Bacio flew at York to give Wesley Ward his long-awaited first Nunthorpe Stakes

The American sprinter went wire-to-wire in York's big feature, silencing all doubts raised by the soft ground; Juan Hernández guided him to victory and, the moment he crossed the wire, another race began: making it to Heathrow on time to catch a flight back to California...

KNAVESMIRE, England (Special for Turf Diario).— Bacio proved far too fast for the rest. The American contender turned the eagerly anticipated Coolmore City Of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes (G1) into a display of pure raw speed, handing Wesley Ward a victory the trainer had been chasing for years at York.

Sent off as the 3-1 favorite following his striking June performance in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap at Royal Ascot, the 3-year-old colt burst from the starting stalls under Juan Hernández, immediately seized the lead, and never allowed his rivals to truly put him under pressure.

Pre-race doubts centered heavily on the surface, which had softened following recent rainfall. Bacio had previously shown his sharpest form on firmer going, but those concerns vanished within seconds.

By midway through the contest he already had much of the field under hard riding to match his blistering pace, sustaining his momentum to the wire to defeat Starlust (Zoustar) by 1 1/4 lengths, proving that his explosive Ascot run was no fluke.

The triumph carried extra weight for Wesley Ward. While the Keeneland-based conditioner boasts 13 wins at Royal Ascot, York had remained elusive. In 2015 he finished second in the Nunthorpe Stakes with Acapulco (Scat Daddy), and two years later suffered one of racing's most famous heartbreaks with Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy), when jockey Frankie Dettori celebrated across the wire believing he had won, only for the photo finish to reveal Marsha(Acclamation) had prevailing by a nose.

This time, there was no drama.

"He won the race right from the gates," summarized Juan Hernández, who only had to steady Bacio slightly after the break to conserve energy for the final furlong.

"The horse gave everything and had been training really well. He traveled super. I know a lot of people were worried about the ground, but he didn't know that," joked the jockey.

"He ran fantastic. He broke so well, so fast, and he was ready. When the doors opened he was sheer fire. He wanted to go too fast early, but I was able to relax him a bit and save something for the end," he added.

Juan Hernández's day was far from over at the finish line. The rider had to catch an 18:30 flight out of Heathrow to Los Angeles to return to California ahead of Saturday's Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar.

Consequently, after piloting a rocket down the Knavesmire straight, he dashed to the scales, took part in a swift trophy presentation led by The Queen, and boarded a helicopter right from York straight to Heathrow. A day every bit as breathless as Bacio's speed.

For Wesley Ward, however, there was time to savor the moment. After two agonizing runner-up finishes, he was finally able to celebrate a Nunthorpe Stakes success. And he achieved it with a horse that shipped from the United States, defied a track condition that appeared stacked against him, and did what he does best: run faster than everyone else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUaf2GZcSL4