By Steve Sherack
Well on the way to a third straight season of seven figures in earnings, the up-and-coming Brendan Walsh stable sets its sights on Grade I glory with Auntie Joy (Uncle Mo) in Saturday's $1-million Belmont Oaks Invitational.
The versatile Sanford R. Robertson homebred, a rallying second behind the reopposing Canadian Horse of the Year Catch a Glimpse (City Zip) in the GIII Edgewood S. May 6, made all the running in the GIII Regret S. most recently June 18.
“She had a good prep for this and I think she's still improving physically and mentally,” Walsh commented. “It will be a big test for her, but we feel that she's up to it. We're looking forward to it.”
With a Kentucky-based operation of approximately 40 head, the native of Cork County, Ireland, has been represented by graded winners such as Bye Bye Bernie (Bernstein), Cary Street (Smarty Jones), Reporting Star (Circular Quay) and Saham (Lemon Drop Kid) since going out on his own in 2011. After saddling 28 winners and accumulating career-best purse earnings of $1,584,808 in 2015, the 43-year-old has already gotten his picture taken 17 times, including by recent impressive debut winner Redesdale (Speightstown) and the streaking Honorable Duty (Distorted Humor), for earnings of $755,291 and growing in 2016.
“It's coming along well,” said Walsh, who also trained Worldly (A.P. Indy) to a close third-place finish in the 2013 GII Breeders' Cup Marathon S. “We have some nice, quality horses this year. I prefer a bit more quality than quantity. It's horses like Auntie Joy that we're trying to find.”
He continued, “I like to think we've got a nice mix of horses. I don't particularly have just a bunch of turf horses–we've got some nice dirt horses as well. I wouldn't say I have any particular [training] style. I try to adjust my style to suit the horse more than the horse to suit my style and try and get the best out of each individual. I had such a variation of an education and I think that's helped as well.”
Walsh's racing education began by attending Ireland's jockey school followed by Darley's stud management course. He first went to work for Sheikh Mohammed's Irish division at Kildangan, then spent nine years in Dubai for Godolphin under trainer Tom Albertrani. Walsh was Eddie Kenneally's right-hand man for four years in his first stint in the U.S. before taking out his license in 2011.
“I've always wanted to train, but for somebody like me–I don't come from a racing family and we didn't have a ton of money–it's very hard to get started in Europe,” Walsh explained. “It's very closed off there. I did get to come to the States with the Godolphin horses and I always really loved American racing. There's a bit more opportunity here and I always wanted to come back. I returned to [the U.S. to] work for Eddie [Kenneally], which was great, and I received a good education there. Along came the opportunity to start out on my own and I managed to put together five or six horses and took my shot, and it's gone well enough since. It's very tough, but everybody knows that. We've enjoyed it. We've had some very good days. And, hopefully, we'll build from here again.”
Auntie Joy, a half-sister to MGSW Divine Oath (Broken Vow), is definitely responsible for creating more than her share of those good times for Walsh's team since graduating at first asking beneath the Twin Spires last November. Counting the great Personal Ensign as her third dam, Auntie Joy is listed at 12-1 on the morning-line for the 1 1/4-mile Belmont Oaks, her first attempt beyond nine furlongs.
What would a Grade I mean to Walsh's operation?
“It's huge,” he responded. “To have a runner in a Grade I and be live competing against top trainers like Aidan O'Brien, Shug [McGaughey] and Billy Mott, it's really a privilege to have a horse in a race like this.
Walsh concluded, “At Belmont Park in New York–it's all I ever dreamed out when I was a kid.”
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