Ward having great meet at Belmont

ELMONT, N.Y. – Wesley Ward will soon depart for England to join the 10 horses he sent to run at next week’s Royal Ascot meeting. He hopes to carry overseas the momentum he’s built in New York this spring.

Ward has had a dynamite Belmont spring-summer meet, with 12 winners from 32 starters through the first 29 days. He’s won three stakes, including last Thursday’s $150,000 Astoria for 2-year-old fillies with Athens Queen.

“Fantastic meet,” said Ward, who has horses at Keeneland and Belmont. “Everything’s come together race-wise. They’re fitting in the schedule, horses going back and forth out of Keeneland,”

Ward, who last spring won 14 races at Belmont, has three horses entered on Friday’s card. Naturally, Ward will be a player in race 4, a maiden turf sprint for 2-year-old fillies, where he has entered Kuna and Cyclical. Five of Ward’s 12 winners at this meet have come with 2-year-olds.

Kuna is a daughter of Scat Daddy – sire of Triple Crown winner Justify – who brought $300,000 as a yearling last summer at Saratoga.

Cyclical is a homebred daughter by More Than Ready out of the mare Wave Theory, a multiple stakes-placed mare who ran second in the Grade 2 Sands Point here in 2013.

Cyclical, who will be ridden by John Velazquez, has a steadier work tab than Kuna, who will be ridden by Joel Rosario.

Later on the card, Ward will send out Battle Station in a first-level allowance going six furlongs on the turf. Ward scratched Battle Station out of a similar spot going a mile last Friday. This will be Battle Station’s first start on turf since he won his career debut last summer at Saratoga.

Ward said he anticipates being active throughout the remainder of this meet.

“I’m going to support Belmont right to the end because it seems to be good to me,” Ward said. “I’ll maybe be a little light at the start of Saratoga. Pick my spots the first book of the meet, and I’ll be ready right after that.”

Ward said he anticipates running Athens Queen in the Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville on July 20, opening day of the Saratoga meet.