Ward wowed by American Rascal's flashy debut win

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The debut scarcely could have been any flashier. American Rascal, a royally bred 2-year-old colt, won the second race Thursday at Keeneland by a widening 10 1/4 lengths that even had Wesley Ward grasping for superlatives.

“It’s humbling,” said Ward, whose dominance in early season 2-year-old races is as pronounced as ever this year. “Some of the horses the owners give me to train for them are just incredibly talented. Obviously, this colt is unbelievably fast.”

Ridden by Joel Rosario in the 4 1/2-furlong race out of the Headley chute, American Rascal sat a few lengths off Loudermilk before easily overtaking him in the upper stretch, hitting full gear passing the eighth pole before finishing in a swift 51.21 seconds without urging. He paid $3 as a huge favorite in a field of nine.

Beyer Speed Figures are not assigned to spring-meet races for 2-year-olds at Keeneland.

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American Rascal, bred and owned by the Stonestreet Stables of Barbara Banke, is by the world-class sire Curlin and is the first foal from Lady Aurelia, a European champion Ward trained for Stonestreet during a notable 10-race career from 2016-18.

Ward soon will send some of his horses to the Ascot preview day set for May 3, but American Rascal will be saved for the Group 2 Norfolk going five furlongs during the five-day Royal Ascot meet spanning June 20-24

“He’s so fast that he probably has some distance limitations,” Ward said. “He’s a lot like his mother, who also was limited in how far she could go. They’re just absolutely brilliant racehorses.”

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