Wesley Ward

Friday Insights: Pair Of Undefeated Fillies Square Off

2nd-CD, $134K, OC, 3yo, f, 6f, 6:28 p.m. A pair of fillies will look to stay unbeaten in their third career starts at Churchill Downs on Friday evening. 'TDN Rising Star' SUNDAY SHOES (Pioneerof the Nile) came from off the pace breaking her maiden sprinting at Turfway Park Feb. 15, then got up by 3/4 of a length in Florence Apr. 1 in the Serena's Song S. over next-out stakes winner Jill Jitterbug (Cross Traffic). The $500,000 Keeneland September Yearling sale purchase trained by Wesley Ward counts among her female...

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Nyquist's Crimson Advocate Takes Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies S.

Trainer George Weaver booked a traveling companion for his earlier Royal Palm Juvenile winner No Nay Mets as Crimson Advocate went gate-to-wire in the filly's division, stamping her own ticket to next month's Royal Ascot meet. One of the few fillies in the field with prior experience--a third sprinting 4 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland Apr. 26--Crimson Advocate got the best break of the field and never gave the others a chance, opening up a length in the first furlong and never letting anyone get a step closer. Wesley Ward's Ocean...

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Thursday's Insights: $700k Munnings Daughter Debuts

1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5fT, 3:05 p.m. Belmont Park opens the week with a maiden sprint over the grass which includes $700,000 FTSAUG buy SAM'S TREASURE (Munnings). The Wesley Ward trainee with Irad Ortiz in the irons, counts second dam MSW Treasured Up (Medaglia d'Oro) and her half-sister GSW Choctaw Nation (Louis Quatorze) in her family. Out of Ward's stable also comes a daughter out of Freshman Sire Advertise (GB), who was a multiple Group 1 turf sprinter in Europe. Chitarra (Ire), hammered down for 300,000 guineas at the...

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Princesa Celina Opens Up Belmont Meet With Debut Win

1st-Belmont, $87,300, Msw, 5-4, 2yo, f, 5f, :59.35, my, 6 1/2 lengths. PRINCESA CELINA (f, 2, Quality Road--Lastofthsummerwine, by Sky Mesa) kept her trainer's momentum from the Keeneland spring meet rolling with an impressive performance to open Belmont's spring/summer meet. Bet like a sure thing at 1-5, the imposing bay broke alertly and chased outside of the early speed of Leslie's Loot (Fast Anna) through a quick quarter in :21.98. Kept under a hand ride by jockey Jose Ortiz, Princesa Celina easily maneuvered past her rival as they swung off...

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Thursday Insights: Ward Duo Race To Open Belmont

1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, 1:00 p.m. As he is prone to do, Wesley Ward will send members of his stable to Belmont--this time a pair of juveniles--who have been working at his home base at Keeneland. The 4-5 morning line favorite is PRINCESA CELINA (Quality Road), who RNA'd at the Fasig-Tipton November sale in 2021 for $545,000, and is out of dam Lastofthsummerwine (Sky Mesa). She produced a trio of solid earners in GSW Conquest Panthera (Kitten's Joy) and his full-brother, GSP Maniacal, plus GSW Happy Like A...

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Commissioner Dan Tops Keeneland April Sale

The 2-year-old Commissioner Dan (Commissioner) (hip 120), who captured his debut Wednesday and was supplemented to the sale on Thursday, topped the Keeneland April Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale Sunday in Lexington with a final bid of $500,000 from Pedro Lanz, bidding on behalf of the Saudi Arabia-based KAS Stable. Keeneland sold 67 horses Sunday for $6,743,000.  The average of $100,642 rose 9.13% over last year's $92,224, while the median jumped 40% from $50,000 to $70,000. In 2022, 58 horses sold for $5,349,000. "Today was very positive. This is...

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Current Form on Offer at Keeneland April Sale Sunday

Keeneland will host its April Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale Sunday, with the first of 121 catalogued lots scheduled to go through the ring at 4 p.m. The auction, which features several offerings who were winners at the track's recently concluded meet, was originally scheduled to be held after the races on the track's final card Friday, but was moved to Sunday to avoid conflict with the final day of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. "This year, we have it on Sunday afternoon...

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Keeneland Closes Out Record Spring

Keeneland concluded its 2023 Spring Meet on Friday following 15 days of racing that generated record all-sources wagering of $224 million, the track said in a release late Friday. All-sources wagering (not including whole-card simulcasting at Keeneland) for the Spring Meet totaled $224,348,745, surpassing the previous record of $219,284,979 set during last year's 15-day Spring Meet. The Spring Meet marks the fifth consecutive season of record wagering at Keeneland, which was boosted by an all-time record Pick 6 handle of $4,788,759 Apr. 21. On-track wagering for the Spring Meet totaled...

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Fandom Keeps Ward In Trainer's Title Hunt With Easy Keeneland Score

2nd-Keeneland, $64,160, Msw, 4-27, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.21, fm, 6 3/4 lengths. FANDOM (GB) (c, 2, Showcasing {GB}--Brogan {GB}, by Pivotal {GB}) took all the money at 3-5 and looked a winner every step of the way, breaking on top from the outside gate and easily clearing the field to keep his face clean up front. Rated through fractions of :22.24 and :46.11, the English-bred colt let room on the rail open up as he drifted out around the turn but no one was close enough to threaten. With only...

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Friday Insights: Ward's $700k Gun Runner Filly Unveiled At Keeneland

2nd-KEE, $80K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:32 p.m. A $700,000 acquisition out of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale last October by Wesley Ward and Three Chimneys Farm, BUNDCHEN (Gun Runner) will look to close out Ward's Keeneland spring meet on a high note with this turf sprint debut. Her dam No More Parties, while unraced herself, is a full-sister to GI Belmont Derby Invitational winner Force The Pass (Speightstown) and from the extended family of MSW & MGISP Wonder Gal (Tiz Wonderful). Joel Rosario gets the call. TJCIS...

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Wednesday's Racing Insights: Into Mischief Juvenile Filly Working Bullets for Ward

5th-KEE, $80k, Msw, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, 3:08 p.m. ET Trainer Wesley Ward debuts another well-meant juvenile firster in this full field of 12. BARBTOURAGE (Into Mischief), a $425,000 FTKOCT yearling purchase by Stonestreet Stables, has posted three straight three-furlong bullets in Lexington, including a :35 flat move (1/14) from the gate Apr. 13. The bay was produced by Velvet Mood (Lonhro {Aus}), a 2-year-old stakes winner at Woodbine and half-sister to GI Frizette S. heroine Wicked Whisper (Liam's Map) and GSW & MGISP Point of Honor (Curlin). She is...

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Curlin-Lady Aurelia Juvenile Colt Romps to Rising Stardom; Royal Ascot Next

Stonestreet homebred American Rascal (c, 2, Curlin--Lady Aurelia, by Scat Daddy), the first foal out of international superstar and two-time Royal Ascot winner Lady Aurelia, romped on debut in a jaw-dropping 'TDN Rising Star' performance for Wesley Ward over the Keeneland main track Thursday afternoon. A trip to Royal Ascot could be in the cards for the mighty Curlin's 24th 'Rising Star.' "He's a super fast horse," Ward said in the winner's circle on FanDuel TV. "The good thing about running at Ascot is that they go in and out...

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