Ward sending two for Shoemaker Mile

Nearly 30 years have passed since Unfinished Symph led throughout the Grade 2 Shoemaker Handicap at Hollywood Park in 1995, giving then 26-year-old trainer Wesley Ward a fourth career stakes win.

So much has changed since then. Ward, 56, is a leading trainer in Kentucky and well-known for his annual trip, and success, to Royal Ascot in Britain each June.

Later this month, Ward will seek his first stakes win in California since the summer of 2022 when Dominican Pioneer and Funtastic Again are scheduled to start in the now-Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita.

The $300,000 Shoemaker Mile is the leading grass race of the spring portion of the Santa Anita meeting.

Unfinished Symph, who Ward has credited over the years with playing a vital role in his development as a trainer, often raced near the front.

Dominican Pioneer, a 5-year-old owned by R.T. Racing, has a similar forward style, which has led to four wins in 11 starts. The Shoemaker Mile will be Dominican Pioneer’s Grade 1 debut and his second start of 2024. Dominican Pioneer finished second in an allowance race at Keeneland on April 6 after leading to the final furlong.

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“He ran a nice race at his home track,” Ward said. “He’s a one-dimensional horse, he goes to the front.

“He ran such a big race that I didn’t want to run him back on the Derby” weekend.

Funtastic Again is entered in Saturday’s Grade 3 Dinner Party Stakes at Pimlico, but Ward said the 4-year-old will be withdrawn in favor of a start in California.

Funtastic Again was third in the Kentucky Cup Classic on the synthetic track at Turfway Park on March 23, and third in the James Murphy Stakes for 3-year-olds at Pimlico last May in his most recent start on turf.

By the More Than Ready stallion Funtastic, Funtastic Again is winless in two starts on turf, a record that does not discourage Ward.

“His sire was all grass,” Ward said. “He’s a neat horse.

“We thought this looks like a good spot to get into.”

The Shoemaker Mile candidates include the multiple stakes winners Du Jour, Easter, Exaulted, and Johannes. Exaulted won the race in 2023.

Other possible starters in what should be a large field are Air Force Red, Almendares, Astronomer, Conclude, and possibly the filly Ruby Nell, trainer Richard Mandella said last weekend.

The Shoemaker Mile is one of three major stakes on the May 27 program at Santa Anita, which includes the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf and the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles on the main track.

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