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Trainer Wesley Ward, 53, recorded his 2,000th-career win Thursday night at Churchill Downs when Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Gold for Kitten rallied for a rail-skimming victory in Race 6 under jockey Chris Landeros.

“I was actually moving a bunch of mares and foals from one place to another at my farm in Lexington when it happened,” Ward told the Daily Racing Form. “It's a great accomplishment, very humbling.”

Ward was born into a racing family, according to the Keeneland media guide. His father, Dennis, is a former jockey who is now a trainer and occasionally saddles horses for his son. His grandfather, Jim Dailey, was a steeplechase rider and later a popular outrider in New York for 29 years.

Ward began riding at age 12, competing at fairs in Washington, Alberta, British Columbia and Montana. On the day he turned 16, the junior in high school began riding at Aqueduct with Lenny Goodman as his agent. Goodman, a friend of Jim Dailey's, previously handled the books of Steve Cauthen and Declan Murphy. Though he didn't win any races that day, Ward won five in the next three days.

Recipient of the 1984 Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice, Ward later rode in Italy, Singapore and Malaysia. He retired in 1989, tired of battling weight. He began training in 1991.

Ward became the first American trainer to saddle a winner at Royal Ascot in 2009 when Strike the Tiger won the Windsor Castle at odds of 33-1. The next day, he sent out Jealous Again to win the Queen Mary (G2).

In total, Ward has sent out 11 winners at the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting: 2013 Norfolk (G2) with No Nay Never; 2014 Windsor Castle with Hootenanny; 2015 Diamond Jubilee (G1) with Undrafted and Queen Mary (G2) with Acapulco; 2016 Queen Mary (G2) with Lady Aurelia; 2017 King's Stand (G1) with Lady Aurelia and Sandringham (L) with Con Te Partiro; 2018 Norfolk (G2) with Shang Shang Shang; and 2020 Queen Mary with Campanelle.

His training resume also includes four Breeders' Cup victories: 2014 Juveneile Turf with Hootenanny; 2014 Filly & Mare Turf with Judy the Beauty; 2019 Juvenile Turf Sprint with Four Wheel Drive; and 2020 Juvenile Turf Sprint with Golden Pal.

In 2021, Ward saddled his first Kentucky Derby starter with Like the King, who finished 12th.

Ward's 2,000 North American wins include 50 graded stakes victories and purse earnings of more than $71.8 million.

The post Wesley Ward Celebrates ‘Humbling’ Milestone Of 2,000 Career Wins appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Winning any race at Saratoga is highly rewarding for trainer Wesley Ward, but a victory from Palace Avenger in a Thursday six-furlong allowance held sentimental value for the conditioner winning on behalf of co-owner and longtime friend, Hall of Fame jockey Steve Cauthen.

Ward, who was a jockey for five years before transitioning to training in 1989, grew up idolizing Cauthen, who piloted Affirmed to victory in the 1978 Triple Crown at the age of 18 before moving to Europe due to weight restrictions in the United States.

“He was my idol,” Ward said.

Owned by Cauthen's Dreamfields in partnership with Don Brady, Mark O. Board and John Gaynor, Palace Avenger notched a second career win, arriving at the event off a runner-up finish at Churchill Downs at 29-1.

“It's always nice to win for a guy like Steve,” Ward said. “He's really a class act. Just a guy you really want to win for because he's such a great person.”

Ward began riding in 1984, just five years after Cauthen moved his tack to Europe, where he would go on to become a three-time champion jockey in Great Britain. During their careers as riders, both Cauthen and Ward were represented by agent Lenny Goodman.

Partnering in campaigning Thoroughbreds together is something that both Cauthen and Ward had always talked about doing.

“I always watched him from afar,” Cauthen said. “After I retired, I would see him at the sales and the track. We'd always stop and chat with each other and we would say 'We've got to get together' and we finally did.”

While Cauthen made his mark in Europe as a champion rider in the 1980s, Ward is currently making a name for himself as a trainer. Ward is known for having a knack with training young horses and sending some of his talented young horses to Europe, including Lady Aurelia who was named European Champion 2-Year-Old Filly in 2016.

“I'd say his job was harder,” Cauthen said. “It's a lot to take on going over there with a horse that's never run over a course like the ones in Europe, and he's figured it out. Not just at Royal Ascot, but at France and all over the place.”

Cauthen has some familiarity with the family of Palace Avenger, having piloted the daughter of Palace's grand dam Chimes of Freedom to victory in the 1989 Group 1 Moyglare Stud and 1990 Coronation Cup, both Group 1.

“It's a good family,” Cauthen said of the Private Account mare who also produced 2003 Champion Sprinter Aldebaran and multiple graded stakes winner Good Journey. “Chimes of Freedom was a chestnut with a white blaze so her and Palace Avenger are similar in that regard. They're about the same size, about 16 hands. The biggest similarity between the two is that they both try. That's the part you can't see when you buy them.”

A start against stakes company could be on the horizon at some point for Palace Avenger.

“I think that's what we're on the lookout for somewhere. We've talked about it a little bit,” Cauthen said.

The post ‘He Was My Idol’: Wesley Ward Saddles Saratoga Winner For Hall Of Famer Steve Cauthen appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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