Wesley Ward is a Kentucky-based trainer who has been known to run a horse or two at Del Mar. He saddled the 2014 Debutante winner Sunset Glow. He's known for his turf runners such as two-time Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Golden Pal; Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Judy the Beauty, and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Twilight Gleaming.
Ward currently has four horses stabled on the backside here including one that ran in the Breeders' Cup two weeks ago. Unfortunately, Nakatomi is not slated to run at Del Mar this fall but is scheduled to be shipped back to Kentucky this weekend.
Ward does have a 2-year-old filly who turned heads in her debut. So much so that she has been made the morning line favorite in the 36th running of the $100,000 Desi Arnaz, part of a stakes doubleheader Saturday at Del Mar.
Royal Slipper won her debut at Keeneland last month wiring the field and winning by four lengths, bounding clear early and coasting home much the best in the field of 12.
“She's got a big long stride,” assistant trainer Blake Heap says. “She's a nice filly that's for sure.”
Heap says the daughter of Uncle Mo wasn't the easiest to deal with at first. That's how she ended up in Ward's care.
“She was a little bit tough to break,” Heap notes. “That's why they gave her to us because she was hard to handle. He (Ward) spent a little bit of time with her and then he passed her on to the regular exercise riders and she's moved forward from there.”
As is often the case with 2-year old races in Southern California, trainer Bob Baffert comes to the Desi Arnaz with a live one.
Nothing Like You broke her maiden last out at Santa Anita by six lengths, wiring the field in a one-mile affair. Prior to that she had run three sprint races, coming close in her debut at Del Mar last summer but then running eighth on closing day and fourth in a race at Santa Anita.
Instead of dropping her in class, Baffert stretched her out and the daughter of Malibu Moon shined.
“I think going the two turns probably was the main factor,” Baffert says. “I like her going a mile or more. I don't think she's a one turn horse but there was nothing between now and the Los Alamitos Futurity so we thought this would be a good spot for her.”
Don't be surprised if she isn't back up on the lead again in the Desi Arnaz and, if so, she'll have plenty of company.
“Going long it's easier to make the lead than it is going short,” Baffert notes. “That horse coming in from Kentucky looks fast so you just don't know.”
Another runner who likes to be up or near the lead is Tambo, a smart-looking filly who ran a close second in the $85,000 Anoakia Stakes at Santa Anita last out. She broke her maiden three starts back at Del Mar. Trainer Peter Eurton then tried her on the turf in the $100,000 Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar and she ran fourth, but bounced back with a nice effort in Anoakia.
“She seemed like she was making up ground,” Eurton says of her run in the Anoakia. “The seven-eighths seems to be something she can do. There's always the level. You have a Baffert in there in the one hole that can run. I never look past the competition. I just worry about my own and hopefully she's good enough.”
Don't Bring Crazy, out of the Doug O'Neill barn, and another Baffert runner, Halone, round out the field in the Desi Arnaz, formerly known as the Moccasin Stakes when run at Hollywood Park.
The Desi Arnaz is named after the popular actor, bandleader and husband of comedienne Lucille Ball. It's the second of nine races on the Saturday card. Approximate post time for the stakes is 1 p.m.
Here's the field from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds: Nothing Like You (Juan Hernandez, 5-2); Tambo (Antonio Fresu, 7-2); Don't Bring Crazy (Umberto Rispoli, 12-1); Royal Slipper (John Velezquez, 4-5), and Halone (Flavien Prat, 6-1).
The post ‘A Little Bit Tough’ Early On, Ward-Trained Royal Slipper Now Favored For Saturday’s Desi Arnaz appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
