Wesley Ward scores 2,000th training win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The good times keep on coming for Wesley Ward. A victory by Gold for Kitten in the sixth race Thursday at Churchill Downs gave Ward the 2,000th win of his illustrious training career not long after he earned another Keeneland training title and saddled his first Kentucky Derby starter.

“I was actually moving a bunch of mares and foals from one place to another at my farm in Lexington when it happened,” Ward, 53, said by phone early Friday. “It’s a great accomplishment, very humbling.”

Gold for Kitten, bred and owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, got a terrific ride from Chris Landeros in winning the $50,000 claiming race by a half-length. The 3-year-old filly was claimed from the one-mile turf race by David Ross.

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For Ward, who won his 1,000th race in September 2011, the latest milestone is largely the result of “getting to do the things that you want to do.”

“It’s like the old saying I tell my three kids, ‘Find something you really want to do and you’ll never work a day in your life,’ ” Ward said.

Ward’s win total does not include four by Thoroughbreds in races open to Quarter Horses in 2003-04, nor what he estimated at about 20 in races in France and England, including 11 at the Royal Ascot meet held every June.

Ward was the leading trainer last month at the Keeneland spring meet with 20 winners, marking the seventh time he has won or led the standings at the Lexington track, all since 2012. His first Derby starter, Like the King, finished 12th last Saturday behind Medina Spirit.

Ward began riding races as a teenager in his native Washington state and won the Eclipse Award for top apprentice in 1984. He turned to training in 1991, working his way from California to Florida and more recently to Lexington, “the place I love living,” he said.

“Coming all the way from Yakima Meadows in Washington to where I’ve gotten myself today, it’s very satisfying,” he said. “I actually get up every morning to do exactly what I want to do, and it’s awesome.”