Brendan Walsh was assistant trainer to Mark Wallace when Benbaun (Ire) (Stravinsky) finished second, beaten a short head, in the 2006 edition of the G1 King's Stand S. Now a Grade I-winning conditioner in his own right, the Irish-born, Kentucky-based Walsh is looking for his G1 Al Quoz Sprint victor Extravagant Kid (Kiss The Kid) to go one better in next week's King's Stand.
Despite being eight years of age, Extravagant Kid is in the form of his life.
“I think the travel and a different track, when you get to an age like him–an eight-year-old–you are trying to find something a little different,” Walsh said. “They have pretty much seen it all before, and this for him suits his character and it's really picked him up–maybe that's what most of his improvement is accredited to.
“My assistant Charlie Lynch is with him. He says he hasn't missed a beat since he got there, pretty much like he was doing in Dubai. You can't beat that. We've prepared him for it, and it looks like it's all going to plan.”
In addition to his Newmarket stint, Walsh spent time working in Dubai for Godolphin, so traveling horses is nothing new.
“The Dubai thing was in my mind for a couple of years. I travelled a lot of horses with Godolphin back in the day and I thought this was the right year to go with Extravagant Kid,” he said. “He thrived in Dubai when he got there, and he seems to be thriving in Newmarket since he got there. I've got no real hang-ups about it. I think it's as we would want it, and if we get a good trip we will see if he's good enough or not.”
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