"He was my banner horse and there is a sign of him out the front, he probably stands out."Īsked if there is a trick to breaking in horses, Welsh stands by a simple philosophy. "Elvstroem was the horse who really got me going and one of the nicest horses I've ridden," he said of Tony Vasil's five-time G1 winner. However, there is one who Welsh will not forget easily. "Thirty-six is probably a small per cent when you add it all up, it shows how rare the good ones are." "There are too many to remember off the top of my end," Welsh says when asked to recall some his most famous horses he has broken in. Thirty-six Group 1 winners have come through Welsh's hands, including the likes of current stallions Reward For Effort and Magnus. "It's a lot of hard work and I started it from nothing, but it's very satisfying watching them go well on the track." "It is very humbling, I appreciate people are prepared to wait as they think we do a good job," Welsh said on the respect he is held in the industry.
Some of Welsh's biggest clients to his Nar Nar Goon property include Team Hawkes, Peter Moody and Philip Stokes. Not only to break in horses, but he is a revered educator for those horses that have barrier issues. "I don't knock anyone back, there's a bit of a waiting list but from the big guys to the small guys I look after everyone."įrom a business the 56-year-old started some 26 years ago, Welsh is now one of the most in-demand horsemen all-year round. "We have about 100 at a time and around 30 staff that make it all possible. "Pretty much from the Magic Millions at the end of January right the way through to October it takes us to break in the horses each year," Welsh explained of his business. It is a skill that Welsh performs on an astonishing 350 yearlings a year, for some of the country's leading trainers. It's a time where bad habits can be formed or ironed out. It is here that a horse is taught the dos and don'ts, where a horse will be ridden for the first time and also learn to become familiar with all the gear they will wear as a racehorse. Old-school horsemen will tell you the breaking-in process cannot win you a race, but it can certainly lose you one. Many of them find their way to Julien Welsh. Without as much as a hair turned out of place, these immaculately presented youngsters are whisked out of the sales ring and find their way to be broken in before their future trainer sets eyes on them next. Trainer Julien Welsh (Image: Racing Photos)Īs the theatre and excitement of the yearling sales season comes to an end, now is the time trainers and owners alike sit and wait, daring to dream that their purchases could well be the future stars of the turf.
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