Wesley Ward runner Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who won the G2 Queen Mary S. on Saturday, is being targeted at the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville in France later this summer. Ward was not on hand at Royal Ascot due to the ongoing coronavirus, but instead watched from his base at Keeneland.
He said, “The Prix Morny is where we’re headed [with Campanelle]. She’ll come home now and have a couple of gallops on the beautiful grass here in Keeneland, and hopefully then she’ll be ready to ship to Deauville. It’s actually a good trip for a horse, because you can fly direct from Chicago to Paris. I’m certainly hoping I’ll be able to go, too.”
Another Ward runner, Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), the G2 Norfolk S. runner-up, will be trained with an eye to the G1 Nunthorpe S. versus elders in August. Ward has sent out two bridesmaids in the sprint feature–Acapulco (Scat Daddy) and Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy).
“I’ve spoken to the owners, and we’re going to aim for the Nunthorpe,” said Ward, who has a high-profile jockey booking in mind. “I’ve been second in the race twice, and it would be great to win it. Irad Ortiz, Jr. travelled over to ride Acapulco when she ran in it as a 2-year-old–because obviously the 2-year-olds carry a light weight. I would hope by the time York comes around, he’ll be able to travel over to ride Golden Pal–that’s the idea.”
G1 Commonwealth Cup S. second place finisher and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Kimari (Munnings), who was also runner-up in the 2019 Queen Mary, will not return to European shores and will instead be prepared with a Breeders’ Cup bid in mind.
“Kimari missed the break, and when you’re running at Royal Ascot that’s a severe disadvantage,” he added. “That’s her done in Europe this year. The Breeders’ Cup is in Keeneland this year–my local track–and we’ll work back from that. I might run her on the dirt at Del Mar and then aim to take on the boys on the dirt at the Breeders’ Cup.”
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