Royal Ascot 2015: Wesley Ward's Royal Ascot winners

Strike The Tiger

There was an historic moment at Royal Ascot in 2009 as Strike The Tiger became the first ever US-trained winner at the meeting when springing something of a surprise in the Windsor Castle Stakes. A dirt winner at Churchill Downs on his only previous start, Strike The Tiger was sent off as a relatively-unheralded 33/1 shot, but he showed good speed to get over to the stand rail from his draw in stall 16 and led from pillar to post, holding on by a neck and sparking jubilant scenes in the winners’ enclosure. Strike the Tiger may not have been Ward’s best ever winner at Royal Ascot, but he was arguably the most significant.

Jealous Again

The Americans didn’t have much of a wait between their first and second winners at Royal Ascot as Jealous Again blitzed her rivals in the Queen Mary Stakes less than 24 hours after Strike The Tiger had struck in the Windsor Castle. Jealous Again didn’t arrive at Royal Ascot defending an unbeaten record – she had finished runner-up in a Grade 3 at Churchill Downs on her previous start – but she did have an 11-length debut win to her name, and she produced a breath-taking display to win the Queen Mary by five lengths, eclipsing Strike The Tiger’s performance from the previous day. In a race that will live long in the memory, Jealous Again was bounced straight into the lead, setting a fast and furious pace that had many of her rivals on the stretch from an early stage, and she was never in any danger, going further clear when shaken up.

No Nay Never

No Nay Never had run to a high figure for a debutant when winning at Keeneland and he justified strong market support when producing an even better performance to win the 2013 Norfolk Stakes. Slow out of the stalls – as he had been on debut – No Nay Never was given a clever ride by Joel Rosario as the jockey managed to get his mount to settle, keeping a bit in reserve for the latter stages of the contest. No Nay Never shattered the juvenile course record at Ascot– admittedly under conducive conditions – and confirmed his status as an exciting prospect when winning the Group 1 Prix Morny over six furlongs on his next outing.

Hootenanny

The strong, well-developed Hootenanny proved in a different league to his British and Irish rivals in the 2014 Windsor Castle Stakes. A disappointment on Pimlico’s muddy dirt track on his previous outing, Hootenanny was much improved for the switch to a fast turf surface at Ascot, breaking well, making all and then storming clear to register a three-and-a-half length success. He went on to prove that he wasn’t just a precocious speedball, however, by winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf over a mile, and he looks a leading contender for the inaugural Commonwealth Cup having made an ultra-impressive return at Keeneland in April.