Ward sticking around for summer session

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – One trainer who will have a major presence during the Gulfstream Park spring-summer session is Wesley Ward, who makes his home year round in South Florida and plans to spend as much time as possible in the area in the months ahead.

Ward, who traditionally points his best 2-year-olds at this time of year for the opening of the Keeneland spring meet, won the first baby race of the local meet with Marva, who dead-heated in a 4 1/2-furlong dash for juvenile fillies here last Thursday. One week earlier, Ward sent out Lady Pauline to win her debut by 9 1/2 lengths at Keeneland, as well as 3-year-old The Mackem Bullet to capture the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes there.

A daughter of Munnings, Lady Pauline is a half-sister to Lady Aurelia, who won stakes races at 2 and 3 at Royal Ascot, including the Group 1 King’s Stand in 2017.

Ward was at Palm Meadows on Saturday morning watching several members of his locally based stable breeze, including the team of Our Passion and No Bang No Boom, who went five furlongs around the dogs in 1:01. Both are slated to run at Gulfstream soon.

Ward said that Our Passion, who won his debut at Belmont last May and hasn’t raced since, is “recovering from a minor injury.” No Bang No Boom most recently finished fifth in a turf optional claimer going a mile at Gulfstream.

“[He’s] a sprinter, but I had to run him a mile last time because the shorter starter races didn’t go,” said Ward.

Ward said he plans to keep half a barn at Palm Meadows and a barn at Calder throughout the summer.

“I’ll keep both barns full and siphon in and out of Keeneland through here,” said Ward. “The 2-year-old program is good here and there really aren’t enough races for all the horses I’ve got.”

Ward said he will be leaving for England next week to run Lady Pauline in a prep on May 1 for the Group 2 Queen Mary later this spring at Ascot, a race he’s already won three times with Jealous Again (2009), Acapulco (2015), and Lady Aurelia (2016).

◗ There will be a carryover of $264,489 in the Rainbow 6 pool when racing resumes on Thursday. The fifth leg of the sequence will be the afternoon’s main event, a $47,000 optional claimer carded at five furlongs on turf that lured a field of seven. Mar Vista Miguel, who captured his last three starts including a pair over the local course before going to the sidelines almost one year ago, tops the field. The race is wide open and also includes recent winners Tenacity Zip and Sturgeon, the Grade 1-tested Maniacal, Sunshine Charlie, Aktabantay, and Mr. Edgar.

◗ Although trainer Todd Pletcher felt You’re to Blame wasn’t quite 100 percent fit coming off a 6 1/2-month layoff, he was still good enough to assert his class edge and capture Sunday’s $48,000 allowance feature under jockey Edgard Zayas. The win was the third in the last four starts for You’re to Blame, whose first major goal this season will be the Grade 2, 1 1/2 mile Brooklyn at Belmont Park on June 8.