An ongoing journey that saw its latest stop in the Keeneland winner's circle following Locked's victory in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity started when Aron Wellman needed a seat on a plane.
Bloodstock agent Bob Feld had arranged a charter jet for members of the Thoroughbred industry to fly from Lexington, Ky., to San Diego, Calif. Passengers included Gary Broad, owner of Walmac Farm. There was an empty seat, and Wellman, president and founder of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, filled it.
They might not have known it when the plane took off, but the two had several hours to chart their path forward.
“Bob asked if it was alright if Aron flew back with us, and I said 'sure.'” Broad said. “We were flying back, and I was talking to him about how his statistics were, and I was impressed. Then we had dinner, and we formed a partnership.”
Broad admitted that he didn't know Wellman that well prior to the flight. They were both based in Southern California, and as high-level Thoroughbred owners, they were familiar with each other's resumes, but they just hadn't had a lot of face time. They quickly discovered they had some common goals that they could potentially achieve together.
Broad purchased Walmac Farm in 2018 with the intention of basing his breeding operation there and standing stallions. Eclipse has had success buying colts at auction that retire to the breeding shed, including Grade 1 Belmont Stakes winner Tapwrit, Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Aloha West, Grade 1 winner Danza, and Grade 2 winner Independence Hall.
The new partners formed a budget and went shopping at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. They purchased a trio of colts, the third of which was a Gun Runner colt out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Luna Rosa secured from the Eaton Sales consignment for $425,000. The colt was bred in Kentucky by Rosa Colasanti. Grade 1 winner Gabby's Golden Gal and Grade 2 winner Always a Princess are in the colt's extended family.
The colt, later named Locked, impressed Wellman on the end of the shank, but it was his temperament that ultimately won him over.
“It always starts with the individual from a physical perspective for me,” Wellman said. “He was a really well put together horse with an incredible hind leg, very athletic walk, and while I tend to find fillies to be an easier read personality-wise, Locked struck me as a very intelligent individual that was very easy on himself. For such a powerful colt with a lot of agility on the shank, he also allowed me to believe that he had a really good mind, and thankfully that read has proven to be true so far.”
The Eclipse operation has never shied away from adding industry partners to its fold. Tapwrit was campaigned in partnership with Robert LaPenta, Bridlewood Farm, Gainesway, and Whisper Hill Farm, and a posse that deep in numbers and bankrolls is not uncommon for the stable's horses.
As a partnership itself, each horse that Eclipse buys into at auction requires fundraising to get investments from its members. Wellman said taking on a new industry partner like Walmac Farm is typically met with enthusiasm from the Eclipse investors, given the operation's history and methodology for picking teammates.
“I think our partners enjoy the ability to align with major players in the game that aren't necessarily under the Eclipse umbrella, but are proud to partner with us and put their name next to ours in the program,” Wellman said. “And, I think they have enough trust in our program to know we're always going to forge relationships with class individuals to share ideals and philosophies as we do, which is the horse always comes first. After that, everything will fall into place. There's a lot of trust in our partner base that when we do align with outside individuals, it's with good reason, and it's because they're like-minded individuals that we're proud to be associated with and will only enhance our brand's image.”
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Locked was sent to Ocala Stud in Florida to go through his early training before being sent to the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher.
After a troubled third on debut in early August at Saratoga Race Course, Locked came back later in the meet to win a one-mile maiden special weight by 7 1/4 lengths.
Locked left the gate from the outside post position as the post-time favorite in the Breeders' Futurity, where he was wide through both turns, but he had enough in the tank to outkick The Wine Steward to win by a half-length. He secured a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park with his win at Keeneland, along with 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
It wasn't the easiest trip, and he had to dig deep to get the job done, but Wellman said the way that Locked won the Breeders' Futurity was exactly what he and his team saw in him as a yearling.
“He's very easy on himself, and he's wise beyond his years,” Wellman said. “He really doesn't do any more at this point in his career than he's asked to do, which is so beneficial for a horse with his natural talent and ability. He's so push-button mentally that when he's asked the question, he is smart enough to know what he's being asked to do, tries to do it, and then also has the physical ability to execute on that question being asked of him. He's really got all the tools, and that's what we picked up on at the sale.”
When a partnership that includes a stallion operation goes to the auction to buy colts and one of them by a hot sire like Gun Runner wins a high-profile Grade 1 race, it's not hard to put two and two together on what the roadmap might look like for Locked when he retires to stud.
Walmac Farm will debut Pappacap, a Grade 2-winning son of Gun Runner, during the upcoming breeding season. Even so, there are plenty of farms that stands multiple sons of the same sire, and a horse like Locked seems like a hard opportunity for the fledgling stallion operation to pass up.
However, while Broad has the right of first refusal to stand Locked at Walmac Farm, he said the partnership is willing to hear overtures from other stallion farms that might make financial sense to create some liquidity.
“Of course, if the money's good enough, we're not going to turn it down,” Broad said. “You have to cash out sometimes to get some of your money back, and I hope we have that choice at some point, but you never know.”
Both Broad and Wellman said they'd received calls from multiple stud farms testing the water on just how committed Locked was to standing at Walmac Farm in the days following the Grade 1 win. As it is for any aspect of the Thoroughbred business, money talks.
“We're very flexible as far as that's concerned, and everyone should know that it's free game, and we'll make the most prudent and responsible decision for the partnership as a whole between Walmac and Eclipse, and the partners that are under the Eclipse umbrella,” Wellman said.
While both operations are no strangers to graded stakes success, Broad was still pleased with his good fortune in his new partnership, acknowledging that getting a Grade 1 horse is hard to do on the hundredth try, much less the first try.
There is still plenty to be decided in Locked's future, both on the racetrack and beyond, but an abundance of choices is a good problem to have.
“I've been in it since the '80s,” Broad said. “It was tough then, it's tough now. There's hardships and there's joy. It just depends on what day it is.”
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