Is this legit?

[Calzone Lord]

4: Ward swaps speed for stamina ahead of his biggest weekend yet

What do you do if you are an ambitious trainer on the brink of the biggest weekend of your entire career?

You book your ticket to Los Angeles quick sticks, right?

Err, not if you are Wesley Ward, you don’t.

Ward has made his name in Europe for an uncanny ability to prime fast juveniles for Royal Ascot but his methods have yielded a rich harvest on home soil this year with a BC hand to rival any trainer on either side of the Atlantic.

Hootenanny is favourite for the Juvenile Turf after bolting up in the Windsor Castle Stakes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54rttmh_l7c

Sunset Glow excelled in defeat at the royal meeting and heads the Juvenile Fillies Turf market after a courageous Del Mar success.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s6R3Wf_4XM

Last year’s Norfolk Stakes hero No Nay Never is favourite for Saturday’s Turf Sprint after returning from a break with a smart success at Keeneland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGYRFRFHoW4

And Undrafted provides strong backup to No Nay Never based on his fine fourth under Frankie Dettori in Slade Power’s July Cup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr_BDHp906s

It’s a strong hand by any standards - yet Ward is swerving a trip to Santa Anita and staying home to watch his teenage son perform in the state senior high school cross country championships.

It’s a decision that throws up a couple key questions.

First, how can a proven blazing speed influence like Ward have sired a son who appears to be such a thorough stayer?

And, more importantly, where do we get a bet down on this cross country slog?

The youthful Ward is surely five star nap material if his dad is so keen to be on hand to watch him!

This guy has a horse vying for favoritism in four different Breeders' Cup races...and he's staying home to watch a boys cross-country race?

How do you even watch a cross-country race? It's not on a course. It's a bunch of anorexic looking dorks plodding through woods and streets, I thought.