Honorable Duty Latest Big Winner for Walsh

Few trainers are picking up steam the way that Brendan Walsh has over the last few years.

In the same way that the native of Cork, Ireland, deliberately and thoughtfully chooses his words, he has methodically and masterfully stepped up his barn's game to compete at the top level.

A nine-time graded stakes winner in the last two and a half years, he has excelled with an impressive breadth of performers—from talented turf sprinters like grade 2 Nearctic Stakes winner Bye Bye Bernie to adept dirt marathoners such as Cary Street and Scuba—and continues along his impressive trajectory with a quality-focused operation that cannot be forgotten when the money is on the line. 

Such capacity was on display Feb. 25 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots when trainee Honorable Duty won his second consecutive stakes for Walsh and owner DARRS, Inc., in the $125,000 Mineshaft Handicap (G3).

Typical of the Walsh program, the son of Distorted Humor   has improved with each effort since joining the operation. A beautifully bred grandson of Toussaud purchased at Keeneland's 2015 November breeding stock sale by David Ross for $130,000, a surly Honorable Duty forced Walsh to reluctantly bite the proverbial bullet and geld him last fall in order to improve his performance. Since then, the 5-year-old is two-for-two and looks to be a force to be reckoned with in the handicap division moving forward. 

Said charge is only the tip of the iceberg for the 43-year-old conditioner, who now has 40 horses between Fair Grounds and Florida's Palm Meadows. He is batting a healthy 15% in his career and has trained 16 six-figure earners in a handful of years as a head trainer. His journey has taken him around the world and now has him gaining increased acclaim in the United States with each passing season.

"I came from a country farming community in Ireland and everyone there has a horse or knows someone who has one; there's just massive interest in the sport," Walsh reflected. "I always wanted to be a jockey. That route didn't work out for me, so I took the next step and tried to be a trainer. I worked for John Hammond in France and then worked in Dubai--including five years with Godolphin--and eventually ended up going back to Newmarket to work for Mark Wallace for a few years.

"I always loved racing in the U.S.; you always get carried away with things like the Breeders' Cup and such, and thought that there would be more opportunity for me there. So I went to Keeneland and started working for Eddie Kenneally. I spent three to four years with him and then decided to take the plunge and go out on my own with a few horses in 2012." 

Walsh's development of horses like Honorable Duty, Scuba, and even his rising stars Redesdale and Equation is not a huge surprise when one considers he has had the privilege to work with of such standouts as Daylami, Street Cry, and the great Dubai Millenium.

His worldly perspective and willingness to try new ways of conditioning individual horses has no doubt been influenced by his ability to travel the world to such places as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan, in addition to his European background and Middle Eastern tenures.

"I've been very lucky to work around the world and now have a great staff working for me," Walsh said. "You have to have good people around you to be successful and I also have horses who excite me. Honorable Duty is a horse who I think we've barely scratched the surface with. I think we'll see more and more of what we've seen already.

"Equation is quite a remarkable filly, to be honest with you," he continued. "I haven't had her as long as these others, but I think the world of her. Scuba is our flagship horse and is back at Palm Meadows. We gave him a break and there was nothing for him, so he got time and now he looks as strong as ever. Our first main target is the Brooklyn (Invitational, G2)." 

Equation, undefeated in four turf sprints, will try to make it two stakes wins in a row Tuesday in Fair Grounds' $75,000 Mardi Gras Stakes. While Walsh is notably adrenalized when he mentions the swift filly, he is uncontrollably all smiles when he speaks of Redesdale. 

A son of Speightstown   out of a full-sister to superstar sire Danehill, Redesdale was an $18,000 purchase out of Keeneland's 2016 January sale and is perfect in three starts. Last week the grand-looking bay 4-year-old--whom he co-owns with Chad Schumer--earned a 103 Equibase Speed Figure when he took a six-furlong second-level Fair Grounds allowance in 1:09.79. Expecting that he will be more than a sprinter, Walsh plans to stretch out the colt, starting with the seven-furlong $250,000 Commomwealth Stakes (G3) at Keeneland on Apr. 8.

"Chad was at the January sale and called me saying there's a horse with a great pedigree that we could maybe get for $25,000-$30,000," Walsh said. "I was at Palm Meadows at the time and looked at the pedigree and immediately asked 'What's wrong with him?' Once we got him, I thought that if worse comes we could run him for $30,000 at Churchill and break even, but then I started training him.

"He was a soft horse who looked like he hadn't had a lot of training, so we worked him and he worked a little quicker than what we wanted. I wanted to see what he could do, and was on a horse breezing beside him--right then and there I said we definitely weren't going to put him in for a tag. He is a real racehorse." 

Much like Redesdale, Walsh is one to watch in all the right ways. In a short period of time he has displayed the qualities so often seen in great trainers. From his ability to balance clients, develop young horses, improve older ones, and remain an unfailingly positive persona in a sport often crowded to its cusp with curmudgeons, he is not only full of potential--he is already performing with aplomb.

"We have plenty to look forward to if we can stay healthy," he concluded. "When I started out I didn't have a lot of fancy stock, but I have been very lucky and developed horses by giving them time and letting them improve. Now that I have nice young horses, I am not going to rush them because they will make you stop some way or another if you do that.  

"I love getting on the horses myself--whether a $10,000 claimer or a graded stakes horse--and I remind myself that you can never lose respect for the horse. You have to love them and, like anything, just try and get the best out of them at the end of the day."