Wesley Ward absent from Royal Ascot this year

For the first time in well over a decade Wesley Ward will not saddle a runner at Royal Ascot, with his exciting juvenile Outfielder ruled out of the showpiece meeting following a late setback.

Hugely impressive on his Churchill Downs debut, the Speightstown colt looked a major contender for the Norfolk Stakes but will not be making the trip across the Atlantic.

Ward said: “He had a a nice breeze yesterday (Tuesday) on the grass here in Keeneland and unfortunately he came out with just a hair of a shin (problem), which 90 per cent of all two-year-olds get and it’s just unfortunate it’s right on the heels of Ascot.

“We’re here and not over there though, that’s one good thing. He didn’t have to leave Keeneland, so that was good.”

Part-owned by Amo Racing, Outfielder could still be seen in action on European soil this summer, with August’s Prix Morny at Deauville – a Group One Ward has previously won with No Nay Never (2013), Lady Aurelia (2016) and Campanelle (2020) – under consideration.

“Our original plan was to go for the Norfolk and then the Prix Morny, so we’ll just train him into the Morny if all goes to plan,” the trainer added.

Few in Europe had heard of Washington-born Ward when he first came to Ascot in 2009, but it did not take him long to make a big impression, with Strike The Tiger becoming the first American-trained horse to win at the Royal meeting when landing the Windsor Castle Stakes.

The very next day Ward was on the mark again with Jealous Again in the Queen Mary and he has sent horses to Berkshire in all but one of the subsequent 14 years, amassing a dozen winners in the process.

The ebullient handler will be conspicuous by his absence in 2025, but he is not too downbeat.

“I’ll still enjoy watching it here, that’s for sure,” he said.

“This was the 16th year we were getting ready to go over there. My eldest son Riley has been going every year since I started and he’s got all these friends that he’s met that go back and forward between American and the the UK, so he’s the one that’s gutted the most out of the whole family.

“Outfielder was obviously meant to be making the trip and we had another couple lined up and had some breezes on Monday, but while the breezes were good they weren’t Royal Ascot-winning good.

“You know me, I’m pretty positive and excited, but if I’m not thinking they’ve got big chances when it’s a lot of money to go over there for the owners… I want to make sure at least going into it that you think you have a winner.”