WHEN you think of Royal Ascot, it’s hard not to dream of Wesley Ward and his team of supersonic sprinters.
One of the US’s biggest trainers, Ward loves having runners at the meeting and has had some iconic winners down the year.
Lady Aurelia was one of Wesley Ward’s most impressive Royal Ascot winners
Ward is no stranger to success at Ascot, winning with 12 of his 83 horses, for a level stakes profit of £32.50.
Campanelle won twice at the meeting in 2020 and 2021, but his most iconic winner came in the form of Lady Aurelia.
She decimated her rivals in the 2016 Queen Mary under Frankie Dettori, leaving punters gobsmacked.
Lady Aurelia returned twelve months on to win the King’s Stand, the same year Con Te Partiro caused a 20-1 shock in the Sandringham.
Super sire No Nay Never also won the 2013 Norfolk for Ward and he’s bringing another super team to the illustrious meeting in 2023.
Ward’s 2023 super squad
His biggest and most talked about horse of the week is American Rascal, who won his debut without Joel Rosario carrying a whip.
He blitzed his rivals at Keeneland in April, leaving punters desperate to see him again and already lining him up as a Royal Ascot banker.
A spectacular debut!
Lady Aurelia's first foal American Rascal demolishes his rivals on debut at @keenelandracing for Wesley Ward and @JRosarioJockey! pic.twitter.com/tpp5MTGbgZ
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) April 20, 2023
Fittingly, he’s the first foal of Lady Aurelia, who tore up the turf at Royal Ascot on two occasions in the same colours.
The general 11-4 second favourite for the Norfolk, a race Ward has won twice, he looks to have an outstanding chance.
Ward has won the Queen Mary on four occasions and Bundchen is one of two potential 2023 charge.
She cost an enormous £553,000 and was unfortunate not to win her debut at Keeneland.
That race was meant to be on the turf, but a storm meant it was swapped onto the dirt, a surface she wouldn’t have liked.
The fact she only lost out by a nose is extremely promising as a result and Ward has said he’s “very hopeful” his filly can do the business.
Another of his younger horses is Fandom, who will head to either the Coventry Stakes or the Windsor Castle.
A debut winner by seven lengths at Keeneland, he looked very impressive that day and would be a strong contender whichever route he goes.
Ward also has stellar claims with two older horses, including his Breeders’ Cup hero Twilight Gleaming.
Second in the 2021 Queen Mary Stakes, she won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint later that year.
She reappeared this year with a Listed win at Keeneland and her experience of Ascot can only be to her advantage.
She’s a 20-1 chance in a race that has been besieged by foreign horses, including fellow American runners and crack Aussie sprinters.
At her current odds, you could certainly do worse than her, as she bids to repeat Lady Aurelia’s 2017 win in the same colours.
Finally, Ward is also running Love Reigns, who finished fourth in last year’s Queen Mary.
She was eyecatching when making a winning comeback at Keeneland, as she didn’t enjoy a smooth passage.
Punters would have been cursing their luck until she burst through a gap late on and sauntered clear in a matter of strides.
She has options of either the Jersey Stakes or the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes.
