Acapulco Wins, Ward Continues Turfway Roll

Trainer Wesley Ward continued his roll at the Turfway Park winter/spring meet the evening of Feb. 19 with three victories, including the returning group II-winning filly Acapulco.

Owned by Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, Acapulco, a 3-year-old Scat Daddy   filly, won an entry-level allowance race at six furlongs. Acapulco, who hadn't raced since August in England but was training at Turfway, rallied from fourth early, collared Sweet Ruth E. with a sixteenth of a mile to go and won by 1 1/2 lengths as the heavy favorite.

Bred in Kentucky by Dr. Charles Giles, Acapulco finished third in her debut on dirt at Churchill Downs and then was shipped to England, where she won the Queen Mary Stakes (Eng-II) at Royal Ascot and finished second in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes (Eng-I) at York.

Friday night's race was her first on a synthetic surface and first beyond five furlongs. Ward has indicated he plans to race the filly, who sold for $750,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. March sale of 2-year-olds in training, at Keeneland this spring.

Acapulco, who covered the distance in 1:11.37 on Polytrack and paid $2.60, was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., who traveled from New York and teamed with Ward to win an earlier allowance race for non-winners of three races lifetime with Tabor's No Hiding Place. The 4-year-old Munnings   gelding is now three-for-three.

No Hiding Place, who returned only $2.20 to win, grabbed the early lead and finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Emmett Park in 1:17.30 for 6 1/2 furlongs. Bred in Kentucky by Rhythm and Rhyme Syndicate, No Hiding Place won an entry-level allowance event at Turfway in January, and last May broke his maiden in his debut at Churchill.

Ward, who also won a maiden-claiming event on the card with Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Red and White, now has 11 wins, one second, and five thirds in 20 starts at the meet, which began Jan. 1. He's second in the standings behind Mike Maker, who has 14 victories.