Brad Widdup was hoping for a flying start to 2020, when he took four horses to the Kensington meeting on Saturday.
He saddled up two runners in the 3YO BM 72 and was obviously disappointed when both Run For Glory and Trengganu finished out of a place.
He was in much better spirits just thirty five minutes later when his promising mare Adelong was unable to get her own way in front and was a sitting duck when Lashes emerged from the pack. She held on gamely for second.
The four year old mare had been impressive in winning at her only three starts, including one Randwick romp by 4 lengths. “She’ll go to the paddock now and is certain to pay her way next time in”, said Brad. “Adelong has now won $84,000 after costing her owners just $10,000 on the Inglis Digital On Line Auction”.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Brad looked quietly chuffed after Rare Episode's win.
Brad’s new year’s gift came in the last of nine races when four year old gelding Rare Episode responded to a positive Billy Owen ride to win a 3YO & up BM 78. “The 3kg claim brought him right into the race”, said the trainer. “It’s hard to believe Owen’s still claiming a full allowance. He seems to have been around for a long time, but remember he spent five years riding as an amateur. There are few 3kg apprentices with more experience than Billy Owen”.
The old year provided a few high points for Brad Widdup and one devastating low. Last May his career took a massive hit when his principal client Damian Flower was stood down from all racing participation by Racing NSW. “I’m lucky to still have forty three horses in work, but I don’t like the look of the ten spare boxes in my barn”, says Brad.
Forty six year old Widdup has been training in his own right for just two and a half years, after spending twenty four years working for some of Australia’s most successful horsemen.
Brad grew up in the established racing town of Albury (NSW) as the son of trainer Pat Widdup who still has a couple of horses in work in his early eighties. Dad mixed training with horse breaking and has a wealth of experience”, said the younger Widdup. “He taught me a lot of basic principles which I follow to this day”.
Brad’s brother Warren was a very competent bush jockey who rode more than a hundred winners before increasing weight terminated his career. His services as a trackwork rider were later sought by Vic Thompson and Peter Snowden for the Crown Lodge operation in the pre Darley days.
It was early 1993 when Warwick Farm trainer Rod Craig invited Brad to fill the role of stable foreman for a few weeks. Rod was taking a speedy two year old called Gold Archer north for the Ballina Bracelet and then on to the Magic Millions Classic.
By the time Brad had completed a four week stint in the Craig stable, a permanent offer had come from expatriate NZ trainer Brian Smith. “By this time I was keen to get into racing seriously and the astute Smith appealed as a man who was going to make a great tutor”, recalled Brad.
During his four years with B.J.Smith, Brad got to look after a wonderful mare called Circles Of Gold whose impressive racetrack deeds were later surpassed by her influence as a broodmare.
The chestnut mare raced 43 times for six wins and thirteen placings for $936,000. She won the Gr 3 Adrian Knox Stakes, the Gr 1 AJC Oaks, the Listed Ansett Australia Stakes at Morphettville and the Gr 3 Coongy Hcp. She was second in a Caulfield Cup and a Queensland Oaks.
The daughter of Marscay went on to produce four time Gr 1 winner Elvstroem ($5.7 million) and three time Gr 1 winner Haradasun ($2.3 million). One of her daughters Hvega became the dam of Highland Reel who won seven Gr 1’s in three countries for a massive $ 14.3 million.
Brad Widdup will tell you he feels privileged to have been associated with a mare like Circles Of Gold. “I strapped her the day she won the AJC Oaks and spent a lot of time with her in the stable”, said her most avid fan. “To me she was thoroughbred royalty”.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Akari is no Circles Of Gold but is a pretty smart race mare for the Widdup stable. Here she is winning the Reg Allen Hcp at Randwick on 19/10/2019.
When his tenure with B.J. Smith came to an end, young Widdup came across another horse destined to touch his heart. “Rod Craig was kind enough to invite me back and I jumped at the opportunity”, he said. “At the time Rod was educating an Integra yearling colt with the most magnificent coppery chestnut coat. I had the privilege to work with Intergaze for his full career which netted twelve wins, fourteen placings for over $ 3.7 million more than twenty years ago. He won an amazing eight Group 1’s”.
Brad’s next adventure materialised in Queensland when he joined Liam Birchley as one of Bill Mitchell’s foremen. The position became available when Peter Moody elected to go solo as a commercial trainer. “It was time for a change and I thoroughly enjoyed my next four years in the sunshine state”, he said.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Brad with his brother-in-law, Christian Reith after Akari's Randwick win.
An offer to join the busy Graeme Rogerson stable enticed Brad back to Sydney in 2003. “In the ten months at Randwick I got to look after Golden Slipper winner Polar Success and three yearlings who were destined for stardom”, said Widdup. “One was Cox Plate winner and subsequent champion stallion Savabeel, another was smart racehorse and siring success Not A Single Doubt. The third one was Econsul who flew under the radar for a while before winning the 2004 Caulfield Guineas”.
Brad describes his next working experience as one of the most fulfilling of his career. He became stable foreman for Kevin Moses whose training career was gathering momentum. “I enjoyed my four years with Kevin and Jenny Moses immensely”, he said. “There were plenty of winners . It was great to be a part of a happy little stable”.
Had Brad wanted to go solo at that stage of his career, he was certainly fully qualified, but felt the time wasn’t right. He still harboured a desire to gain more knowledge and there was no sign of an owner seeking his services.
He lodged an immediate application when the giant Darley operation advertised for a stable foreman. Brad Widdup’s reputation in the Sydney racing industry was such that he was invited to a job interview within six hours of submitting his application.
And so began a busy and rewarding nine years, working alongside Peter Snowden and later John O’Shea in one of the world’s most powerful racing operations.
Brad may not have been ready to spread his wings in 2008, but he was straining at the leash in 2017 when Damion Flower asked him to become his private trainer. He declined the opportunity to train exclusively for Flower who was happy to give him the freedom to train for outside owners.
And so midway through 2017 the Platinum Park era in Brad’s life began. Up until the shock disruption last May, Widdup had been slowly building a workable and successful training business. The winners had been flowing at a healthy rate, with a number of well bred young horses waiting in the wings.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - Brad's talented horse Sandbar beats stablemate Junglized (inside) and Beau Ideal Rosehill 02/11/2019.
The twenty four years Brad had devoted to learning his craft was finally paying off. More importantly his reputation for being a ‘straight shooter’ was bringing more and more high profile owners into the stable. Owners like Max Whitby and Neil Werrett, Newhaven Park, James Harron Bloodstock, Darby Racing, Fairway Thoroughbreds, Segenhoe, Vinery, Emirates, and more recently the China Horse Club. He’s deeply touched that all of those owners continue to support the stable.
The staunchest support has come from wife Milissa and his three special kids - sons Cooper 15 and Hunter 11, and daughter Madison 14. It’s well documented that Milissa’s sister Bettina is the wife of prominent jockey Christian Reith.
Brad utilises his brother in law’s services regularly in races and on the training track. Reith has a busy racing schedule most weeks requiring many hours of travelling, but tries to attend Hawkesbury trackwork at least once a week to offer his input with the Widdup horses.
Horses like Sandbar, Junglized, Switched, Adelong, Rare Episode, Trengganu, Deepfield’s Raine, Showtime Lady and the super consistent Akari have all contributed to the stable’s momentum in recent months. Akari opened her stakes account in the listed Reginald Allen in October, and followed up with a fighting win in the listed Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes at Flemington over the Melbourne Cup carnival.
Image courtesy Bradley Photographers - The Widdup trained Junglized gave Billy Owen his first Saturday Metro win 26/01/2019.
Brad Widdup has spent more than half of his forty six years with thoroughbred horses. He’s worked for many eminently successful horsemen and hasn’t wasted a moment in learning from them.
He completed his education last year in learning how to “cop a knock” and get up off the canvas. Rare Episode’s win at Randwick on Saturday has put this very efficient horse trainer into the right frame of mind for a brand new year.
If he can just put some tenants into those ten spare boxes at Hawkesbury Brad Widdup is good to go.
(Banner image courtesy Bradley Photographers - From the infield - Rare Episode wins on the Kenso track.)