Wesley Ward expecting Lady Aurelia to be firing on all cylinders for King’s Stand defence as all roads lead to Royal Ascot
American trainer Wesley Ward is remaining focused on Lady Aurelia defending her title in the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, despite her surprise defeat on her return to action in the United States last weekend.
LADY AURELIA will attempt to defend her crown in the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot - despite suffering a shock defeat on her seasonal bow last weekend.
The daughter of Scat Daddy produced an electric performance at the Royal meeting last season, having landed the Queen Mary in similarly spectacular fashion a year earlier at the showpiece meeting.
Her trainer Wesley Ward is unconcerned by her defeat in a Listed prize at Keeneland and expects it to be full steam ahead towards another trip to Royal Ascot.
Ward told Press Association Sport: "I'm very happy with how she has come out of the race. We trotted her up the next morning and she's 100 per cent sound.
"We want to win with every horse we put a saddle on and with a filly of this calibre and filly held in such high esteem, it's a bit of a let-down when they get beaten, especially for those people watching."
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The American trainer is keen not to make too many excuses for his star filly, but felt there were extenuating circumstances.
"Lady Aurelia was dead ready to run and she'd had ample rest since her disappointing run in the Breeders' Cup, which we had no real excuse for, other than it was at the end of a long year," Ward continued.
"Every piece of work she's had has been better than the last and all the times were good, but it was her first run since the Breeders' Cup and you are always vulnerable in that situation.
"It was a more explosive comeback last year, but I think Johnny (Velazquez) went out this time thinking about beating the second choice (favourite) in the race. She opened up and got caught late.
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"The other thing is I think we know our filly is at her best at five furlongs. This race was five and a half and I think at five furlongs she would have won.
"I don't want to take anything away from the winner, but our filly is built like a rocket ship and I think she's dead-on at five."
Lady Aurelia will not run again before the Royal meeting and, later in the season, Ward is eyeing up a bid for redemption in the Nunthorpe at York.
Frankie Dettori celebrated like he had won aboard the four-year-old on the Knavesmire last August, but the photo-finish revealed she had been narrowly beaten by Marsha.
Ward added: "I think she'll tighten up real good for the run and we'll head straight on to Ascot now.
"She'll then come home and it would be great to go back to York.
"I've been narrowly beaten in the Nunthorpe with Lady Aurelia and Acapulco was second in it as a two-year-old, so I'm set on getting the win, hopefully this year."
Ward is set to take a small but select team of horses to Royal Ascot once again. Last year's Sandringham winner Con Te Partiro could run in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, whilst sprinter Bound For Nowhere could run in the Diamond Jubilee, having finished a respectable fourth behind Caravaggio, Harry Angel and Blue Point in the Commonwealth Cup.
"Bound For Nowhere ran real well last year (finished fourth) and he has had a couple of runs this year," Ward added.
"I ran him first time up in a small race with no shoes on as I didn't want him to have a hard race and then he won the Shakerstown Stakes impressively.
"I'm really excited about him. He's a gorgeous big horse who I think will be a miler at the end of the year, but being with me he'll go sprinting for now and I'm looking at the Diamond Jubilee for him."