Wesley Ward | Horse Racing Free Tips

Judge Vacates Order To Sell Ramsey Horses At Keeneland; Owner Places Over $1 Million In Escrow For Ward Suit

A judge in Jessamine County Circuit Court has reversed his order to send 14 horses owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey to the Keeneland January sale, reports bloodhorse.com, as part of an ongoing lawsuit by the couple's longtime trainer, Wesley Ward. Instead, the judge has allowed Ramsey to place $1,014,614.96 into escrow as security.

Ward brought suit against the Ramseys for unpaid bills in March of this year, claiming he was owed $974,790.40, which included training bills, purses, and interest. Around the same time, trainer Mike Maker also sued the couple for $905,357.29 in unpaid bills. Maker settled his case in September, with the terms of settlement undisclosed.

Ward had filed a motion in early December week seeking to be allowed to sell the horses, pointing out that he had filed agister's liens on them and obtained a warrant enforcing those liens. In March, Ward secured liens against a total of 44 Ramsey horses who contributed to the outstanding bills. According to court documents, Ward has sold a number of the horses who racked up the bills at public auction or via claiming and the 14 that remain are the only ones Ward still has in his barn.

Ramsey's attorney filed an emergency motion one day after the 14 were supplemented to the Keeneland January sale, requesting the judge vacate his order for sale, on the basis that the sale would cause “permanent and irreparable damage to Defendants that will not be made whole by mere money.”

“Following entry of the Court's order of sale, the supplement to the Keeneland January 2021 Horses of All Ages Sale has been released. It does not include the horses which are the subject of the Court's order of sale, which means the horses, their pedigrees, and past performances will not appear either in the catalog or the supplement for the sale,” the emergency order stated. “As a result, permitting the horses to be sold under such circumstances will cause substantial damages to Defendants.”

Ramsey's attorney Mike Meuser told bloodhorse.com that all 14 horses will be sent to another trainer in Florida.

Coolmore May Send Two-Time Breeders’ Cup Winner Golden Pal To Race In Australia

Coolmore-owned turf sprinter Golden Pal could go head to head with stablemate Home Affairs in Australia, according to JustHorseRacing. While there are not yet nominations out for the races that the pair could participate in, it would be a thrilling match up if the two run against each other.

Home Affairs, a son of I Am Invincible trained by Chris Waller, won the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington Racecourse a week before the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Golden Pal, a 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo out of the top turf sprinting mare Lady Shipman, is a two-time Breeders' Cup winner trained by Wesley Ward.

“If they think Golden Pal is the best sprinter in the world, maybe we need to bring him here to Australia, so we may bring Golden Pal down to Australia in the autumn and try him in one or two of the sprint races down here,” Coolmore's Tom Magnier told JustHorseRacing. “There haven't been too many US sprinters come to Australia, so it's going to be something different that we are looking to do. Both horses will probably go to Ascot in the (UK) summer after that.”

Ambitious Schedule for Golden Pal to Include Trip to Australia

Coolmore and trainer Wesley Ward have started to put together a 2022 schedule for their star grass sprinter Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) and it's likely to include at least two trips abroad.

With an eye on showcasing the colt and future stallion to as many people as possible around the world, Coolmore is planning on running Golden Pal in the June 14 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, as well as a yet-to-be-determined race in Australia.

Golden Pal has raced twice in Europe, finishing second in the 2020 G2 Norfolk S. and seventh in the 2021 G1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe S. at York. A trip to Australia would be a first for this year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner.

“The Americans think he's the best sprinter in the world,” Coolmore's Tom Magnier told RSN. “If they think Golden Pal is the best sprinter in the world, maybe we need to bring him here to Australia.”

“We are planning a schedule for next year and it will include a trip to Australia at some stage,” Ward added. “They want to open up the Southern Hemisphere market for him so far as a stallion goes. We will look into whatever races are available. The race in Australia will probably be after the Breeders' Cup. It's hard to plan a year out with a racehorse. But we do want to race in the Southern Hemisphere with this horse. If the boys from down under get to see him race and see how great a racehorse he is, that would open up a lot of doors.”

Ward said Golden Pal will begin his year in the GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland, which will serve as a prep for the King's Stand.

“A win there would open things up for him if they decide to make him a stallion at Coolmore in Ireland,” Ward said. “It would show that he could do it over there in Europe. He hasn't done that yet. He was second as a 2-year-old at Royal Ascot and faltered this year at York, for whatever reason.”

Ward also said that Golden Pal could have a dirt race at some point during his 2022 campaign. He has raced just once on the dirt, winning a 4 1/2-furlong race last year at Keeneland.

“To me, he's equally as good on the dirt as he is on the grass, so we're also going to be looking at possibly running him on the dirt after Ascot,” Ward said. “If he shows on the dirt what he has showed on the grass, it opens up another market for him as a stallion.”

Golden Pal's 4-year-old campaign is also set to include a return appearance in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, which will be run at Keeneland.

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Judge Rules that Ward Can Sell Ramsey Horses at Keeneland January

Jessamine (Ky.) County Circuit Court Judge Hunter Daugherty ruled Thursday that trainer Wesley Ward can sell 14 horses owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey at the Keeneland January Sale in order to cover what Ward alleges are unpaid training bills. Ward has maintained the he is owed nearly $1 million by the Ramseys.

The story was first reported by the BloodHorse.

“Unfortunately, it has come down to this,” Ward said. “Mr. Ramsey has been a big part of my success. We've won over $10 million in purses and 250 races and I have raced for him in five different countries. He's a great guy and for whatever reason things went sideways. I'm just glad that this is about to come to an end. I hope that someday I will be able to shake his hand. I don't know how things to got to this point, but I have nothing bad to say about Mr. Ramsey.”

The horses are scheduled to be sold Jan. 13.

Daugherty was ruling on a Dec. 2 motion in which Ward requested permission to sell the horses in question. Ward's lawyers argue that the sale of the horses became necessary only after all other efforts to collect the money from Ramsey had failed. Because Ward's dispute with Ramsey, who has denied owing Ward the money, is ongoing, the proceeds from the sale will be held in escrow pending a full resolution of the matter.

On Mar. 19, Ward sued Ramsey for unpaid bills. According to court filings, Ramsey acknowledged the debt and agreed to pay Ward $100,000 per month until it was paid off. But he made just one payment.

In a Dec. 7 counterclaim, Ramsey argued that he did not in fact owe Ward the money because Ward wasn't fulfilling his duties as a trainer. The allegations made against Ward included breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, breach of good faith and fair dealing, and unjust enrichment

None of the Ward-Ramsey horses have started since July, which Ramsey says prevented him from earning any purse money with the 14. Ward said the horses have not run because Ramsey would not allow them to be entered. Ward said he had hoped that the horses could continue running and that their earnings could be used to pay off the debt.

“We have now learned that Ward was not looking out for our best interest or the best interest of our horses,” Ramsey charged. “In many instances we are learning he was not training our horses and certainly not training them to the standards of the industry for Thoroughbred training and race preparation.”

“Rather than pay his debt to Ward Enterprises and take possession of his horses, Ramsey has instead chosen to publicly make false assertions against Ward Enterprises in a misguided attempt to trump up claims against Ward Enterprises,” Ward's legal team countered.

The list of horses scheduled to be sold is headed by Artie's Princess (We Miss Artie), winner of the GII Bessarabian S. at Woodbine in 2020 and the champion female sprinter in Canada last year. The list also includes gelding Ramsey Solution (Real Solution), winner of the Tapit S. at Kentucky Downs; and Chasing Artie (We Miss Artie), the winner of the Palisades Turf Sprint S. and the My Frenchman S. Four other older horses will be sold: Train to Artemus (Tapizar), Royal Kitten (Kitten's Joy), Bitten by Kitten (Kitten's Joy) and Casanova Kitten (Kitten's Joy).

Seven unraced 2-year-olds will also be sold. They are Economic Hangover (We Miss Artie), Frosty Paws (Frosted), Gambling Tzar (Tapizar), Parents Pride (Maclean's Music), Pillbox (We Miss Artie), Plan of the Day (Maclean's Music) and Profit Hunter (We Miss Artie).

“We were willing to help facilitate the process,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “We have been watching the developments so we would have room to offer them if necessary, and the ruling came down today. We are able to make them available to be offered on the last day of the sale, which is Jan. 13.”

Ward said he has been training the horses with the sale in mind.

“They're either breezing tomorrow or the next day,” he said. “We're ready to go so that we can show all the potential buyers that the horses are in good shape and are fit and fresh. They will have ample works going into the sale.”

Ward expects that the total proceeds from the sale will exceed the $1 million he says he is owed.

“I'm hoping Mr. Ramsey makes a bunch of money here,” he said. “Hopefully he will make much more than what his costs are.”

Trainer Mike Maker has had similar problems with Ramsey and at one point this year claimed he was owed more than $900,000 in unpaid bills. Ramsey and Maker have since reached a settlement.

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