Michael McCarthy names Sean McCarthy as assistant trainer

Michael McCarthy, best known for Breeders’ Cup and Pegasus World Cup victories with City of Light, had seen his stable grow to the extent that he was looking for a top assistant, and he landed one of the most-respected horsemen on the backstretch when Sean McCarthy – no relation – decided to join forces with the beginning of the Del Mar meeting.

Sean McCarthy – whose biggest win came with Majestic Harbor in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita in 2014 – sent out his final starter, his 21st of the year, last Friday at Los Alamitos.

“Pretty nice score for us,” Michael McCarthy said of his new assistant. “There’s not much he hasn’t done. It came about serendipitously. We had spoken about it a few weeks ago. With the possibility of having someone like Sean come aboard, I jumped at the opportunity.”