Bacio Blasts to Nunthorpe Glory at York for Wesley Ward's First Win in the Race

Bacio, ridden by Juan Hernandez and trained by American Wesley Ward, won the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York on 21 August 2026 — making all the running over five furlongs (the shortest race distance in British flat racing, roughly 1,000 metres) and scoring by a length and a quarter.

Eighteen horses were declared for the race, officially named the Coolmore City of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes, the feature event on the third day of York's Ebor Festival. The purse was $810,000. (Racing Post, Daily Racing Form)

For Ward, it was a first Nunthorpe success. The American handler has built an extraordinary record of 13 wins at Royal Ascot since 2009, but the Nunthorpe had eluded him. He had previously sent out Acapulco and Lady Aurelia to finish second in the race. (York Racecourse, The Guardian)

Ward was not at York to see it. He watched from his barn at Keeneland in Kentucky, the track in Lexington that will host the Breeders' Cup meeting in late October. (The Guardian)

Bacio arrived at the Nunthorpe with a résumé that already demanded attention. The colt had won four of five career starts, including a front-running demolition of the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes at Royal Ascot in June 2026, where he made all and scored by nearly four lengths. That was a handicap — a race in which better horses carry more weight to level the field — meaning he was defying a burden assigned by the handicapper. (Racing Post, Daily Racing Form)

At York, Hernandez sent Bacio straight to the front and the pair never relinquished the lead. The winning margin of a length and a quarter over a field of eighteen confirmed what the Ascot run had suggested: Bacio is a serious sprinter.

Caitlin Ward, the trainer's daughter-in-law, described Bacio as "a classic turf sprinter" — a horse whose speed and handling suit grass courses rather than the dirt surfaces more common in American racing. (The Guardian)

What makes this stand out is the transatlantic thread running through the whole story. An American trainer at his Kentucky base, a jockey who flew in from California for the ride, and a horse who has now conquered two of Britain's most storied Flat meetings. Ward has spent nearly two decades shipping speed to British racecourses, and the Nunthorpe — one of only a handful of Group 1 sprints run at the minimum distance — was the last major piece he was missing.

Hernandez's day was far from over. He was due to fly from Heathrow to Los Angeles to ride at a meeting in California on Saturday 22 August. (The Guardian)

The next target is already set. Bacio is aimed at the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, scheduled for 31 October 2026 at Keeneland — the same track where his trainer stood watching the Nunthorpe on a screen. (The Guardian)