Report: Ward will miss Royal Ascot for 1st time since 2012

Trainer Wesley Ward will not have any starters at Royal Ascot this year for the first time since 2012.

Racing Post reported that Ward changed plans at the last minute to send a juvenile team led by Outfielder, a 2-year-old colt who won a maiden special weight at Churchill Downs by 6 1/4 lengths in his only start.

“We were going to take a small team to Chantilly for a day-and-a-half stopover at the end of the week and then take them into Ascot on the Sunday before the races start," Ward told Racing Post. "But on our last works we decided against it. These are young horses and have had a little bit of this or that, so we opted to stay home.”

Ward has had 89 runners at Royal Ascot, beginning in 2009.

Outfielder had been pointed to the Norfolk Stakes, which he won with No Nay Never in 2013 and Shang Shang Shang in 2018. But the colt still might be headed to Europe for the Prix Morny at Deauville in August.

"We’ll see how he fares leading up to that, but he’s a big, beautiful colt who has a huge future," Ward said. "We’ve erred on the side of caution this time to help him mature and develop a little bit, and hopefully it pays off in the long run.”