At the coalface of starting youngsters: Julien Welsh

Cover image courtesy of Regal Bloodstock

With the G3 Breeders’ Plate and G3 Gimcrack S. less than two months away, trainers would already have a good idea which of their 2-year-old crop will be ‘early’ types and a chance to contest the first juvenile events of the season.

One man that has played an integral part in the development of this season’s babies is renowned race education and pre-training expert Julien Welsh, who has been doing the role for 30 years.

Welsh and his team at Booralite Park, about 50 kilometres South-West of Melbourne, have worked with “a couple of hundred” horses since January’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Some of his clients are Peter Moody, Michael Moroney, John Sadler and John Moloney.

Ahead of the new season’s 2-year-old races, Welsh is predicting another big campaign for Newgate Farm’s young gun Russian Revolution.

Russian Revolution was Australia’s Champion First Season Sire last season, with 15 winners and 18 wins from 47 runners. He had two stakes winners – Rise Of The Masses and Revolutionary Miss (both were 2-year-olds) – and his progeny accrued $1,840,685.

Gallery: Champion First Season Sire Russian Revolution's two stakes winners

“I really think he is going to shine. He’s by a champion (Snitzel), who’s by a champion (Redoute’s Choice), so again, it’s coming through the gene pools,” Welsh told TDN AusNZ.

“His progeny that I have worked with are smart, athletic, nice types and generally easy to work with. I’ve done quite a few of them and they’re all really nice horses.

“He really stamps his progeny, and I think that is important. Good horses that stamp their progeny usually turn out to be good horses; if you look at all the good Danehill horses, they all look like him. It’s the same with Snitzel, although I know he swaps and changes their colour a little bit, but they all look like Snitzel, they’re all built like him.”

Welsh is an unabashed fan of Snitzel, claiming the Arrowfield Stud resident is deserving to be mentioned in the same breath as his grandsire Danehill (USA), as well as champions Redoute’s Choice and Fastnet Rock.

“Have a look at the sires that are going around that are by Snitzel… he’s just a freak and I think one of the best we’ve ever had,” Welsh said.

One son of Russian Revolution that has particularly impressed Welsh is the Moody-trained Kasparov, who won on debut at Sportsbet-Pakenham Synthetic on Monday. Kasparov is the second winner for US stakes winner Capar Girl (USA) (Munnings {USA}) and bred by Fernrigg Farm, who race the gelding in partnership with Matha Bloodstock.

Welsh pre-trained Kasparov, who holds a nomination for the G1 Caulfield Guineas.

“I think he’s pretty smart; I know he only won on the polytrack, but he did it in nice style,” said Welsh.

“He was a really nice colt and he looks like his old man.”

Welsh also has a good opinion of Vinery Stud’s Headwater and Yarraman Park’s Hellbent.

“I did a couple by Hellbents and they were really nice horses. He also stamps his progeny and is a son of a Champion Sire, I Am Invincible, so there’s that nice pedigree,” Walsh added.

“I like the Headwaters, too; I did a few of them this year and they were lovely horses, really easy to work with. Again, he’s by a champion in Exceed And Excel and his dam, River Dove, is a super mare.”

Regarding the newest batch of first-season sires, Welsh revealed he likes to see their progeny get to the trial stage before making an assessment.

A master horseman

A leading mountain racing rider for 13 years, who also doubles as a trainer, with his best horse being seven-time winner Don’t Doubt Dory (Fiorente {Ire}), Welsh admits this year has been slower than he would have liked due to the impacts of COVID. He usually has approximately 25 staff but is down to 13, which has forced him to turn clients away, something that has been uncommon over the journey.

“At any time we will have 30-40 horses in. We didn’t have a big season; we slowed it down a little bit due to staff shortages. Like everyone, post-COVID, we’re struggling and I had to knock a few horses back this year, which is disappointing, but that’s the way it goes. I didn’t really have a big breaking-in season, but we probably churned through a couple of hundred,” Welsh told TDN AusNZ.

“We’ve still got a few in, we haven’t got many, then most of the ones that are coming back are back for their second preparation.”

In a nutshell, Welsh’s role is to educate young horses in the fundamentals required for them to begin training, including barrier education.

Welsh explained: “It’s introducing the horse to have a ride. We educate them to have their first rides and there’s a process involved in that called the mouthing-up process; that is where we put a bit in their mouth and getting them to come off pressure with it.

“Also, teaching them to turn left and right and to back up and to stop, that’s all done with your hard and your legs. That’s obviously a really important part of it; I think that’s probably the main thing, you need to be able to have a horse with a nice supple mouth and one that can accept the bit and come off pressure when needed.

“We also introduce them to treadmills and all of the mechanical things we use these days.”

The secret to success

Horses are flight animals and Welsh learnt very quickly that the best way to get the desired result is to listen to them and work in partnership, not stand over them.

Welsh says patience is a virtue, while the ability to stay calm and come up with a Plan B when things aren’t going to script is paramount. Reading the horse and waiting for them to tell they are ready to do certain things is also crucial. And, most importantly, don’t annoy them.

“Think like horses, not like humans. Patience is everything with young horses; you’ve got to be patient. You can’t afford to get frustrated and if you do, walk away and come back when you’re a little bit cooler and calmer. Take a break, go and have a cup of coffee and see what you’ve done and try and work out why it’s not working. Then, go back and try something different, because it’s amazing what they’ll teach you,” said Welsh.

“I’ve been working with horses for 30 years and every year I’ll learn something new. You never stop learning, and when you do, that’s it, you’ll stay in the one spot.”

In the blood

Over time, Welsh has become somewhat of a master of pedigrees, which he claims makes his job much easier.

Welsh explained: “Everything comes back to genetics. I’ve broken in horses for the past 30 years. I’ve had horses where I’ve worked with the sire and/or dam… you’ll find that a lot of things come out in their genetics and their genes. When you get them in, you can pretty much tell how they’re going to go and how to go about it. If you know your breeds and the family lines, it’s a big advantage. It enables you to remember how you worked with their family, because family are very close and they do things very similar.”

Reward for effort

Welsh admits there is no greater feeling than developing a horse into the finished product.

“When you’ve got your horses going really lovely and supple and they go to the track and they’re going nicely, then people come back and tell you, ‘These horses go well’, you think to yourself, ‘I’ve done a good job there',” he said.

“I like to see horses get passed on from me, go to their trainers and their riders get off them and say positive things about them.”

According to Welsh, who has worked with 36 Group 1 winners, including Reward For Effort, Elvstroem and Magnus, he is quickly able to determine whether a horse is a special talent. That is in part due to the fact that he rides them most days.

“It’s pretty easy to pick the topliners,” Welsh commented.

“These good ones, when you get on them, they’re different. It’s the X-factor, they’ve got an X-factor about them and you can pick it up.”

Gallery: Group 1 winners Julien Welsh has worked with

Elvstroem – a five-time Group 1 winner who has gone on to enjoy a successful career at stud – is the best horse Welsh has had anything to do with and will forever be a favourite.

Welsh says Elvstroem was the complete package.

“He had everything; he was just a wonderful horse. He had a beautiful temperament and he was the same every day; he was an ultra-consistent horse. He was a tradesman; he went to work every day and he never, ever put a foot out of line.

“He was a one-off.”

Contrary to his earlier comments, Welsh admits Elvstroem’s progeny, on the whole, didn’t boast the same traits as the 2004 Caulfield Cup hero.

“I’ve had a lot of his progeny and they haven’t been like him, which is strange. Obviously, there’s been a few that have been like him, but on a percentage basis, more have been a little bit ratty and highly strung. Obviously, it comes back to the mare as well,” Welsh said.