Ward high on The Great War after easy stakes win
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Wesley Ward sent out a pair of 3-year-olds, Asia and City of Vengeance, to win their career debuts on turf here last weekend. But it was a performance by another 3-year-old in his barn, The Great War, on Saturday night at Turfway Park that has the former rider most excited.
The Great War cruised to a 7 1/4-length victory in the 6 1/2-furlong 96Rock Stakes on Saturday. The son of War Front earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure despite never being asked to run hard by jockey Albin Jimenez. It was the first start for The Great War, who spent his 2-year-old campaign with trainer Aidan O’Brien, since his fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
“I thought he was awfully impressive,” Ward said. “It was more like a workout for him than a race. He had to return to Ireland after the Breeders’ Cup because of the quarantine, so when he came back over here, I wanted to keep him in the cooler climate, which is one reason he’s in Kentucky. I currently have all my Breeders’ Cup horses there, including Judy the Beauty.”
Ward said he picked out the Turfway route to the Kentucky Derby because he believes it is a perfect series of races for The Great War – to determine whether he can handle more distance and because the competition would be a lot softer than at Gulfstream Park.
“I was thinking of the big picture and how we’re going to get him to what we hope will be our major goal at the moment, which is, of course, the Kentucky Derby,” Ward said. “Being he’s already proven on turf, I knew he’d handle the switch to the Polytrack at Turfway. I ran against The Great War last year at Ascot, and one thing I noticed when I looked at him was that he’s got a dirt foot, not a turf foot. Although he’s stabled at Keeneland, I’ve been vanning him over to work at Turfway. But once the main track opens at Keeneland, he’ll train and breeze exclusively on the dirt.”
Ward also said that The Great War has a bleeding issue, which is another reason he’s been sent to race in the U.S. this season.
“Getting Lasix really helps this horse,” said Ward. “He didn’t bleed at all when he ran the other night.”
Ward said Eclipse Award winner Judy the Beauty will begin working in a couple of weeks but is not likely to launch her 2015 campaign until the spring meet at Keeneland.