Wesley Ward

As a $55,000 Indiana-bred yearling sourced from the Fasig-Tipton July sale, she may have been a bargain compared to the outsized number of seven-figure Kentucky-bred yearlings that usually grace Bob Baffert's shedrow, but Holmby (f, 2, Corniche--Candida H., by Lemon Drop Kid) sure looked like a million bucks in winning Sunday's GII Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar. The By Talla Racing LLC runner also became the first graded winner for first-crop sire Corniche (by Quality Road). Only one filly in the Sorrento came into the race with stakes experience and...

3rd-SAR $115k, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, post time: 2:22 p.m. ET Maria Louise (Gun Runner), a 3-year-old daughter of 2015 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat), debuts for Todd Pletcher going a mile out of the Wilson Chute. Bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm and Whisper Hill Farm, she brought $850,000 from Epic Horses and Town and Country Racing as a Keeneland September yearling. Maria Louise will exit from post three with Johhny Velazquez aboard in the seven-horse field. She debuts with Lasix. TJCIS...

Fanshell Beach became the first stakes winner for Corniche (by Quality Road) with a gutsy frontrunning performance in the Riverside Rush Stakes at Ellis. The chestnut was made a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Apr. 28 after a 5 1/4-length romp over the Churchill main track, and was swapped to the grass for a tilt at the G2 Norfolk Stakes June 20 during the Royal Ascot meeting. She did not disgrace herself against that field--one larger than what the GI Kentucky Derby claims at 21 runners--and finished fifth after...

1st-SAR $115k, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, post time: 1:10 p.m. Freshman sire Jackie's Warrior offers an embarrassment of riches in the card's first race with four of seven runners springing from the Spendthrift Farm sire. Chief among them is WITHOUT HESITATION who brought $2.3 million at the OBS April Sale. The sole filly in the field, the Wesley Ward-trainee is out of GSW Brazen Persuasion (Indian Charlie). Jose Ortiz has the mount. Realizing the highest price for a filly at OBS, Without Hesitation posted a :9.3 eighth breeze prior to...

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...

7th-ELP, 100K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 3:42 p.m. Spendthrift Farm and trainer Bob Baffert sweep into Ellis Park Sunday with OBLIVION (Gun Runner), a $1.2-million Keeneland September Yearling Sale grad out of GI Darley Alcibiades winner and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Restless Rider. That mare, who banked just shy of $900,000 on the track while also placing in both the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the GI Central Bank Ashland and the GI Spinaway, seeks her first winner with this being her third foal to the track. Oblivion comes...

Cold Spell (Gun Runner) lived up to her 1-5 billing to graduate in her third career start in a 6 ½-furlong test at Saratoga on Thursday. The Wesley Ward-trainee finished runner-up behind ultimate 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Mashallah (Maxfield) in her career debut going six furlongs at Keeneland on Apr. 23 before filling the same position behind My Gun's Loaded (Gun Runner) in a seven-panel Saratoga test on June 6. Installed the heavy favorite to go one better this time, the chestnut broke quickly and settled behind Collective...

Having been in the business for only about three years and with only six horses campaigning in the U.S., Will Stroud knew enough to have modest expectations. He had set a few goals but wondered if he would ever achieve them. He doesn't have to wonder anymore. Over the course of one hour and 20 minutes, the owner won two Grade I races in Saratoga. It started with a win by Kensington Lane (Ire) (Star Spangled Banner ({Aus}) in the GI Belmont Oaks. Two races later, his Title Role (GB)...

OMAHA SPIRIT (f, 2, Omaha Beach--Lifting Spirit {Ire}, by Siyouni {Fr}) was well-supported at 7-5 odds for this unveiling, and caught a flier out of the gate to lead the field into the turn after an opening quarter in :22.85 which saw her build a clear advantage heading for home. Called on to keep her mind in the game, Omaha Spirit's margin dwindled late, but Never Sleep (City of Light) was unable to close the final three-quarter-length gap on the wire. The victress is the first to the races for...

He's done enough and proven enough at the Mid-Atlantic tracks. Just 18, Panamanian native Yedsit Hazlewood leads the nation in wins with 184 and has dominated Maryland racing since arriving there in 2025. The time has come. He needs to go somewhere else where he can prove that he's more than an apprentice sensation, but one of the best jockeys in the country. On Sunday, the last day he had his apprentice allowance, Hazlewood won five races at Laurel. On Thursday, he will arrive at Ellis Park, where he is...

4th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, 5fT, 2:15 p.m. ET. Arrest Me Red (Pioneerof the Nile) is still going strong for owner Lael Stables and trainer Wesley Ward. The 8-year-old grass star has over $1.5-million in earnings, plus a pair of graded wins to his credit. Lael acquired dam Maraschino Red (Medaglia d'Oro) for $900,000 out of the Fasig-Tipton February 2-Year-Old In-Training Sale in 2008. Now, Arrest Me Red's younger half-brother RED SQUARE (American Pharoah) is set to begin his racing career for the combo of Lael and Ward.   TJCIS PPS  3rd-CD,...

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...