The well-established team of Wesley Ward and Irad Ortiz Jr. will joins forces for the upcoming Royal meeting, which begins June 14. Ward, who became the first American-based trainer to saddle a winner at the Royal Ascot in 2009, confirmed that Ortiz will partner all five of his contenders next week. A three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey in the U.S., the Puerto Rican native will be making is debut at the meet.
“He's won all over in America and he's just a phenomenal rider who rides with extreme patience,” explained Ward. “He's the man of the moment here in the States, that's for sure. He's put a lot of work in for me early in the mornings and he's so excited to get over to Ascot.”
Among Ward's chief Royal Ascot aspirants, Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), winner of a pair of Breeders' Cup events sprinting over the turf the past two seasons, is slated to contest the G1 King's Stand S. June 14. In his only prior start this season, he won the 5 1/2-furlong GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland Apr. 9.
Also making the trans-Atlantic sojourn is Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), victorious in the 2020 G2 Queen Mary S. before claiming a win in last season's G1 Commonwealth S. via the steward's room. The 4-year-old, who most recently won Keeneland's Giant's Causeway S. Apr. 16, will try to record the hat-trick in the June 18 G1 Platinum Jubilee S. Working in tandem with GI Madison S. scorer Kimari, the Stonestreet runner recorded a recent five-furlong work in 1:00.40 at Keeneland June 5.
“My work rider, Julio Garcia, has been with me for the last 16 years..He rode Campanelle, she broke behind Kimari and he tracked her all the way over five furlongs,” he said. “He eased out with a furlong to go and it almost looked like Kimari was going to keep rolling on and visually watching I was thinking 'uh oh, maybe Campanelle doesn't have it'.
He continued, “Then all of a sudden Julio moved his knuckles just a shade and within three strides Campanelle made up three lengths–she responded like a lion getting to an antelope. It was exactly what we wanted to see. The whole team had smiles on their faces after watching that, which was great to see.”
Ward will also saddle SW Ruthin (GB) (Ribchester {Ire}) (Palace of Holywoodhouse S. June 17), Love Reigns (Ire) (US Navy Flag) (Queen Mary S. June 15) and maiden Seismic Spirit (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) (Windsor Castle S. June 15).
“[Love Reigns] had about the best debut race I've ever had at Keeneland [Apr. 29]–she won by almost 10 lengths and just scampered away from them,” said Ward of Love Reign. “She has had three or four pieces of work since then, and all of them have been nice and steady and beautiful breezes. Every horse that kind of engaged her, she just exploded away from them.”
In winning her maiden by almost ten lengths on debut at Keeneland, Queen Mary favourite Love Reigns (Ire) (US Navy Flag) tore to shreds what many people thought possible for an unraced 2-year-old filly in the month of April.
There would have been more competition had Real Madrid taken to the field against a bunch of schoolboys such was the authority of the display. Love Reigns burst into the lead from stall one, powered home to win unchallenged, and the clock backed up what filled the eye.
Not even Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), who won the G2 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint over the same course and distance in 2020, could run a quicker time than Love Reigns did in that scintillating debut.
“Any time Ben McElroy vets your horse, you know you have something special, so I was delighted that Ben bought her. When you breed horses, all you can hope for is that they go to the best trainers, and we couldn't have dreamed of better connections buying Love Reigns,” – Eoghan Grogan
Now her breeders, the father and son team of Pat and Eoghan Grogan at Killourney Mor Farm in County Offaly, are rightly dreaming about what the filly might go on to achieve at Royal Ascot.
“It's not often you see 2-year-olds win maidens by about ten lengths, especially over five and a half furlongs, and we were gob-smacked watching it,” said Eoghan, who works full-time on the farm alongside his Dad.
“I watched it with my father and, as soon as she crossed the line, I turned to him and said, 'this is a monster.' She looked incredible at Keeneland and it's the stuff of dreams to have bred one like her.”
He added, “We always loved her and she was the pick of that crop in 2020. She was a tank, a real ball of muscle.
“For her to go on and do that, it was just unreal. There has been a fantastic buzz around town and we're really looking forward to Royal Ascot now.”
Pat Smullen put Offaly on the map. The Faithful County, as it is known, is also famous for being home to Open Championship-winning golfer Shane Lowry as well as the internationally recognisable Irish whiskey Tullamore Dew.
Love Reigns may soon join that list of famous Offaly produce which is all the more remarkable given the Grogans never set out to become breeders.
Pat, a builder by trade, was once owed money by a man who settled the debt with a horse. While that horse was never much use, it sparked a love affair with the sport that burns bright to this day, and the family are keen to capitalise on their recent run of success.
“It's mad really, because if he [Pat] never got that first horse, I don't know if he'd have come down this route at all. I had no interest in horses at the time either,” explains Eoghan.
“That horse he got as part of the deal didn't work out but he was bitten by the bug and then he bought Don't Care (Ire) (Nordico) a year afterwards. She was a very good producer and got things going for us which caught my interest. I saw that you can make a good living out of this game if you have the right stock and that's what it's all about really.”
He added, “We've eight mares of our own and there's six boarders for other clients. Myself and my father are at it full-time and it's starting to take off in the past three or four years but it has been 20 years in the making. Some of the families are starting to develop as we wanted so it's great.”
Love Reigns is out of Humble And Proud (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), whose career at Ballydoyle was cut short through injury, but she has become a proven producer on the farm. Not that things have been all plain sailing with her second career as a broodmare. They haven't.
Before her most prolific son, Glorious Empire (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), became a Group 1 winner in America, Humble And Proud didn't go in foal for three years but, after having one of her ovaries removed, has gone in foal in each of the last four seasons and is bidding for a fifth in the coming weeks.
Grogan explained, “She's gone from being written off to one of our best broodmares and it wasn't as if her progeny were a massive success in the sales ring at the start either. They weren't. I think the best price we got for one before Love Reigns was £40,000.”
In Love Reigns, the Grogans certainly brought something special to the Orby Sale last year and were rewarded when Ben McElroy went to €160,000 to secure the filly on behalf of Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables.
Grogan remembers, “There was loads of interest in her. She was vetted five or six different times and all of the good guys were on her. Any time Ben McElroy vets your horse, you know you have something special, so I was delighted that Ben bought her. When you breed horses, all you can hope for is that they go to the best trainers, and we couldn't have dreamed of better connections buying Love Reigns.”
He added, “She was a stunning individual with a temperament to match her looks. She actually had a colic on the Saturday of the Orby Sale and I was wondering if it was going to work out or not with her but she settled down pretty quick. She tightened up a good bit and didn't show herself as well as she can on the Saturday but, she bounced back great on the Sunday, and from then on she was great. She has always had a great temperament and nothing really fazed her.”
It is that bombproof temperament which should stand to Love Reigns when she makes the trip over to Royal Ascot for the Queen Mary.
One of her last pieces of work was reported to have gone well at Keeneland, according to McElroy, who is predicting a big performance from the filly in the Queen Mary, provided she gets her ground.
He said, “She worked on Sunday and it's all systems go for Royal Ascot now. The ground was actually soft at Keeneland and I definitely think she will want it firm at Royal Ascot. Hopefully we get lucky with the weather and, if we do, I'd be very happy about her chances in the Queen Mary.”
McElroy knows a thing or two about what a Royal Ascot winner looks like. Dual Royal Ascot scorer Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who returns in Ward's raiding party for the this year, was also sourced in Ireland by McElroy on behalf of Stonestreet for 190,000gns and the renowned agent recalls how Love Reigns was just what he looks for in sourcing a royal runner.
He explained, “Barbara Banke loves Royal Ascot so, when we go to the sales, we're looking for something that's going to be a precocious 2-year-old that will suit Wesley Ward and be out in April or early May. That sets you up, if you are good enough, to take a tilt at one of the 2-year-old races at Royal Ascot. Obviously in her case, she always showed herself to have a lot of potential and Irad Ortiz rode her in two or three pieces of work before she ever ran and relayed to Wesley that she was his best 2-year-old, never mind Stonestreet's.”
McElroy added, “We were excited for her debut at Keeneland but she was drawn one in a 12-horse field, which is always a worry, but she proved Irad right on that performance. One of the reporters from the DRF told Wesley that it was the fastest 2-year-old performance in Keeneland, which encompasses Breeders' Cup races, meaning she ran faster than Golden Pal did as a 2-year-old. Visually, it looked very impressive, and the clock backed it up.”
Humble And Proud, the rather aptly-named broodmare, gave birth to a Mehmas (Ire) colt last week, and the Grogan family are now contemplating a return to US Navy Flag (War Front) on the strength of what Love Reigns did on debut.
She may only have graced the track once, but it's not often that a filly has left such an impression. Like McElroy, the Grogans will be hoping that Love Reigns can prove their eyes-and the clock-right in the Queen Mary.
Only Choisir (Aus) and Blue Point (Ire) have managed to win the King's Stand and the Platinum Jubilee in the same year but Eddie Lynam has opened the door to his Group 1-winning sprinter Romantic Proposal (Ire) (Raven's Pass) emulating those legendary speedsters at Royal Ascot next month and is eyeing an audacious tilt at the double.
Romantic Proposal showed blistering speed in winning the G1 Flying Five S. at the Curragh last season and, despite treating the Listed Woodlands S. at Naas like a piece of work on her comeback, the star sprinter will not run again before the royal meeting and will be kept fresh by Lynam.
“We were delighted with her comeback and decided to leave it at that with her because we're trying to keep her fresh for Royal Ascot,” Lynam told TDN Europe on Tuesday.
“She has entries in the King's Stand and the Platinum Jubilee and we're going to bring her over there fresh. We'll run her on the Tuesday, all going well, and then we'll see how she recovers. If we're happy with her, she will take her chance on the Saturday as well.”
Lynam added, “If you mind them when they are young, they can pay you back in spades when they get older, but that's easy for me to say as I have the owners who will let me do that. She was never going to be a 2-year-old and has developed from being a premier handicapper to making the big jump last year at five.
“You could say that she has improved again judging by that Naas performance as, while it probably wasn't the strongest listed race ever run, she was very impressive.”
Romantic Proposal can be backed at 10-1 for the King's Stand while odds of 16-1 are available for the Platinum Jubilee. According to Lynam, the King's Stand is the preferred target for the mare, who will only back up if her main assignment goes to plan.
He explained, “I'm not saying she can do the double but it's tempting. I was going to do it before with Sole Power (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) but I didn't because he wasn't equally as good over six furlongs as he was over five. We won't back her up unless we're happy with her.”
Lynam added, “The King's Stand is the preferred target of the two and it's shaping up to be a real international race. Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) was very impressive in America recently so if he shows that sort of form we could be in trouble as he would be difficult to beat.
“Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) also has to be respected, as does any Australian sprinter, given the history of Choisir, Starspangledbanner (Aus) and all the rest of them. The Queen looks like she has a good one [King's Lynn (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire})] and Ireland will be well-represented with A Case Of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) so it looks a top race.”
Should Romantic Proposal shine on the biggest of stages, she would once again highlight the prowess of Lynam's daughter Amy, who pinhooked the Clipper Logistics-owned star as a foal.
Amy was also responsible for sourcing Soffia (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}), who won a Group 2 for her father, and plans on capitalising on the recent run of success by making a go of it as a bloodstock agent.
She explained, “I'm over the moon with what Romantic Proposal has done. From her and Soffia before that, I am hoping to pick up some orders for the yearling sales. I always thought that being a bloodstock agent would be a great job but didn't know if I'd be any good at it. Thanks to the two of them, I might try and give it a go.”
Lynam added, “I bought a brother to Mums Tipple (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) at the November Foal Sale at Goffs last year and the plan is to pinhook him. He's very nice and is the only one I have at the moment but I'd like to try and fill a few orders if I can. I wanted to prove that I was good enough to do it first before I started spending people's money.”
Wesley Ward worked five of his Royal Ascot contenders over the Keeneland turf Friday led by GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo). He covered five panels in a bullet 1:02.80 (1/8) (video). Winner of the GII Shakertown S. last out Apr. 9, the bay is being pointed at the G1 King's Stand S. at the Royal meeting June 14.
“I thought he had an unbelievable breeze today,” Ward said. “The turf was soggy, and I love to breeze on a deep, soft turf. They come in and out of the works so good. He broke off 10 lengths in front of a 2-year-old filly, ['TDN Rising Star'] Love Reigns (Ire) (U S Navy Flag)–she's no match for a horse like him at this stage of her career–but she had a target. She had a great work (1:03.60) following the fastest horse in the world. He skipped over it–it was unbelievable. That's what you want to see.”
Love Reigns, owned by Stonestreet Stables, scored a 9 3/4-length victory at Keeneland in her Apr. 29 career debut sprinting on turf. She is scheduled to race in the G2 Queen Mary S. June 15.
Stonestreet also owns G1 Platinum Jubilee S.-bound Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) (1:04) and Palace of Holyroodhouse S. contender Ruthin (GB) (Ribchester {Ire}) (1:04.80) (video). Campanelle is bidding for her third win at Royal Ascot, following triumphs in the Queen Mary in 2020 and G1 Commonwealth Cup in 2021.
Ward's other Royal Ascot worker was Andrew Farm and For the People Racing Stable's No Nay Hudson (Ire) (No Nay Never) (1:06.40), who is headed to the Windsor Castle June 15. No Nay Hudson won his career debut at Keeneland Apr. 28 on the dirt.
On June 8, they have a direct flight from Indianapolis to London Stansted Airport, “and they land and have a 10-minute ride to Chelmsford Racecourse, where they'll stay for three days until they go to Ascot,” Ward said.
