination). The bay has fired a couple of bullets over the local dirt in preparation for this first go. Steal My Sunshine (Distorted Humor)...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 8th-KEE, $80K, Alw, 3yo, 5 1/2fT, 4:57p.m. Richard Ravin's MAVEN (American Pharoah), sent overseas following a debut win at Aqueduct in April, 2019, makes his first start in just over a year for trainer Wesley Ward. The chestnut colt RNA'd for £725,000 at last summer's Goffs London sale and, scratched from an expected start in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot over ground concerns, was rerouted to win the June 29 G3 Prix de Bois at Chantilly. He was last seen finishing 10th at...

No one could win from stall one. That's what Stonestreet Stables' Barbara Banke heard throughout the Royal Ascot Meeting as she prepared to watch her juvenile filly Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) make her second lifetime start in the G2 Queen Mary S. on the final day of the meet. "All during the week I kept hearing that nobody was winning from the one post position, and that we probably couldn't either," Banke said. [tdn_vimeo_embed title="Royal Ascot winner Campanelle " admp4="https://player.vimeo.com/external/418394033.sd.mp4?s=0121a3f9c4d43a70d24b60066df4ab4d2e6ba32c&profile_id=165" videomp4= "https://player.vimeo.com/external/434718483.sd.mp4?s=62363e673d01aaf9d1573e14441445f358bc854d&profile_id=165" thumbnail= ""] So from California, the top American...

Wesley Ward runner Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who won the G2 Queen Mary S. on Saturday, is being targeted at the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville in France later this summer. Ward was not on hand at Royal Ascot due to the ongoing coronavirus, but instead watched from his base at Keeneland. He said, "The Prix Morny is where we're headed [with Campanelle]. She'll come home now and have a couple of gallops on the beautiful grass here in Keeneland, and hopefully then she'll be ready to ship to Deauville....

2nd-Belmont, $59,520, Msw, 6-21, 2yo, 5f, :57.86, ft. RODERICK (c, 2, Into Mischief--Cayala, by Cherokee Run), pounded down to 2-5 while facing just three foes after his chief market rival scratched in the paddock, dueled and drew off to prove much the best Sunday at Big Sandy. Having recorded breezes over the Palm Meadows turf, Gulfstream Park West dirt and Keeneland main track, the Wesley Ward pupil was out-footed slightly by rail-drawn Berhanu (The Factor) but sidled up to that foe entering the bend as they posted an opening quarter...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 2nd-BEL, $64K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:50 p.m. Wesley Ward has a pair of Keeneland-based juveniles entered in this spot. Breeze Easy's Roderick (Into Mischief) was a $550,000 KEESEP yearling and is a full-brother to two-turn GSW One Liner. He hails from the extended female family of highest-level winners Albertus Maximus, Daredevil and King Charlemagne. Roderick's stablemate Copley (Air Force Blue) is from a Ned Evans family that includes the likes of Grade I winners Swagger Jack and Malibu Prayer. Winfromwithin (Into Mischief), just a...