American trainer Wesley Ward urges Royal Ascot chiefs push back June 16 date to ensure he can have runners
AMERICAN ace Wesley Ward is hoping the start of Royal Ascot can be pushed back.
The trainer has warned he could be left with only ONE runner if the current date of June 16 is kept.
Ward loves the Royal meeting and would usually send over at least a dozen horses and sprinters like Lady Aurelia and Acapulco have lit up the fixture in recent years.
But it could be left to Kimari to fly the stars and stripes flag solo if the behind closed doors meeting isn’t moved.
Ward is yet to get to full speed with his juveniles and would not send over horses who have yet to run.
He said: “We’ll see how everything goes but it would really help me if they could push it back a bit. The 16th is coming up fast now.
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“We only have three two-year-old races at Churchill, and only one on the turf.
“They want to keep it at the same dates right now, but they are pushing their other racing back which was meant to start up by now.
“They haven’t had any two-year-old races yet and most of them going in to it would be maidens. It’s all up in the air right now, just like we are.”
French racing got underway on Monday but a date has not been set for any return behind closed doors in Britain.
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A best case scenario plan set out a Classic trials and rescheduled Group races could get underway from 23rd May.
But the latest update from the Government made no announcement on any form of professional sport.
Ward told TVG: “I don’t think I could run a horse for the first time there though.
I took Acapulco there as a maiden but he’d already run before. But she was very talented too, she was third in the dirt where she couldn’t get a hold but after we took her to breeze on the turf we knew what we had and we spoke to Coolmore and she came over and won.
“But no, I don’t think I’d bring over a non-starter maiden over.
“Kimari looks ready to come over after her beautiful win, but the next few weeks will tell the tale with what’s happening and if they are to keep the dates or move them back.”
The BHA have also yet to clarify whether international runners will be allowed to travel over.
At this stage British horses are unable to travel to France or Germany, and in plans laid out last week only domestic runners would be allowed in any restart in Britain this month.
It leaves Ward and the likes of Aidan O’Brien completely in the dark with just over a month before Royal Ascot supposedly kicks off.