Bacio

Wesley Ward admits that Bacio will be "jumping in at the deep end" when he tries to make the leap from handicap good thing to genuine Group 1 contender in the Coolmore City Of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes at York next month. The son of Maclean's Music made a mockery of a BHA mark of 100 when last seen winning the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes at Royal Ascot, drawing right away from his 26 rivals in the closing stages to land the spoils by nearly four lengths. All roads now lead...

Chief executive William Derby is thrilled with the quality of the entries for the Group 1 races staged at York's Ebor Festival in August, with defending champion Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and 2024 runner-up Calandagan (Gleneagles) featuring among 30 horses in contention for the £1.5 million Juddmonte International. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Ombudsman was last seen winning the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot for the second consecutive year, while Calandagan is set to return to action in Sunday's G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, having floundered...

Fresh off her stint on the official presenting team at Royal Ascot, Michelle Yu joined this week's TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Gainesway Guest of the Week to share why the historic meet belongs at the top of every racing fan's bucket list. For Yu, the absolute peak of the week was Godolphin's Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) putting on a clinic in Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes, drawing away from Minnie Hauk (Frankel) by a commanding four lengths. Although the nine-furlong race was a 'Win and...

With a Timeform rating of 120p, the Wesley Ward-trained Bacio (Maclean's Music) has been rated higher than last week's Royal Ascot Group 1 winners Mission Central (119) and Venetian Sun (113), such was the impression he created in winning Friday's Palace of Holyroodhouse by nearly four lengths. It was the best performance produced in a handicap at Royal Ascot last week as Bacio made a mockery of a BHA mark of 100, while a performance rating of 120 is on a par with that achieved by Almeraq and Satono Reve...

There was drama after the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Handicap that closed Royal Ascot's Friday card, as the impressive winner Bacio (Maclean's Music) looked in danger of losing the contest in an inquiry. Having made all in dynamic fashion to capture the five-furlong test and the imagination of all in attendance, the heavily-supported Wesley Ward-trained colt looked likely to be thrown out as Juan Hernandez initially weighed in light. After some anxious moments, it was discovered that some equipment had been mislaid and Ward, who was winning his first Royal Ascot...

Wesley Ward has been the greatest international supporter of Royal Ascot in recent years and the American trainer has dispatched a team of seven runners in a bid to extend his record at the meeting of 12 wins to date. The septet includes G1 Commonwealth Cup contender Outfielder (Speightstown), an imposing individual who was fourth in last season's G1 Prix Morny and has picked up a pair of black-type wins at Turfway Park and Churchill Downs this year. Outfielder and Ez Tin, the Golden Pal filly who runs in the...