''For the Irish folk song, see:

The Wild Rover "The Wild Rover" ( Roud 1173) is a very popular and well-travelled folk song. Many territories have laid claim to have the original version. History In 2015 the English Folk Song and Dance periodical "Folk Music Journal" vol 10 No 5 had an artic ...

'' No Nay Never (foaled 1 March 2011) is an American Thoroughbred

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. As a two-year-old he was unbeaten in three races and was best known for his exploits in Europe where he won the Norfolk Stakes at

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

in England and the Prix Morny in France. He was noted for his speed over sprint distances and was rated one of the best juvenile colts to race in Europe in 2013. As a three-year-old he won the Woodford Stakes and was narrowly beaten when favorite for the

Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint The Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint is a Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up. As its name implies, it is a part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North American ...

Background

No Nay Never is an unusually large bay colt bred in Kentucky by Jayne Doi Johnson & David Sparrow. He was sired by Scat Daddy who won the Champagne Stakes in 2006 and the Florida Derby in 2007 before his racing career was ended by injury. Scat Daddy's other offspring include

Daddy Long Legs A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

and the

American Oaks The American Oaks is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the turf held annually in late December Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event currently of ...

winner Lady of Shamrock. As a foal in November 2011, No Nay Never was consigned by Hunter Valley Farm to the Keeneland Breeding Stock sale where he was bought for $170,000 by Chestnut Valley. The colt was returned to the sales at Keeneland in September 2012 where he was sold for $95,000 to Cromwell Bloodstock. No Nay Never entered the ownership of Ice Wine Stables and was sent into training with

Wesley Ward Wesley A. Ward (born March 3, 1968, in Selah, Washington) is a retired American Champion jockey and a current trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. Background Ward grew up in the horse racing industry, being the son of trainer Dennis Ward.

. He usually raced in a hood.

Racing career

2013: two-year-old season

No Nay Never made his racecourse debut in a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

over four and a half furlongs on the synthetic Polytrack surface at Keeneland Racecourse on April 26. Ridden by Joel Rosario he started 8/10 favourite and led from the start, winning by two

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the In ...

from Solitary Ranger, with a gap of six and a half lengths back to the rest of the nine runner field. In June, No Nay Never was sent to Europe to contest the

Group Three AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...

Norfolk Stakes over five furlongs at Royal Ascot. His trainer, Wesley Ward, had had previous success at the Ascot meeting, winning the

Windsor Castle Stakes The Windsor Castle Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,003 metres) at Ascot as part of the Royal As ...

with Strike the Tiger and the Queen Mary Stakes with Jealous Again in 2009. Ridden again by Rosario, No Nay Never started the 4/1 second favourite behind the Aidan O'Brien-trained Coach House in a field of fourteen runners. The American colt started poorly, bumping against the side of the

starting stalls A starting gate also called a starting barrier or starting stalls is a machine used to ensure a fair start to in horse racing and dog racing. History Throughout the history of horse racing, there have been proposals as to how better to start ...

but quickly took the lead, before being settled by Rosario. He regained the lead inside the final furlong and won impressively by a length and a head from Coach House and Wind Fire. The winning time of 58.8 was a new course record for two-year-olds. After the race Rosario said "I'm happy to be here and it's awesome. He put it all together, took me to the lead and is a good horse". Two months later, No Nay Never returned to Europe for the Group One Prix Morny over 1200 m at Deauville Racecourse, despite concerns that the colt might struggle to show his best form on the soft turf. He was ridden by David Flores and started at odds of 7/4 with his main opposition expected to come from the fillies Vorda ( Prix Robert Papin) and

Rizeena Rizeena (foaled 24 March 2011) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old she won the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, before going on to win the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes later in the year, and in 2014 she ...

(Queen Mary Stakes). The colt was among the leaders from the start before accelerating away from the field 200 m from the finish and winning by a length from Vorda, with Rizeena three quarters of a length away in third. The Racing Post described him as a "raw and explosive talent", whilst Ward expressed the opinion that his success should encourage more North American owners and trainers to try their horses in Europe. The form of No Nay Never's win was boosted when Vorda and Rizeena won the Cheveley Park Stakes and the Moyglare Stud Stakes respectively. No Nay Never did not race again in 2013, with Wesley Ward saying that the colt would probably begin his 2014 campaign in North America before returning to Europe for the St James's Palace Stakes. In the official European ratings published in January 2014, No Nay Never tied with War Command as the third-best two-year-old of 2013, behind Toormore and the Cartier Award winner Kingston Hill.

2014: three-year-old season

On his first appearance as a three-year-old, No Nay Never made his debut on dirt when he started 2/5 favourite for the

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park on March 1. He took the lead early in the straight but was overtaken a furlong from the finish and beaten two and a half lengths by Spot. After a break of more than seven months, No Nay Never returned in the Grade III Woodford Stakes over five and a half furlongs at Keeneland Racecourse on October 4. Ridden by Mike Smith he disputed the lead from the start, went two lengths clear in the straight, and held on to win by half a length from the four-year-old Mongol Bull. After the race, Ward said that he was "leaning" towards running the colt in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. The colt's connections opted to bypass the Breeders' Cup Sprint, running instead in the

at Santa Anita Park on November 1. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, he started the 18/5 favourite against thirteen opponents. He took the lead inside the final furlong but was overtaken in the last strides by Bobby's Kitten and finished second in a blanket finish, half a length behind the winner. After the race Dettori said "They came so wide he didn't have time to fight back. The race went to plan and we just got robbed on the line".

Stud career

No Nay Never performs stallion duties at Coolmore Stud. His first progeny began racing in 2018. He sired more than 25 individual winners from his first crop, leading to an increase in his stud fee from €25,000 to €100,000 for the 2019 covering season.

Notable progeny

''c =

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: * Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People *Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places * Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United State ...

, f =

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

, g =

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

Pedigree

No Nay Never is inbred 3 x 4 to

Mr. Prospector Mr. Prospector (January 28, 1970 – June 1, 1999) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who became an outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires. A sprinter whose career was cut short by repeated injuries, he won seven of his 14 starts, i ...

. This means that the stallion appears in both the third and the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{reflist 2011 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 3-l