Ward turbocharged for Juvenile Turf Sprint

Before three Win and You’re In events for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint were run within the span of a couple of hours last Sunday, Wesley Ward was looking pretty strong toward the Nov. 1 race at Santa Anita.

He woke up Monday looking even stronger.

Winning efforts from a couple of Ward-trained 2-year-olds – Four Wheel Drive in the Futurity at Belmont and Kimari in the Indian Summer at Keeneland – have made him the central figure as the five-furlong BC Juvenile Turf Sprint approaches.

“It was a great day for us, no doubt,” Ward said.

Kimari only won by a half-length, while Four Wheel Drive aired by three lengths, but that hardly tells the entire story. Kimari, a Munnings filly who had shown exceptional speed in her three prior starts, rallied from last to win. Four Wheel Drive, an American Pharoah colt, worked out a perfect stalking trip when earning an 86 Beyer Speed Figure and moving his career record to 2 for 2.

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“I couldn’t be happier with either of them,” said Ward, who also has the filly Cambria, unbeaten in three starts, for this race. “That was a great new dimension Kimari showed us.”

The third Win and You’re In, the Speakeasy at Santa Anita, produced a less definitive result, with El Tigre Terrible getting up in the final jumps at 23-1 to defeat his Peter Miller-trained stablemate Bulletproof One, a California-bred filly. Nick Cosato, representing the ownership group for El Tigre Terrible, expressed doubt the California-bred gelding will be supplemented to the Breeders’ Cup for a $100,000 fee. Bulletproof One, a BC nominee, is a go.

With still three weeks to go, others definitely in the picture for the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint include the top European shipper, A’Ali; Chimney Rock, who closed stoutly when second in the Indian Summer; and the Todd Pletcher duo of Mystic Lancelot and Freewheeler. Pletcher won the inaugural running of this race last year at Churchill Downs with Bulletin.

One would-be contender, Fair Maiden, has the Juvenile Turf Sprint as a backup, with the Juvenile Fillies Turf as first preference, trainer Eoin Harty said. The Godolphin filly has high Beyers of 91 and 90 from four starts.