Leading American trainer Wesley Ward has outlined his team for the upcoming Royal Ascot and he looks to be sending one of his biggest teams to the five day meeting.
Last year Ward only sent a small team over to the meeting as he was forced to watch on from his base in Kentucky as his horses ran, with superstar juvenile Campanelle won the Queen Mary Stakes, giving him an 11th win at the meeting.
However, this year with him being able to come over for the festival, it has allowed him to also bring more of his horses over and he looks to hold one of his strongest teams for a while.
Ward has confirmed that his retained and highly esteemed rider John Velazquez will also be making the trip over to ride his horses, with Frankie Dettori and Oisin Murphy also set to pick up so of the rides.
Wesley Ward’s Campanelle wins the Queen Mary under @FrankieDettori! #RoyalAscot @Ascot pic.twitter.com/BMDhKOd5Yc
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 20, 2020
(Credit ATR) Ward said: “We’ve got Kaufymaker and Maven in the King’s Stand on Tuesday; then on Wednesday we’ve got Twilight Gleaming in the Queen Mary, and both Ruthin and Napa Spirit in the Windsor Castle.
“On Thursday, in the Norfolk we’ve got Lucci and Nakatomi, and on Friday we’ve got Campanelle in the Commonwealth Cup and Golden Bell in the Albany – that’s the line-up.
“Johnny is riding all of them, except for Napa Spirit and Campanelle, who will be ridden by Frankie (Dettori), and Nakatomi will be ridden by Oisin Murphy.
“Johnny arrives today. He’s doing fantastic and is really looking forward to coming over again.”