BC Winner Hootenanny in Saturday at Keeneland

Trainer Wesley Ward has been taking his time with the season debut of Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT) winner Hootenanny, who has not raced since that Oct. 31 score. Now the 3-year-old son of Quality Road   is finally ready for his first start of 2015, and will make that outing at Keeneland in the fourth race April 18.

Should he exit the 5 1/2-furlong turf allowance in good order, a tilt at the May 2 QIPCO 2000 Guineas (Eng-I) is in the cards. Last year at Royal Ascot, Hootenanny won the Windsor Castle Stakes.

"I was kind of waiting, looking for a spot to run him," said Ward. "I've been been breezing him with Luck of the Kitten and Sunset Glow. To go over to the 2000 Guineas blind, without a run, wouldn't have been ideal. You kind of want a little bit more definitive idea of where you're at with him before you do something like that.

"I just wanted a good starting point. What he's accomplished sprinting is really kind of his game. I just thought that would be a good start; see how he comes out of it, evaluate the race, and go from there. There's a lot of options after this."



Hootenanny won the one-mile Juvenile Turf by three-quarters of a length over fellow Ward trainee Luck of the Kitten at Santa Anita Park to close out his 2-year-old season after running a respectable second in the Aug. 24 Darley Prix Morny (Fr-I). His maiden was broken by 4 1/4 lengths going 4 1/2 furlongs on the former Polytrack at Keeneland last April, after which he ran third in the Rolicking Stakes when trying dirt at Pimlico Race Course.

Ward put a solid work pattern into his talented bay charge over the Turfway Park Polytrack this winter. Since training opened at Keeneland, Hootenanny has registered three five-furlong moves on the turf course there—a bullet 1:02 2/5 on March 31, then 1:05 2/5 on April 5, followed by 1:05 3/5 April 12.

"My plan early on was to leave all my better horses here at Keeneland, which is a place they're very familiar with, it's a very tranquill, good place to let down," Ward said. "I just thought, rather than bring them down to South Florida and kind of get them 150% ready for their first starts back, why not bring them along a little slowly. I gave a little bit of fitness advantage away, but I really think mine are going to start to blossom, given the the time off, in the late spring and summer."

Hootenanny was bred in Kentucky by Barronstown out of the Hennessy mare More Hennessy and races for Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith. He was a $75,000 purchase from the 2013 Keeneland September yearling sale when consigned by St George Sales and selected by Cromwell Bloodstock. He was pinhooked as a $120,000 weanling by Winding Oaks Farm from the 2012 Keeneland November breeding stock sale when consigned by Eaton Sales. 

Ward said the 1000 Guineas (Eng-I) at Newmarket could still be a potential target for grade I winner Sunset Glow, who ran third in the Appalachian Stakes Presented by Japan Racing Association (gr. IIIT) on April 12 at Keeneland.

"We're seeing how she comes out of the race but she's been bouncing around here so far and it seems like she came out really good," he said. "I'll sit down with the owners here in the next couple of days and come up with a plan."