Tag Archive for: Outfielder

Wesley Ward: Keep the faith with Outfielder

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Wesley Ward remains optimistic for the future with Outfielder following his fourth-place finish in the Prix Morny at Deauville.

The Speightstown colt created a huge impression when scorching clear on his Churchill Downs debut and while a minor setback put paid to a planned appearance at Royal Ascot, he belatedly travelled to Europe for a Group One contest his American trainer has won on three previous occasions.

After becoming restless in the stalls, leading to him being removed and reloaded, Outfielder slightly missed the break, but soon recovered to lead the six-strong field before faltering late on.

“It was certainly the toughest Morny I’ve ever been in as far as the competition goes,” said Ward.

“He was a little fractious in the gate. We asked to load him late, but they denied us, so we had to go in in post-position order and he reared up and got his foot caught on the side of the gate, according to David Egan.

“David had them back him out, which was good, and maybe he got his composure back when he went back in, but then he broke a tad slow. The good thing is he wasn’t impeded by the horses on either side of him, so in the next couple of strides he got himself back together and off he went.”

Outfielder was certainly not disgraced in being beaten less than three lengths by the unbeaten Venetian Sun, with Coventry Stakes hero Gstaad second and runaway Rose Bowl winner Wise Approach third.

Ward was pleased with the performance of his youngster given he lacked the experience of his rivals.

He added: “It was such a tough race and I was proud of the way he fought on, there were just three horses better than him, but he ran a good race considering he’d only had one run whereas the others had had multiple runs.

“Given he hadn’t had another start since his maiden and this was also his first time out of Kentucky, the others had a little bit of an experience edge on him, so I was proud he didn’t throw in the towel and he was only beaten a couple of lengths by the toughest two-year-olds in Europe.

“It was very sporting of my partners Kia (Joorabchian) and Jayson Werth to take them on as you really don’t know who you’re taking on until you’re there and we would certainly have liked a prep run going into it but we didn’t have time for one.

“He certainly gave a good account of himself, he ran a valiant race I think and he’s now back in the States, so we’ll get him home and have a meeting with the owners and my partners and make a new plan.”

The Washington-based trainer is unsure what the rest of the year has in store for Outfielder, but did raise the possibility of him being stepped up in distance at some stage.

He said: “There’s a little bit of unknown with this guy. I originally never intended to run him early in the year, but when we started breezing him in April he had some eye-opening breezes and instead of continuing to work him we put him in a race and he bounded away from them, as everyone knows.

“But really, if you look at him, you’d think he’d want to go around two turns here in America, so we’ll just see how he is after this big effort and make a new plan. Whether that be sprinting or whether that means stretching out (in trip) a little bit, I’m sure he’ll tell us with his morning breezes.”

Wesley Ward ‘excited’ to mount Morny challenge with Outfielder

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Outfielder is on his way to France with the aim of providing American trainer Wesley Ward with a fourth victory in the Prix Morny at Deauville on Sunday week.

The Speightstown colt made a huge impression on his racecourse debut at Churchill Downs in May and looked tailor-made to add to Ward’s tally of a dozen winners at Royal Ascot.

However, he was ruled out of the the trip to Britain following a late setback and for the first time in a decade his trainer did not have a runner at the summer showpiece meeting in Berkshire.

But two months on, Ward is gunning for more Group One glory on European soil in a race he has previously won with No Nay Never (2013), Lady Aurelia (2016) and Campanelle (2020).

“Outfielder left Keeneland yesterday (Wednesday), so away we go,” he said.

“He’s flying right now, doing great and everything is wonderful. He’s had some excellent morning breezes and I’m so excited to get this guy going.

“He won bounding away on his only start. It was a little bit of a rush job to get him to Ascot and he told us he hadn’t quite recovered from his first effort to be ready for his next, but now he’s ready.”

No Nay Never, Lady Aurelia and Campanelle had all struck Royal Ascot gold before following up at Deauville and while Ward admits Outfielder lacks that high-level match practice, he feels there is some upside in the fact he will line up fresh.

“He doesn’t have quite the experience the others did because the others had two runs. They’d all run at home and run at Ascot,” the trainer added.

“This horse does have a bit better spacing in that all the others came back to America after Ascot and then had to travel again back to France, so he’s got better spacing from race to race.

“His last workout was an eye-opener at Keeneland. He worked in company with a horse called Longshoreman, who is out of Lady Pauline, who actually ran at Ascot in a race prior to the Royal meeting a few years ago and finished second.

“Longshoreman finished second on his debut at Keeneland and then bounded away by many lengths, just like Outfielder did, so when we worked them together last week I was kind of unsure what would happen, but Outfielder just ran away from him.

“He would relish fast ground, that’s for sure. It’s always a question mark at Deauville, but right now he’s doing great and we’re excited about running him.”

Ward is named as a part-owner of Outfielder alongside Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing operation and former professional baseball player Jayson Werth, who is set to make the trip to France.

Ward, who also confirmed Amo Racing’s retained rider David Egan is set to be on board, said: “Jayson is a wonderful guy and it’s great to have a great sportsman like him be involved in such a nice horse. We’re excited about that as well.”

Wesley Ward absent from Royal Ascot this year

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For the first time in well over a decade Wesley Ward will not saddle a runner at Royal Ascot, with his exciting juvenile Outfielder ruled out of the showpiece meeting following a late setback.

Hugely impressive on his Churchill Downs debut, the Speightstown colt looked a major contender for the Norfolk Stakes but will not be making the trip across the Atlantic.

Ward said: “He had a a nice breeze yesterday (Tuesday) on the grass here in Keeneland and unfortunately he came out with just a hair of a shin (problem), which 90 per cent of all two-year-olds get and it’s just unfortunate it’s right on the heels of Ascot.

“We’re here and not over there though, that’s one good thing. He didn’t have to leave Keeneland, so that was good.”

Part-owned by Amo Racing, Outfielder could still be seen in action on European soil this summer, with August’s Prix Morny at Deauville – a Group One Ward has previously won with No Nay Never (2013), Lady Aurelia (2016) and Campanelle (2020) – under consideration.

“Our original plan was to go for the Norfolk and then the Prix Morny, so we’ll just train him into the Morny if all goes to plan,” the trainer added.

Few in Europe had heard of Washington-born Ward when he first came to Ascot in 2009, but it did not take him long to make a big impression, with Strike The Tiger becoming the first American-trained horse to win at the Royal meeting when landing the Windsor Castle Stakes.

The very next day Ward was on the mark again with Jealous Again in the Queen Mary and he has sent horses to Berkshire in all but one of the subsequent 14 years, amassing a dozen winners in the process.

Wesley Ward (right) celebrating at Royal Ascot
Wesley Ward (right) celebrating at Royal Ascot (John Walton/PA)

The ebullient handler will be conspicuous by his absence in 2025, but he is not too downbeat.

“I’ll still enjoy watching it here, that’s for sure,” he said.

“This was the 16th year we were getting ready to go over there. My eldest son Riley has been going every year since I started and he’s got all these friends that he’s met that go back and forward between American and the the UK, so he’s the one that’s gutted the most out of the whole family.

“Outfielder was obviously meant to be making the trip and we had another couple lined up and had some breezes on Monday, but while the breezes were good they weren’t Royal Ascot-winning good.

“You know me, I’m pretty positive and excited, but if I’m not thinking they’ve got big chances when it’s a lot of money to go over there for the owners… I want to make sure at least going into it that you think you have a winner.”