Ward has runners in both Saratoga opening-day stakes

Though he couldn’t conquer Royal Ascot this year, trainer Wesley Ward now turns his attention to Saratoga, where he will be represented in both of Thursday’s opening-day stakes on the 10-race card.

Ward will send out debut winner Aurelia Garland in the Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and the 3-year-old filly Abyssinian against the boys in the Grade 3, $100,000 Quick Call Stakes, scheduled for 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

Aurelia Garland drew post 8 in a nine-horse field for the Schuylerville, run at six furlongs on dirt. Despite getting off awkwardly, Aurelia Garland, a daughter of Constitution, won her debut by five lengths at Belmont Park on May 2.

“I liked her, but I didn’t like her as much as what I saw in the race,” Ward said Saturday. “She’s kind of an easygoing filly in the morning. She had some nice works, but nothing like she showed in the race. It was a welcome surprise.”

Joe Bravo, aboard for the debut win, will be back aboard again.

The Schuylerville drew maiden winners from six different tracks as well as a first-time starter.

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The wild card could be Shippy, who won her debut by 10 3/4 lengths at Laurel on June 14 and then was sold to a group headed by Dean Reeves and turned over to Doug O’Neill. Shippy had a sharp half-mile workout at Belmont Park on Friday before vanning to Saratoga on Sunday. Shippy will have to overcome the rail post.

O’Neill also sends out Comical, a six-length winner at Santa Anita on May 26. She also worked at Belmont on Friday before heading to Saratoga.

The field includes the Todd Pletcher-trained duo of Integral, a debut winner at Gulfstream, and Kiss the Girl, a first-out winner at Belmont. The others entered are Lady Fatima, Lula’s Roadrunner, His Glory, and the first-time starter Buxom Beast.

Ward said he entered Abyssinian in the Quick Call to take a look and see if he prefers that race to the Coronation Cup on Sunday, when she would run against fillies. Abyssinian already has faced males, finishing third to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Bulletin in the Palisades Turf Sprint at Keeneland.

“I really felt I could beat [Bulletin],” Ward said. “She got left at the gate, and Johnny [Velazquez] was thinking a lot of her, and he was sending, trying to beat that bullet, but he had to make up some lengths, and it was tough against a horse like that. I gave her an excuse, thinking she’d come back and be dominating in her next start and wasn’t.”

In her next start, Abyssinian finished second to Change of Control, a 35-1 shot, in the Mamzelle Stakes at Churchill.

Abyssinian drew the rail and will be ridden by Velazquez.

The field off 11, including one for the main track only, in the Quick Call includes supplemental entrants Gladiator King, a multiple stakes winner on dirt this year who is 2 for 3 lifetime on turf, and Dunph, third in the Mystic Lakes Derby at Canterbury on June 22.

Call Paul, a stakes winner on dirt, will try turf for the first time for trainer Jason Servis. The others entered for turf are Elektronic and Mount Travers for Linda Rice, Listing, Fully Loaded, Neverland Rock, and Sombeyay. Releasethethunder was entered for the main track.

A total of 113 horses were entered for the opening-day card. First post will be 1 p.m. Eastern.