Weaver returns to qualifiers for turf sprint races at Royal Ascot

Trainer George Weaver will seek to earn another trip to Royal Ascot Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where he will make a bid to sweep the $120,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies and the $120,000 Royal Palm Juvenile for a second year in a row.

The Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, a five-furlong turf stakes for 2-year-old fillies carded as race no. 8, and the Royal Palm Juvenile, a five-furlong turf race for 2-year-olds carded as race no. 10, are automatic qualifiers for a choice of six stakes for juveniles during the Royal Ascot meeting that will run June 18-22. The winners of both of Saturday’s stakes will also earn $25,000 travel stipends.

Weaver swept both races in their inaugural runnings last year, saddling Crimson Advocate for a victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies and No Nay Mets for a triumph in the Royal Palm Juvenile. Crimson Advocate went on to score a victory in the Queen Mary (G2) at Royal Ascot. No Nay Mets came up short in the Norfolk Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot before returning to the U.S. to win back-to-back stakes.

“Just trying to make those races everything has to go perfectly. There’s a lot of planning and involvement. Once they earned the shot to go over there, which they did at Gulfstream, it was a beautiful trip,” Weaver said. “The filly won and the other horse didn’t do as well. It was just a great experience for me and my family.”

Weaver will seek to return to Royal Ascot this year. He entered Bunratty Manor and Good Long Cry in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, as well as Governor Sam in the Royal Palm Juvenile.

Bunratty Manor, who Weaver trains for Dewsweepers III, is an unraced Irish-bred daughter of No Nay Never. Also the sire of No Nay Mets, No Nay Never captured the 2013 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot for trainer Wesley Ward. Good Long Cry, owned by Black Type Thoroughbreds and Swinbank Thoroughbreds, is an unraced daughter of Long On Value.

Hector Diaz Jr. has the call on Bunratty Manor, while Edwin Gonzalez has been named to Good Long Cry.

“They’ve done enough that they are ready to make a debut,” Weaver said. “This race is here and because of what happened here last year, we said, ‘Let’s start here.’ We could look for a maiden race, but they’ve done enough in the morning that we think they have a shot, and we want to give them that shot.”

Both fillies have breezed on the turf course at Palm Beach Downs in preparation for the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, which drew a full field of 12.

Governor Sam is an unraced son of Improbable owned by Bregman Family Racing and Swinbank Thoroughbreds. He shares part of his ownership with No Nay Mets, who wore the silks of Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman’s stable.

“He’s doing well. He worked very well at the OBS sale in April,” Weaver said. “He kind of fell into the same mold that No Nay Mets did. We bought No Nay Mets out of the OBS April sale. I think we had him 16 days before he ran. We’re going to ask Governor Sam to do the same thing for Bregman Family Racing that we did last year. It’s a task, but the horse has some speed.”

Gonzalez has the mount on Governor Sam, who is scheduled to meet 11 rivals in the Royal Palm Juvenile.

Weaver will saddle his 2-year-olds Saturday with so many wonderful memories from his experiences at Royal Ascot.

“Part of the perk of being involved in horse racing and being a racehorse trainer is the traveling and the experience of seeing things. I’ve been to Royal Ascot a couple times now and it’s a special place for the races. You could feel the energy there,” Weaver said. “Everyone loves the racing there. It’s a fantastic place win, lose or draw, and the fact that we won just put us all over the top. It’s a difficult accomplishment to win at Royal Ascot, especially shipping over there from America. It’s harder on a horse to ship. We don’t have home-court advantage over there. It was exciting. We’re very proud of the horses we took over there.”

Weaver’s entrants will certainly need to earn their way to Royal Ascot while competing in full fields of promising 2-year-olds in both races.

Wesley Ward, who has saddled 12 winners at Royal Ascot, will be represented in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies by Perfect Shances, who is coming off a dazzling 4 3/4-length debut victory April 11 at Keeneland. He is represented in the Royal Palm Juvenile by Raise the Bar, who captured his debut at Keeneland by 2 1/4 lengths.

Walter Rodriguez is named on both Ward trainees.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse has entered two in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, Bullet and My Emmy. Casse also entered three in the Royal Palm Juvenile: Classy War, Garden of War and Makeit to Cheyenne. All five of his starters debut Saturday.

Bullet was purchased at the 2023 Keeneland September yearling sale for $425,000. She is out of Marlinspike, a winning daughter of Surfside, who was the winner of multiple Grade 1 stakes and more than $1.8 million in purses for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Surfside was out of Flanders, a multiple Grade 1 winner.

My Emmy, Classy War and Garden of War are all offspring of War of Will, a multiple graded-stakes winner for Casse and owner Gary Barber. War of Will won the 2019 Preakness on dirt at Pimlico as well as the 2020 Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) on turf at Keeneland. Makeit to Cheyenne, a son of Liam’s Map, was purchased at the 2023 Keeneland September yearling sale for $125,000.

Casse enjoyed Royal Ascot success when he saddled Tepin for a victory in the 2016 Queen Anne (G1).

Bois Blanc, The Queens M G and Unchained Elaine will enter the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies off encouraging debuts.

Justin Wojczynski-trained Bois Blanc closed from off the pace to finish second in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race at Keeneland. Unchained Elaine, trained by Patrick Biancone, chased front-running winner Mensa throughout a 4 1/2-furlong maiden test at Gulfstream.

Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained The Queens M G set a pressured pace on her way to victory in a 4 1/2-furlong dash at Keeneland before being privately purchased.

Bright Skittle enters the Royal Palm Juvenile off a most encouraging third-place finish in a 5 1/2-furlong turf event at Keeneland, where he closed from last to come up only 1 3/4 lengths short in his debut.