Photo-finish win had Brendan Walsh thinking of his late father
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Just minutes after J Zar was declared the victor in a tight photo in the fourth race Thursday at Keeneland, the winning trainer, Brendan Walsh, said he sent a text message to his mother in Ireland.
“I told her, ‘He must be looking down on us,’ ” said Walsh.
Walsh’s father, Patrick, died April 5 at age 80 in their homeland of County Cork after suffering from cancer. It was a crushing blow for Walsh, whose interest in horses was sparked by that of his father.
“He always really loved racing,” said Walsh. “He won 200 old Irish pounds in a raffle and he bought me my first pony with the money. It just opened the door for me.”
Walsh might not have needed his dad’s celestial assistance when he won the following race Thursday with Wilderness Gate, who rallied to prevail by 6 1/2 lengths – but he doesn’t think it would be a bad idea for Patrick Walsh to be monitoring the goings-on in the May 4 Kentucky Derby, when his son will have his first Derby starter in Plus Que Parfait.
“I’m hoping he’ll be around that day, too,” Walsh said with a laugh, “because I might need him and some of his buddies.”
