Weaver and Ward aim for Royal Ascot through Gulfstream juvenile races

(AsiaGameHub) –   George Weaver and Wesley Ward are aiming for the Royal Ascot route on Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where the $125,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies leads a card featuring two five-furlong turf races for 2-year-olds.

The victors of both the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies and the $125,000 Royal Palm Juvenile earn automatic entries to one of six juvenile races at Royal Ascot (June 16-20) at Ascot Racecourse, along with a $25,000 travel allowance for horses.

Weaver will present Easy Life, owned by R A Hill Stable, BlackRidge Stables LLC, and SGV Thoroughbreds. “To be honest, we’re unsure if she performs better on turf or dirt, but we’ll test her on turf to see if she can compete at Royal Ascot,” said Weaver. Easy Life is a progeny of Life is Good and was acquired for $300,000 at the OBS March sale. J.G. Torrealba has been named as the jockey, and the filly sits at 6-1 on the morning line. Weaver will also field Automatic Press in the Royal Palm Juvenile.

Ward is set to run Joker’s Chic for Twin Oaks Bloodstock LLC following a fourth-place finish in her debut race—a 4 ½-furlong maiden on dirt at Keeneland. “When she ran, I felt confident about her performance. Irad Oliveira had her perfectly positioned early on, yet she didn’t deliver the explosive move she showed at Palm Meadows,” Ward stated. “I informed the owner, ‘This must be a grass filly.’ If she regains that form from her work at Palm Meadows, she’ll be very difficult to beat.” Originally scheduled to ride, Joao Moreira is unavailable due to commitments in Hong Kong; Joe Bravo has taken over the mount, with Joker’s Chic also listed at 6-1.

Dew Sweepers’ Pot’s Right enters as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the nine-horse field after securing victory in her debut at Keeneland on dirt. She will now race on turf under trainer Phillip Antonacci with Luis Saez as the jockey. Other notable entries include Arindel’s Boots, who won her last start by 3 ½ lengths at Gulfstream and is now trained by Carlos David, as well as two first-time starters from Mark Casse: D.J. Stable LLC’s Pros and Cons and Gary Barber’s Sass Sass.