Barn Tour: Ward considers dirt for Golden Pal's next start

Things are looking good for trainer Wesley Ward.

Coming off a year with two Breeders' Cup wins, he's winning this year at a 28 percent clip – his high-water mark, also attained last year and in 2007. At $18,885, his earnings per start are at the highest point in his career.

And he has seven graded-stakes wins this year, including two with superstar Golden Pal.

But it hasn't been all good news for Ward this year. In March, a fire at a barn he owns in Lexington, Ky., killed three horses in his care. The month before, 12 Royal Ascot trophies were stolen from Ward's home in nearby Versailles, Ky.

And though he had those 12 wins at Ascot, he was 0-for-5 at this year's meet.

Ward talked with Horse Racing Nation Tuesday to provide an update on his top talent and promising juveniles.

Golden Pal. The winner of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint bounced back from his late start and last-place finish in the Group 1 Kings Stand at Ascot – “a crying shame,” Ward said – to win the Troy (G3) by a head. “He came back and vindicated how great he was. We tried a new tactic in that we were going to try to take him back and see if we can use his speed and teach him something to come from behind. And he sure came through for us. … We are going to look at the possibility of running him here at his home track at Keeneland in the Phoenix Stakes (G2) opening weekend. But we are going to have a couple of dirt workouts here in the next couple of weeks, and we're going to decide where we're going.” In 11 career starts, Golden Pal’s only race on dirt was his debut at Gulfstream in 2020.

Chi Town Lady. The 3-year-old Verrazano filly was in last place at the half-mile mark but came on to win the Test (G1) by 1 1/2 lengths. “Our best bet, because she likes to fire fresh as she did in the Test, was to give her about a month of galloping and then start her breezes and really have her centered in where we're kind of putting the screws on tight fitness-wise and train her right into the Breeders’ Cup,” Ward said. “I really didn't want to hinder her Breeders’ Cup race with a prep when she fires so well fresh. We can sort of try to get her as fit as we possibly can right here at Keeneland on the track she's going run on and then lead her over there and cross our fingers like we did the last time, where we come from way back and make one big charge from behind and get lucky.”

Arrest Me Red. After winning the Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G2) on the Kentucky Oaks undercard, the 4-year-old Pioneerof the Nile colt was second in the Jaipur (G3) last out. “We're going to go to Kentucky Downs. He's training great right now in Saratoga. He's working week in and week out there. And we're really looking forward to running in a million-dollar sprint that they have there.”

Kimari. The 5-year-old mare caught Frank’s Rockette to win the Honorable Miss (G2) in her most recent start. “She’s training great. We're going to go on to the TCA with her, which then leads into the Breeders’ Cup.” The Thoroughbred Club of America (G2), at Keeneland on Oct. 8, is a win-and-you’re-in qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

Twilight Gleaming. The 3-year-old Ireland-bred filly has a record of 8: 5-3-0  – including a win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint last year – and she won the black-type Daisycutter Handicap at Del Mar last out. Ward has nominated her to the five-furlong Prix de l'Abbaye on Arc Day in France. “She's sort of better at five furlongs than five and a half or six, kind of limited in distance. … We're just kind of giving her a little time because she went to Saratoga and unfortunately got scratched, and we scrambled around and found a real nice spot, distance-wise, even though she had to take on the older mares. And she ran and she won. We got her back to Keeneland, and … she did seem to kind of lighten up a little bit from all those trips. And so she's just going back to the track now, I'm probably going to give her another 10 days before we get a nice easy breeze with her, and then we'll see where we go from there."

Chardy Party. The 3-year-old Ireland-bred filly won her debut in March and then the Soaring Softly (G3) in May. “Chardy Party had a minor injury in her win. So we went ahead and sent her over to Stonestreet here in Kentucky. And we’ll just give her a little time.”

Happy Soul. The 3-year-old daughter of Runhappy won the black-type Dixie Belle to start the year but then went winless in three graded stakes. “She's doing very well. We were looking at the Prioress (G2) at the end of the meet at Saratoga but may want to try the grass and run her at Kentucky Downs. We're sort of undecided right now, but we'll make a decision here shortly. She had some really nice works over the winter at Palm Meadows on the turf.”

Campanelle. The 4-year-old Ireland-bred filly has had two starts this year, winning the listed Giant’s Causeway at Keeneland in April and finishing third in the Platinum Jubilee (G1) at Ascot in June. “We're looking at the Ladies’ Sprint (G3) at Kentucky Downs.”

Bound for Nowhere. The 8-year-old horse owned by Ward won the Highlander (G2) at Woodbine last out. His next out also could be at Woodbine, in the Oct. 8 Nearctic (G2). “The only issue he has now, and he's had multiple throughout his career, is he's a bleeder. So with an old horse like that, I just don't want to run him anymore unless we're able to utilize Lasix. And so that's the reason why I took him up to Canada and ran, and he won.”

2-year-olds

Rarify. Ward thinks she is his most promising juvenile. The Justify filly was purchased for $750,000 as a yearling and is owned by Westerberg Ltd., Mrs. John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor. She was second in her first start, a maiden special weight at Saratoga. “She was beaten, unfortunately, she kind of broke a step slow and Irad rode her. She's a half sister to Runhappy, and she's by Justify. Irad told me he decided to go when he was in the middle and the horse on the outside outbroke him. And she went kind of quick the first quarter and half, which kind of set it up for a little bit of a closer, Todd Pletcher's filly, the last little bit came and got us because we were just weakened late. But she's had two really, really nice breezes since. We're going run her this coming Sunday at Saratoga, and we're really looking forward to this filly. I think she's going to be something special.”

Half a Chance. The Flatter filly broke her maiden on second effort last month at Saratoga. “We’re looking at the Kentucky Downs race on the grass. She ran really, really well on the turf in her first start. And then we ran her back on the dirt because she showed that she was very versatile in the mornings on both surfaces. We caught a real break that day. We had a little bit of a sun shower, but like a real heavy sun shower on opening day there, where it really put a lot of natural water into that track. And at Saratoga, when you get that, speed carries a little further than it would, say, if it was just a normal day. And so we had a little bit of an advantage there in that she broke and she popped right to the front. … So I think we got just a little bit lucky, I think. And I just think down at Kentucky Downs, give her the time, that it may be the right move now that all these good fillies are coming out. I’m not saying she's not one, but just saying that I kind of want to give her a little spacing in between races now that she's had two and kind of target that race down in Kentucky Downs.”

Insanity It Seems. Owned and bred by Ward, the gelded son of Tale of the Cat won his first start at Monmouth Park last month and has been working at Saratoga. “We're just going give him a bit of time. He ran and he won nicely but probably figures-wise he didn't warrant going up into stakes company. So I'll just give him a little time after this race let him mature a little bit until we decide to go back. He just didn't look like – even though he won and he won nicely, the way the figures came back and even in working him with some of the better grass 2-year-olds I have, he just wasn't quite as good as them. So I just thought this would be a good time to give him a little break.”