Fair Grounds newcomer Walsh has good older horses

Trainer Brendan Walsh is running a Fair Grounds string for the first time this winter, and his horses, particularly two older dirt-route horses, have been doing well.

The 5-year-old Honorable Duty won the Tenacious Stakes around two turns on dirt Dec. 17 and is set to make his next start in the Jan. 21 Louisiana Stakes. The 4-year-old Egyptian scored in a sharp first-level, two-turn dirt allowance Dec. 29 and, while not as advanced as his stablemate, also seems headed in the right direction.

Honorable Duty is by Distorted Humor and out of the A.P. Indy mare Mesmeric. He was bred by Juddmonte Farms, which campaigned him for his first three races in 2015 before culling Honorable Duty, who resided in the Walsh barn when he returned from a lengthy layoff last February. Honorable Duty won three in a row in Kentucky between April and July before his development stalled, but his Tenacious race, his first start following a 10-week layoff, produced a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure and showcased a new, more-focused horse.

Honorable Duty was racing with blinkers removed last month. The blinkers came off because Honorable Duty, following the Oct. 1 Lukas Classic, was gelded, Walsh said.

“He was quite a difficult horse temperamentally before he was gelded, and that just totally turned the horse around,” Walsh said. “He was wearing blinkers because he was difficult to train – difficult to do anything with, really. He’s a much happier horse how, and he showed the talent last time I thought he had.”

Egyptian, by Eskendereya, also has “been a bit of a project mentally,” Walsh said, and he was more focused racing on the lead Dec. 29 than he had been in previous starts. He won by one length, earning a career-best 87 Beyer, and will be aimed at a second-level dirt-route allowance.

Walsh, 43, has 25 horses stabled at Fair Grounds and 20 more at the Palm Meadows training center in south Florida.

“With that kind of number, it was going to be tough to get enough stalls to have everything in one place,” Walsh said of his decision to stable at Fair Grounds. “I’m loving it there. The horses are doing super, the track is unbelievably good.”

Bridgmohan rolling

Through Sunday, Shaun Bridgmohan was tied for fourth in the Fair Grounds jockey standings with 17 winners, but he has been the bettors’ best friend. Bridgmohan amassed that win total from just 58 mounts, and his win percentage of 29 was easily best among Fair Grounds riders with more than a handful of mounts, as was his $2 return on investment, a robust $3.01.

“It’s been a good meet so far,” said Bridgmohan, who moved his tack to Fair Grounds after the Churchill Downs meet ended in late November. “I can’t say I expected it, but I’m very appreciative. I’m riding for some good people and getting on good horses.”

Bridgmohan, 37, changed agents in October and is represented by Anthony Martin, a Louisiana native.

“He was my agent four or five years ago, and we did well together then, too,” Bridgmohan said. “I feel good. Winning is always a plus.”