3 minute read

Queen Assassin’s win in the Lightning Handicap at Townsville in July once again underscored the horsemanship of young Rockhampton trainer Nick Walsh.

Nick Walsh has been lining up his ducks in racing's shooting gallery and regularly knocks them down, earning him a reputation as one of the state's up and coming young trainers.

The Lightning Handicap at Townsville was on Walsh's bucket list since he started training three years ago and he finally ticked it off when Queen Assassin scorched home in a track record time of 54.32 seconds.

Ridden by Justin Huxtable, Queen Assassin's time lowered the previous track record set by Roweiner's Dance by 0.85 seconds.

It was a time that left many Townsville stalwarts shaking their heads in disbelief.

Walsh had another reason to celebrate his first Lightning victory as he and wife, Brooke, are shareholders in Queen Assassin and it came at the right time for the couple, who married a week later after being together for nine years.

"The win couldn't have come at a better time as Brooke and I got married the following Saturday at Yeppoon and the win helped pay for the wedding," said 26-year-old Walsh.

"I bought Queen Assassin at the QTIS March sales for $24,000 and Brooke and I have a third share with some good clients, Brett and Darren Green.

"Brett's got quite a few horses on his books with me and other trainers across the state while Darren also had a lot of horses with me.

"I liked her as a yearling as she was a flashy type, and she was one that we had picked out and was in our budget range.

"She's a half-sister to Better Get Set who hadn't done much at the time."

Better Get Set is now a six-times winner from 34 starts for the former training partnership of Steve O’Dea and Matt Hoysted.

Among some of her best performances was her win in the Listed Just Now Stakes at Eagle Farm in 2022.

She also finished second in the $1 million QTIS Magic Millions at the Gold Coast in January this year, second in the Listed Tatt's Classic at Doomben last November and second in the Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic at Ipswich last year.

After buying Queen Assassin, Walsh left her in Brisbane with O'Dea and Hoysted for her first two campaigns.

"I left her with Steve and Matt to see if she was up to the class in Brisbane," Walsh said.

"She won three of her first four starts for them and Steve had a good opinion of her.

"When the QTIS money finished at the end of her three-year-old season we brought her to Rockhampton and aimed her for some specific races."

Like she did in Brisbane, Queen Assassin struck immediate success in her new Rockhampton environment, winning her first two starts for Walsh before he sent her back to Brisbane for a restricted race at Doomben in November last year.

"She came to me in great order from Brisbane and I thought she'd be very hard to beat, which she proved when she won first-up at Rockhampton last year," Walsh said.

"She won easily again at her second run back from a spell, so we decided to give her another crack at a metro race in Brisbane."

Queen Assassin was well supported in the 1050m dash around Doomben last November but was caught late after leading to finish third to the Gary Doughty-trained, Ralphie.

"I only took her down because she was near the end of her campaign and we tipped her out for another break straight after she finished third in town," Walsh said.

Walsh learned quickly that Queen Assassin was a second-up specialist and was not surprised to see her win her first two starts back in her new campaign in April.

She was a short-priced favourite when she easily accounted for Captain Fox at Mackay on April 12 before she romped home to beat the same horse by more than five lengths second-up at Mackay two weeks later.

Those two wins prompted Walsh to give Queen Assassin another crack in the state's south-east, this time in the Bat Out Of Hell over 1000m at the Sunshine Coast in early May.

"She hates wet tracks, and it was a bog track the day she ran last in the Bat Out Of Hell," Walsh said.

Walsh put a line through her Bat Out Of Hell flop and returned home with the Townsville Lightning in mind for the four-year-old.

"The Lightning has been a race I've wanted to win for a long time, and I've now finally ticked it off the bucket list," Walsh said.

Walsh continued her campaign after the Lightning with a run in a Benchmark 78 Handicap at Doomben, where she finished fourth, as he pushes for another metropolitan win in Brisbane.

"I still think she's up to winning another city race in Brisbane," Walsh said.

"On her day I believe she could even win a Stakes race."

Walsh, who combines training with a full-time job as a salesman for Greensteel - a steel distribution company in Rockhampton - has been involved in the racing industry his whole life.

"My grandfather had trotters and I began riding some trackwork at Callaghan Park and it really kicked-off from there," he said.

Walsh grew up with fellow Rockhampton trainer Tom Smith, a son of local legend Fred Smith who has trained in Rockhampton for more than 30 years.

Walsh was a former rodeo rider who represented Australia and rode bucking broncos for a living but now boasts one of the most incredible strike rates in the State.

While Walsh still dreams of training city winners in Brisbane, there is one thing for certain - the Lightning Stakes won't be Walsh's last rodeo.