A thief broke into Wesley Ward's home in Versailles, Kentucky Tuesday morning and walked off with 12 trophies, including many that the trainer received at the Royal Ascot meet.
The story was first reported by the Lexington TV station WLEX.
The robber did not seem inclined to clear out Ward's house or take such valuable items as his laptop and desktop computer. Rather, only the 12 trophies were taken while several others were left behind, including Eclipse Award trophies. The thief took only the Ascot trophies and the trophy won by Judy the Beauty in the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.
“It's strange they took what they did and that and that only,” Ward said.
To make matters even more confusing, Ward said all the Ascot trophies were kept in a bag in a closet in a spare bedroom and he has no idea how someone knew they were there. Ward said the Versailles Police Department told him the criminal likely had an insider's knowledge of Ward's home and the hours he kept as a trainer.
Ward does not believe that the stolen trophies will bring the thief anything more than a few hundred dollars.
“They're really worth nothing except to my family and I,” he said. “I guess if you melt them down for the silver and gold you could get some money, but it wouldn't be that much. Their street value, what could they be worth? Maybe $50 per trophy.”
The real loss, he said, is their sentimental value.
“I was presented with a trophy from the Queen of England and she only gives out two trophies a year at Ascot,” he said. “One was for when Wes Welker's Undrafted won the (2015 G1) Diamond Jubilee. I had my kids on the podium with me when she gave us the trophy. That's a memory you can never forget. To have a part of it taken away is just terrible.”
Ward said he has already contacted British racing officials inquiring what it would take to order replacement trophies.
A Nest camera captured an image of the burglar entering the house at 10:53 a.m. but there was not a clear picture of the robber's face. The burglar entered through the backdoor, which was not locked.
“I live out in the country, three miles behind Keeneland,” Ward said. “I live on a country road that sits on Elkhorn Creek. Who would think someone is going to come around the back door on a country farm house and come in. In all the years I've been here I've never seen anyone walking around where I live.”
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