Our questions are answered by the scion of an Irish racing dynasty who, after stints with Bob Baffert and handling Godolphin’s US juveniles, is a multiple G1-winning trainer in his own right
Eoin Harty, 60, comes from a dynasty of Irish horsemen whose involvement in racing can be traced back to the 19th Century.
His father Eddie Harty was an Olympian who became a successful jump jockey and trainer; he rode Highland Wedding to win the 1969 Grand National. His sons Eddie jnr and Eoin followed him into the profession – Eddie, who now trains with son Patrick, based in Ireland from where he has enjoyed Cheltenham Festival success, and Eoin from California, where he moved as a 17-year-old.
Eoin spent 14 years working for John Russell and Bob Baffert until in 2000 accepting an offer to train juveniles for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin operation in the US. In that role he helped develop the career of Godolphin’s Dubai World Cup hero Street Cry and also won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in his own right with Tempera.
Harty is now a public trainer with multiple G1 wins to his name including another Dubai winner in Well Armed – who landed a spectacular 14-length World Cup victory in 2009 – and Colonel John, who won the Santa Anita Derby and Travers Stakes. He is president of the California Thoroughbred Trainers organisation.
Which racing figure, past or present, do you most admire?
I have two answers,John Gosden and Dan Hendricks. I admire everything about John Gosden (right) – the way he handles himself, the way he handles his business. I have always been a fan from when I was kid working out here and John was training successfully. He was someone I wanted to model myself on.
Danny Hendricks was a very good trainer and horseman who was paralysed from the waist down after a serious accident. Despite being in a wheelchair he just picked up where he left off. kicked on and never missed a beat. He was tremendous. He was unbelievably tough; he never felt sorry for himself, never said: ‘Why me?’
Which is your favourite venue, and race, anywhere in the world?
My favourite venue unfortunately isn’t here anymore – it’s Arlington Park which was a fantastic facility. Whoever designed it understood racing and what was needed. The whole place seemed to flow and work so well. You would come from the barn area to the paddock and from there straight down the tunnel and then the crowds would work their way up to the different floors. Everything was easy.
My favourite race is the Travers. It’s a great race, steeped in tradition and history and is a tough race to win. I won it by the width of a credit card. Behind the Kentucky Derby, it’s probably the most prestigious race in America.
Who is your favourite racehorse and why?
Well Armed. Not only was he exceptionally talented but he’d overcome so much adversity. At one point he’d had a chip taken out of a knee, a very innocuous surgery, but something happened in recovery and he broke his pelvis. Everyone told us he wasn’t going to make it.
Well Armed was owned by Bill Casner and was born on his daughter’s birthday. She had lost her life in the terrorist attack in Bali so he refused to put the horse down. He took the horse himself, rehabbed him and brought him back. When he sent the horse to me, he said: “Everyone will tell you this horse isn’t going to make it. I don’t want you to listen to them. You press on.”
I pressed on and he won the Dubai World Cup and a bunch of G1s for me. He was a fantastic horse and it’s a fantastic story.
What is your fondest memory in racing?
That night winning the Dubai World Cup for Bill and Susan who were good friends of mine before they became clients. I just realised just how much this whole thing meant to Bill in particular. It was very emotional as well.
Being presented with the trophy by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed was a big thing too. He gave my big break and there I was in his backyard winning this big race. I knew Well Armed was going to win. I was supremely confident and he won by a record margin. After that it rained and there was a tremendous thunderstorm. We ended up back at the hotel in Jumeirah Beach sipping whisky. It was like everything was done.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
In North America I would put down synthetic tracks instead of these dirt tracks. Gulfstream has one, Turfway Park has a brand new one and there is one at Presque Isle Downs and Golden Gate Fields. They tried it at Santa Anita and we had a couple of good Breeders’ Cups. I thought it was a great surface and I am a big believer in them. I think it would be a game-changer.
Eoin Harty was speaking to Jon Lees
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