Wesley Ward | Horse Racing Free Tips

Owlette Eyes Woodbine’s Selene

Ten Broeck Farm’s Owlette (Frac Daddy) looks to record her fourth stakes win in Saturday’s GIII Selene S. at Woodbine.

Conditioned by Wesley Ward, the Ontario-bred filly took last year’s Shady Well S. and Victorian Queen S. and subsequently won the June 13 Star Shoot S. in her 2020 bow. Never worse than second in six career starts, including four wins over Woodbine’s Tapeta, Owlette will be joined for the first time by Luis Contreras.

Always armed and dangerous at Woodbine, Mark Casse saddles a pair of fillies for Gary Barber–American Tap (Tapiture) and Two Sixty (Uncaptured)–in addition to Diamond Sparkles (War Front), campaigned by the partnership of Barber and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.

Diamond Sparkles made her North American debut in last September’s GI Natalma S., finishing fourth behind Abscond (Blame). In her latest start, while making her debuting over Woodbine’s main track June 13, she finished second.

“She came over from Europe, ran pretty good in the Natalma, and then struggled a little bit through the winter,” said Casse of Diamond Sparkles. “I thought her last race was good and she’s training well. We’re going to give her a shot.”

A victory by Casse in Saturday’s Selene, a stepping stone to the Aug. 15 Woodbine Oaks, would be a record sixth win, tying him with Yonnie Starr. Casse and Barber teamed to take the 2018 edition with Miss Mo Mentum followed by Power Gal last year.

Also a fan of the Woodbine Tapeta, Merveilleux (Paynter) was runner-up in last falls’s Princess Elizabeth S. and Ontario Lassie S. Trained by Kevin Attard, she came home a winner in her sole 2020 start, a June 21 allowance over 8 1/2 furlongs.

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‘He Was My Idol’: Wesley Ward Saddles Saratoga Winner For Hall Of Famer Steve Cauthen

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.

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American Pharoah’s Maven too Fast for Them at Keeneland

8th-Keeneland, $79,935, Alw, 7-8, 3yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.02, gd.
MAVEN (c, 3, American Pharoah–Richies Party Girl {MSW, $357,085}, by Any Given Saturday), the less fancied of a pair of Wesley Ward runners at 3-1, turned this event into a one-horse affair for a barn that wins more than its fair share of sprints on the Lexington lawn. A debut winner while earning a strong 84 Beyer Speed Figure in April of his 2-year-old season, the chestnut traveled overseas to annex Chantilly’s G3 Prix du Bois that June. He had been off since finishing 10th in Goodwood’s G3 Molecomb S. July 31, but showed some upbeat drills over the local turf for this. Hard ridden to seize command early, Maven doled out an opening quarter of :21.62 as his stakes-winning female stablemate Cambria (Speightstown) was forced to take up sharply around the turn. Maven continued into the lane unopposed and, despite never switching leads, streaked home 2 3/4 lengths to the good of of big longshot Johnny Unleashed (Colonel John). Cambria never recovered from the trouble and checked in 10th. The winner is the lone registered foal out of Richies Party Girl, who took the 2013 Juvenile Turf Sprint on Breeders’ Cup weekend and added two more turf sprint stakes the following season. Sales history: £725,000 RNA 2yo ’19 GOFLON. Lifetime Record: GSW-Fr, 4-3-0-0, $143,488. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O-Richard Ravin; B/T-Wesley Ward (KY).

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Thursday’s Racing Insights: Well-Bred 2YO Fillies Take to Belmont Turf

1st-BEL, $64K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:15 p.m.
Gary Barber’s Frankel At Ascot (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) is one of several well-bred juveniles set to square off in this turf dash. The Mark Casse pupil was a €535,000 Arqana August yearling purchase by Justin Casse. She is out of stakes-winning juvenile Ascot Family (Ire), making her a half to precocious MGSW and GISP Family One (Fr) (Dubai Destination). The bay has fired a couple of bullets over the local dirt in preparation for this first go. Steal My Sunshine (Distorted Humor) is Wesley Ward owned, trained and bred. She’s a half to GSW turf sprinter/miler Conquest Panthera (Kitten’s Joy) and a full to MGSW Happy Like a Fool, who sold for $1.85 million in the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November sale. Contained (Flintshire {GB}), from her sire’s first crop, is out of a half-sister to GISW In Lingerie (Empire Maker). Her third dam is champion 2-year-old filly Phone Chatter (Phone Trick). Wertheimer et Frere homebred Alda (Munnings) ran on well to finish a close third–beaten a nose for second–going a furlong shorter than this against males June 12. She’s a half to French Group 2 winner Alignement (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) out of a half to MGSW Exhi (Maria’s Mon). TJCIS PPs

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