From Godolphin work rider to winning trainer

Plus Que Parfait ridden by Jose Ortiz (second right) steers clear of the pack to win the UAE Derby. - Photo by Neeraj Murali

Dubai used to be home, once upon a time for Brendan Walsh. The Irishman was then a work rider with Godolphin, galloping some top notch blue blood horses for the racing operation, day in and day out.
But his ambition to become a trainer saw Walsh head to Newmarket and then across the Atlantic to the US, to learn the craft.
And, in his own words, life has come a full circle for Walsh. Returning to Dubai as trainer, Walsh fulfilled a long-cherished dream, a dream of winning on Dubai World Cup night.
Walsh, who notched his first winner as a handler in 2012 with Cary Street, saddled Plus Que Parfait to a fantastic victory in the $2.5 million UAE Derby at the Meydan Racecourse on Saturday.
The three-year-old from Point Of Entry, Plus Que Parfait won beat Peter Miller' Gray Magician by 0.75 lengths in the contest run over 1,900 metres on dirt.
It was only Plus Que Parfait's second win in seven starts, with his maiden win too coming on dirt.
The Derby attracted a huge field of 14 runners and Godolphin's Divine Image was one of the horses to beat following three wins in four starts, including the Al Bastakiya with Brett Doyle on Super Saturday. But the three-year-old from Scat Daddy couldn't keep up with the top runners.
Godolphin's Swift Rose, saddled by Emirati handler Saeed bin Suroor set the pace over the course of the race before it become a three-horse tussle with Plus Que Parfait and Doug O'Neill's Stubbins, heading for home.
Plus Que Parfait then went clear of the two to take the winning post.
It was in our plans for quite for a while to bring him here," a smiling Walsh said after the race.
He's having a big night and it is great to win here in Dubai," added the Irishman.
Meanwhile, jockey Jose Ortiz, who lapped his second winner of the night after Todd Pletcher's Coal Front had won the Group 2 Godolphin Mile, was pleased with how the horse went about the contest.
"The horse helped me a lot. He put me in a good spot and every time I ask him to go through the opposition, he took me there. He paced this one really well. I'm always confident about my horses. I galloped this horse and I knew he was doing really well," said Ortiz.
And the Puerto Rican was delighted for Walsh and his staff. "Extremely happy for Brendon and his team. They deserved to win this," said the 25-year-old.
Ortiz, who won the Belmont Stakes two years ago, also had a word of praise for the Meydan dirt. "The track is really good, fair. If you give the horse a chance, he's going to run well," he felt.
james@khaleejtimes.com