Royal Ascot 2019: Best of the US Challengers

Where else to start a piece like this than with Wesley Ward? A tremendous record of ten winners in the ten years that Ward has been sending runners to Royal Ascot speaks for itself, and he has once again assembled a strong team, typically comprising mainly juveniles. At Timeform, we are in the unique position of being able to directly compare American challengers to the local runners given we have a database of ratings from every North American flat race stretching back many years, as well as having access to speed figures courtesy of our colleagues at TimeformUS. Here, we’ll take a look at the best of the Wesley Ward challengers based on that data, as well as assessing the chance of Imprimis in the King’s Stand, the only American runner this year not trained by Ward.

Best Of The Wesley Ward Runners

Kimari (Likely target: Queen Mary)

It’s hard not to get excited by what Kimari achieved on debut at Keeneland in April, scorching the dirt on the way to a 15 length win over Halfmoon Reef, who herself franked the form by winning a Churchill Downs maiden next time out. As well as the visual impression created, Kimari stopped the clock over 4.5f in almost 51 seconds flat, recording an eye-popping TimeformUS speed figure of 110. If she can translate that effort to turf, Kimari will prove extremely tough to beat in the Queen Mary, and now rightly heads the market following the defection through injury of Chasing Dreams.

Different day, same stunning story – Kimari, bullet two-year-old winning debutant filly for Wesley Ward and @ljlmvel at @KeenelandRacing! pic.twitter.com/m52kuBH1DY

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) 25 April 2019

The Supporting Cast

Maven (Likely target: Norfolk)

The first winner in North America to be sired by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Maven triumphed only narrowly in his dirt maiden, but the time was good and the runner-up came out and won next time. Wesley Ward knows the time of day when it comes to winning the Norfolk having taken it with No Nay Never in 2013 and again last year with Shang Shang Shang, and Maven is certainly to be respected given the numbers he posted on debut.

Nayibeth (Likely target: Albany)

Another Keeneland maiden winner whose form was franked next time out, Nayibeth posted a speed figure just 5 lb shy of that which Kimari recorded the following week. As usual for a Ward juvenile, she showed lots of speed and barely broke sweat in beating a subsequent winner by just over 4 lengths. The doubt about Nayibeth is likely to be the sixth furlong of the Albany. For all his success at the meeting, Wesley Ward has yet to train a Royal Ascot 2-y-o winner at further than 5f, his juveniles all about early pace, and that uphill final furlong or so can prove their undoing. That said, Nayibeth is an exciting prospect if her speed can be rationed a little.

Like a rocket! Introducing Wesley Ward’s Nayibeth, impressive debut winner beating stablemate Owlette at @KeenelandRacing in the fastest time of the Spring Meet so far! pic.twitter.com/qGKWEHmFw8

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) 17 April 2019

Bound For Nowhere (Target: Diamond Jubilee)

Third in last year’s renewal of the Diamond Jubilee, Bound For Nowhere is back for another crack, and ought to go well if in the same sort of form. Second to Imprimis at Keeneland on his sole start this year, Bound For Nowhere found himself on the lead there (typically races just off the pace), and probably did a tad too much in front, getting collared late on. Depending on the final make-up of the field, Ward’s sole older runner will only be around 4 lb or so off the top-rated on weight-adjusted Timeform ratings, and should give another good account.

The non-Ward Challenger

Imprimis (Target: King’s Stand)

Already referenced by virtue of his win over Bound For Nowhere at Keeneland on his latest start, Imprimis was deserving of extra credit there given he stumbled at the start and found himself out the back early on, though the fast pace did play to his strengths somewhat. He will be the first runner at Royal Ascot for trainer Joseph Orseno, and while not quite in the top rank of American turf sprinters, Imprimis is smart nonetheless, though he will need a career best to even make the places, with the likes of Battaash, Blue Point and Mab’s Cross setting a very high standard to aim at.