Walsh sends out siblings to victory on same card at Keeneland

Brendan Walsh experienced what, to the best of his memory, was a first for his training career Saturday when he sent out a pair of half-siblings to win on the same card. Prevalence won the Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland, three races after his younger half-brother Emirates Road won a maiden special weight.

Both colts race as homebreds for Godolphin, for whom Walsh trained multiple Grade 1 winner Maxfield. That son of Street Sense retired to the stallion barn for this year, but Walsh also has a half-sibling to that star in his barn, the filly Loved.

“They’re very similar – you can see it in their mannerisms,” Walsh said. “She’s very like him. She’s a big bay filly, pretty filly.”

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Loved, a 3-year-old Medaglia d’Oro filly, finished fourth in her first start, a six-furlong maiden special weight March 13 at Gulfstream. Both she and Maxfield are out of the winning Bernardini mare Velvety, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner and prominent sire Sky Mesa.

Prevalence, a 4-year-old Medaglia d’Oro colt, and Emirates Road, a 3-year-old Quality Road colt, are both out of Enrichment, a Ghostzapper mare who is a full sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Better Lucky, from the immediate family of Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Desert Stormer. Enrichment also is the dam of Estihdaaf, winner of Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas, and New York-bred stakes winner Libreta.

“They’re both very good-minded horses,” Walsh said. “Emirates Road is a lot bigger, coarser-looking horse, whereas Prevalence is a little bit lower to the ground. I think the mannerisms, more than anything, are the thing they have in common. They have similar ways of coming along, too.”

Prevalence’s graded stakes victory was part of an outstanding weekend for the Godolphin operation. Its blue colors also were carried to victory by Speaker’s Corner in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on Saturday at Aqueduct; Nostalgic in the Grade 3 Gazelle on the same card; and Matareya in the Grade 3 Beaumont on Sunday at Keeneland. Matareya is out of Grade 3 winner Innovative Idea, whose dam, Grade 3 winner Golden Velvet, is a half-sister to Velvety.