WARD KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

IT’S the family which keeps on giving – and winning!

Gosford’s most senior trainer Neil Ward at Newcastle yesterday continued a remarkable run with the progeny of mare he also won races with.

Four-year-old Stratafy, the fifth foal of the Buriton mare War Empress, clinched her third career victory when she took the Provincial Benchmark 64 Handicap (900m).

Ridden by apprentice Mitch Stapleford, Stratafy ($3.70) defeated Newcastle trainer Jason Deamer’s Altercation ($3.40) and fellow Gosford trainer Kylie Gavenlock’s Gogmagog ($11).

She has now won at three provincial tracks; her first two wins were at Wyong and Gosford.

Stratafy is the only horse Ward, who turned 78 recently, has in work.

In fact, it is the progeny of War Empress, with whom Ward won four races (all at Gosford), which keeps him going in an industry he has been so much a part of for nearly six decades, having started training at Canterbury when he was 21 before relocating to the Central Coast in the 1980s.

Breeder Shane Lear has been a loyal supporter of the trainer, who prepared War Empress’ first foal Emperor Harada (by Haradasun) for five wins (four at Gosford), and Stratafy’s half-sister Noble Emprerss (by Adelaide) for two wins (no prizes for guessing they were also at home).

Ward had high hopes for War Empress’ next foal (Rapid Velocity, by Supido) after Noble Empress, but the now five-year-old went amiss and never got to the races to show the ability her trainer knew she had.

Stratafy was War Empress’ next foal, and the vastly experienced Group 1 winning trainer pulled a rabbit out of the hat to get her back into winning form yesterday.

“I put a line through her previous run over 1100m when she failed on the Kensington track because she is hopeless on heavy ground,” he said.

“But I know now that Stratafy’s distance limit is 1000m. I put a nasal strip on her when she worked at home on Tuesday morning, and she galloped

brilliantly. The nasal strip opens their nostrils and gets more air into their lungs. With that on her yesterday for the first time in a race, I was confident she would be hard to beat.”

Stratafy has raced only 11 times – she has also been placed on three occasions – and Ward is looking to take her back to Newcastle next month for a Conditional Benchmark 68 Handicap over yesterday’s winning distance (900m).

He also believes she has the capacity to figure prominently in a suitable midweek event in town, provided it is no further than 1000m.

Whilst Rapid Velocity never raced, Lear has bred a full sister to her; War Empress’ next foal after Stratafy.

She is a two-year-old, has been broken in and is now in the paddock for three months, and Ward will get the opportunity to train her and keep the family momentum going.

Newcastle apprentice William Stanley caused the upset of the Newcastle meeting, storming home on $41 outsider Vexxy to take the F&M Maiden Plate (1250m).

Having her first start, the four-year-old daughter of Castelvecchio overpowered the $2.80 favorite Miles Of Glory in the closing stages.

HOOFNOTE: Wyong trainer John Cooper’s lengthy trip to Nowra today wasn’t fruitless.

Cooper took two horses to the South Coast meeting, and won the Benchmark 58 Handicap (1600m) with $3.40 favorite Mega Fight.

Ridden by Jean Van Overmeire, the five-year-old gelding, after recent seconds at Taree and

Muswellbrook, provided the trainer with a 2025-26 season breakthrough.

Story John Curtis, September 21, 2025 - Pics Bradley Photos