Ward: No Nay Never might have been 'a little short'

Ward: No Nay Never might have been 'a little short'

No Nay Never has emerged in good order from his runner-up effort in the Grade

2 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park last Saturday. Perfect in three trans-Atlantic

starts last year, the dark bay colt attended the fast early fractions, but could

not withstand Spot's late surge in the final furlong. The Swale was No Nay

Never's first start since annexing the Prix Morny at Deauville in August, and

trainer Wesley Ward was philosophical about the colt's first defeat as the heavy

favorite.

"There's so many different variables you can go over after the race," Ward

offered. "If you had it to do over again, you could do this, that, this and

that.

"Looking at it afterwards, maybe I had him a little short. I did back off of

him a few weeks ago because he was so forward. The pace was fast, :44 and

change, and he hadn't run in awhile. The winner sat back there and it set up.

But the end result is the same, and the fortunate thing is that the horse came

out of it in wonderful shape."

Owned by Ice Wine Stable, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, the

son of Scat Daddy captured his career debut at Keeneland last April before

embarking on an ambitious campaign. The dark bay colt won the Norfolk Stakes at

Royal Ascot in June prior to his Morny triumph, and he is scheduled to mount

another challenge on the famed Royal meeting. One target mentioned was the

Jersey Stakes, a seven-furlong contest for three-year-olds on June 18 at Ascot,

and Ward was unsure whether his stable star would face the starter prior to

that.

"We put him on a plane yesterday for Keeneland and we've got big things

hoping for him this summer," Ward said. "After Royal Ascot, there are some big

races and there's nothing imminent for him right now on the horizon."

No Nay Never's Norfolk win marked Ward's fourth success overall at Royal

Ascot. In 2009, the conditioner won the Queen Mary Stakes with Jealous Again and

the Windsor Castle Stakes with Strike the Tiger, and also saddled Cannonball to

finish second in the Golden Jubilee Stakes and sixth in the King's Stand Stakes

during the same week.

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