Walmac Roster Doubles with Pappacap and Fulsome

Walmac Farm has come a long way since owner Gary Broad purchased the historic property off Paris Pike in 2018. After several years spent resurrecting the farm and its signature blue and white barns, in 2022 Broad brought his multiple graded stakes winner Core Beliefs (Quality Road) home to be the first sire to stand in a newly renovated stallion complex.

This year, Broad added Grade I winner Pinehurst (Twirling Candy) to the roster, handing the farm's new stallion salesman Jay Goodwin a challenge to get the word out on the rookie sire in a short period of time after he joined the Walmac team in January.

As another breeding season quickly approaches, Walmac has doubled its stallion roster for 2024 with a pair of newcomers hailing from auspicious sire lines.

Broad's goal for this year was to lock down a new stallion by supersire Into Mischief and another by emerging influential stallion Gun Runner. He accomplished the mission with Pappacap, who stands out as the first son of Gun Runner to go to stud that was a graded stakes winner at two, and Fulsome, a multiple graded stakes-winning son of Into Mischief.

A homebred for George and Karen Russell's Rustlewood Farm trained by Mark Casse, Pappacap was a debut winner in May of his juvenile season and he returned to the winner's circle with a near-five length win in the GII Best Pal S. Later at two, he was runner-up to future Eclipse Champion juvenile Corniche (Quality Road) in both the GI American Pharoah S. and the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Pappacap also competed against top competition at three, running second to Jack Christopher (Munnings) in the GII Pat Day Mile S. and the GI Woody Stephens S.

“To have a Gun Runner that was that precocious and that fast at two and then he came back at three and was just as talented, we were extremely happy with his race record,” said Goodwin. “He just made sense for us. He also never ran on Lasix at two or three and today that is as big of a selling point for a stallion as any.”

But it's Pappacap's physical, Goodwin said, that has impressed the breeders who have stopped by to visit since the new addition was announced in early September.

“Physically, he's probably the best Gun Runner that I've seen,” he shared. “He's got that beautiful Gun Runner shoulder and neck, but he also has a little bit more hip than you would expect.”

For Goodwin, a former partner in Select Sales Agency who had never sold stallion seasons before taking on the job at Walmac this year, the experience of announcing the arrival of Pappacap to breeders in September was completely different than his start with Pinehurst, who joined the roster at Walmac in late November of last year well after most of the newcomers to the Kentucky stallion ranks had already been announced.

“The reaction from breeders has been crazy,” Goodwin said. “We had to fight tooth and nail last year for Pinehurst because we got him in here late. We were very happy with where he ended up, but we worked our butts off to get him to where he was. With Pappacap, it has been a lot easier. We just have to answer the phone. They're rolling in and he's going to breed a full book.

Goodwin reported that Pappacap is already closing in on 150 mares, adding that the stallion's $12,500 initial fee offers value for breeders looking to send their mare to a son of Gun Runner.

“Pappacap is going to come right under a lot of these Gun Runners,” he explained. “We priced him right and we priced him to have a full book. At $12,500, I think he'll be the best deal in the stallion book.”

From the family of Peruvian Horse of the Year Al Qasr (Aptitude), Pappacap is out of a graded stakes-placed Scat Daddy mare and is a half-brother to last year's GIII With Anticipation S. winner Boppy O (Bolt d'Oro).

Broad achieved his goal in standing sons of Gun Runner and Into Mischief, but with Juddmonte homebred Fulsome, the millionaire's female family might be just as notable as his sireline.

Fulsome and stallion manager Jose Rodarte | Sara Gordon

“Fulsome's pedigree is three generations of Juddmonte,” Goodwin explained. “The pedigrees on that farm are second to none. Juddmonte bred him, raced him and stayed in on him.”

Fulsome's dam Flourish (Distorted Humor) is a half-sister to Grade I winners Sightseek (Distant View) and Tates Creek (Rahy) and her produce record includes graded stakes-placed Mr Darcy (Harlan's Holiday) and Rimprotector (Point of Entry).

The pedigree also ties in to Walmac Farm's story. Fulsome's stakes-winning second dam Viviana is a daughter of Nureyev, who rose to prominence as a sire at Walmac several decades ago and is now buried near the stallion complex.

Earning over $1.2 million throughout his career, Fulsome won five stakes races including the GIII Matt Winn S. and the GIII Smarty Jones S. at three and the GIII Oaklawn Mile S. and GIII West Virginia Governor's S. at four. He closed out his career with a Grade I placing in the Clark S. last year.

Goodwin noted that Into Mischief is often credited for the heart he puts into his horses and Fulsome is no exception.

“He was tough,” he said. “He was not scared to take on the fight. You could see him really dig down and fight every single race. As someone who breeds mares, you like to see that. You need heart. That's the characteristic I like the most.”

Goodwin's favorite race of Fulsome's career, he said, was the 2022 GIII Oaklawn Mile S. where the Brad Cox trainee closed late to win by a neck, defeating a field that included graded stakes winners Cezanne (Curlin), Silver Prospector (Declaration of War), Roadster (Quality Road) and Law Professor (Constitution).

“I think that was probably the best field he beat,” said Goodwin. “That Oaklawn Mile ends at the mile pole and at the top of the stretch you're thinking there's no way he's going to get there. I still don't know how he gets to the wire and then he ends up winning easily. Brad loved this horse. I talked to Brad after we got him and he said that he thought he would get him a Grade I. He didn't have anything but good things to say.”

Fulsome will stand for $7,500 in 2024.

Fulsome and Pappacap's combined race record of 10 wins from 29 starts is another point of pride for the team at Walmac.

“Both of these horses were sound and ran in a lot of races,” said Goodwin. “They were very talented and were at the top of their crop. They're both well-made and correct. When you see them, you see why they stayed so sound throughout their career.”

As Walmac gears up for another breeding season, Goodwin said the plan for the farm's fledgling stallion business is to continue to grow from here.

“I think Gary wants to find a couple every year,” he shared. “He knows how hard it is to make a stallion, but he also knows you have to get the mares. He's been game. We brought him both these horses and he was ready to roll, so I think we will keep growing. We've got four really good stallions by Into Mischief, Gun Runner, Quality Road and Twirling Candy, so we've got the sire power. We're going to breed a lot of mares here in the next few years and I can't wait.”

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Under New Ownership, Walmac Farm Welcomes Core Beliefs

Owner and breeder Gary Broad purchased Walmac Farm in 2018. With 250 acres sprawling along Paris Pike, the historic property has gone through a major restoration project since it was obtained by its new owner. Fences were mended, barns were remodeled and given a fresh coat of paint, and this year, a new stallion arrived at the farm.

Multiple graded stakes winner Core Beliefs (Quality Road – Tejati, by Tactical Advantage) has taken up residence at the farm that was once home to, among others, notable sires Nureyev, Miswaki, Alleged, Successful Appeal and Songandaprayer.

Out of a winning mare from the family of champion Hasten to Add (Cozzene) and GISW See How She Runs (Maria's Mon), Core Beliefs is one of just a handful of stallions by Quality Road in Kentucky. After Quality Road's son City of Light enjoyed an extraordinary year with his first crop of yearlings in 2021, the team at Walmac was encouraged to launch Core Beliefs' stud career.

“The main reason that we decided to stand Core Beliefs this year was because of the success of Quality Road and City of Light,” explained farm manager Dawn Carr. “All of their progeny seem to be doing so well and are well-accepted at the sales, so we felt like Core Beliefs would have a shot as another son of Quality Road and with the physical he has. If someone sees his physical, that is what's selling him. He's gorgeous.”

Broad purchased Core Beliefs at the 2017 Barretts March 2-Year-Old Sale at Del Mar, where advisor Scott Hansen was on hand for the juvenile colt's :10 work.

“The track was very demanding that day,” Hansen recalled. “There weren't a lot of horses that went :10 flat, and the thing about Core Beliefs was not only did he go :10 flat but his gallop out was really good. It was one of the best of the morning.”

Broad opted to give his $350,000 purchase a rest after the sale instead of sending him straight to the racetrack. The colt went through his early training with Hansen at San Luis Rey Training Center before transferring to Peter Eurton.

“Gary likes to give them a little bit of a break after the sale, so were really patient with him and gave him a month off at the farm before we started legging him up,” Hansen explained. “Our riders were really high on him from the beginning. He showed a lot of class and speed with the few works that we did with him.”

Core Beliefs placed in his first two starts as a 3-year-old, but broke his maiden by over three lengths when asked to stretch out to a mile and a sixteenth. The win was so impressive that from there, he made the jump to the GI Santa Anita Derby and finished a respectable third.

“We knew he could run long, and that's always a big plus with an early 3-year-old, so we threw him into the Santa Anita Derby against Bolt d'Oro and Justify,” said Hansen.”He tried very hard. He was coming off a maiden win going to the top of the bunch. We battled Instilled Regard (Arch), who turned out to be a pretty good horse, for third.”

After the Grade I placing, the bay ran second in the GIII Peter Pan S. and then claimed the GIII Ohio Derby.

“What was really impressive about him that day is he got a really wide trip,” Hansen remembered. “All the way around the track he was four or five wide, but he still had enough to finish and just get up to beat Lone Sailor (Majestic Warrior).”

Core Beliefs takes the 2019 GII New Orleans H. | Sarah Andrew

Core Beliefs won the GII New Orleans H. in his 4-year-old debut and went on to race through his 6-year-old season. He retired as his owner's leading earner with just short of $1 million in earnings.

“He showed a lot of speed and stamina and he never took a bad step,” Hansen noted. “He was a champ with everything we did with him.”

Core Beliefs has been busy throughout his first weeks of stud duty, with mares coming in from both outside breeders and from Broad's own broodmare band.

“Gary purchased several mares at the sale and we've also purchased mares privately for him,” Carr said. “A couple of the mares at the sale were blacktype and then Gary already had one Galileo mare that we're going to breed to him this year. We want to give him every opportunity as a stallion.”

As for the outside breeders, Carr said that people have only needed to see Core Beliefs in person before they inquire about breeding details for the stallion, who stands for $7,500 in his first year at stud.

“A lot of breeders have said they can't afford Quality Road and City of Light, but they heard about Core Beliefs and wanted to see him. They'll look at him and say he's gorgeous and that they didn't expect him to be that big. He is a nice size; he's a little over 16'2. He's very correct, too. We've had several people who have said he looks a lot like Quality Road and we've even had a couple say he looks more like Elusive Quality.”

Breeders who have come to visit Core Beliefs have also remarked on the many changes that have taken place at Walmac since Broad began resurrecting the farm.

“Gary has done a lot of work on the farm,” Carr said. “He has remodeled every barn and all of the tenant houses. He has taken really good care of it and he's trying to bring it back to what it was before or better.”

Core Beliefs resides in the barn that was once the home and breeding facility of leading sire Nureyev. Upon purchasing Walmac, Broad remodeled the building into his own stallion complex with the goal of adding more sires to Walmac's roster in the coming years.

“We took the arena apart and put in six stallion stalls, which we are hoping to fill,” Carr explained. “We still have Nureyev's stall that we could split so that we could have up to eight, but we'll see what happens. It's very exciting for [Broad]. He had previously mainly been on the racing side of it, but now he's enjoying this–seeing the new foals and seeing Core Beliefs' success.”

Fellow farm manager Manuel Hernandez began working at Walmac Farm in 1995. He has been present throughout the past decades as the farm has changed ownership and he is now looking forward to the future for both Walmac Farm and its new stallion.

“I have been around horses for many years and Core Beliefs has everything,” Hernandez said. “He has good bone, a good body and good balance. I am very happy to have this job working with the right people over here. We work like a family. The farm has changed a lot because we are trying to have everything look if not the best, then close to the best, and now the farm is ready to make that dream come true.”

The post Under New Ownership, Walmac Farm Welcomes Core Beliefs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Core Beliefs First Stallion to Stand for Broad at Walmac Farm

Near millionaire and MGSW Core Beliefs (Quality Road–Tejati, by Tactical Advantage) will be the first stallion to stand at historic Walmac Farm since Gary Broad purchased the property in 2018, it was announced Friday. The soon-to-be 7-year-olld will stand the 2022 breeding season for $7,500 LFSN, and breeders will have the option to secure a lifetime breeding right (one and done) for $10,000.

A $350,000 Barretts March juvenile buy, Core Beliefs was third in the GI Santa Anita Derby at three before taking the GIII Ohio Derby later that year. He added the GII New Orleans H. in 2019 and racked up $953,988 in career earnings from a record of 18-3-2-5. By top sire Quality Road, he is a half to the stakes-placed juvenile Downtown Driggs (Dr. Caton) and hails from the female family of GISW See How She Runs (Maria's Mon) and Canadian champion grass horse Hasten to Add (Cozzene).

“We're excited about resurrecting historic Walmac Farm,” said Broad. “We have been working hard the last two years making improvements to Walmac, and the timing is perfect to launch the stallion operation with Core Beliefs, a horse that we really believe in. He is a multiple graded stakes winner by Quality Road and he has all the necessary ingredients to be a successful stallion. We're looking forward to introducing him to breeders for the upcoming breeding season. I can't wait for breeders to come out and see him. I think they will really like his physical.”

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Multiple Graded Stakes Winner Core Beliefs Retired To Walmac Farm

Gary Broad, who bought Walmac in 2018, is launching the stallion segment of the historic farm's next chapter with his just retired multiple graded stakes winner and near-millionaire earner Core Beliefs, it was announced today.

Walmac has been home to many top sires through the years, and Core Beliefs will seek to add his name to an illustrious list of stallions that have influenced the breed that includes the likes of Nureyev, Miswaki, Successful Appeal, and Alleged.

Core Beliefs will stand the 2022 season for $7,500 S&N, and breeders will also have the option of securing a lifetime breeding right (one and done) for $10,000 S&N.

A son of perennial leading sire Quality Road out of the winning Tactical Advantage mare Tejati, Core Beliefs was a tenacious racehorse. He jumped on the Kentucky Derby trail early in his 3-year-old season, finishing third to subsequent Triple Crown winner Justify in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. He went on to win the $500,000 G3 Ohio Derby and also captured the 2019 G2 New Orleans Handicap at the Fair Grounds en route to amassing lifetime earnings of $953,988.

“We're excited about resurrecting historic Walmac Farm,” said Gary Broad. “We have been working hard the last two years making improvements to Walmac, and the timing is perfect to launch the stallion operation with Core Beliefs, a horse that we really believe in. He is a multiple graded stakes winner by Quality Road and he has all the necessary ingredients to be a successful stallion. We're looking forward to introducing him to breeders for the upcoming breeding season. I can't wait for breeders to come out and see him. I think they will really like his physical.”

Core Beliefs registered his biggest career victory in the $400,000 New Orleans Handicap in his 2019 bow. In a determined effort, Core Beliefs made a strong three-wide bid on the far turn and battled bravely through the lane to defeat a competitive field that included multiple graded stakes winner Silver Dust, graded stakes winner and millionaire Lone Sailor, G2 Louisiana Derby winner Noble Indy, and multiple stakes-winning millionaire Mr. Buff.

Acquired by Broad for $350,000 at the 2017 Barretts Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, Core Beliefs, in addition to his stakes victories, also finished second, beaten just a head, in the G3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park. He retires having won or placed in 10 of 18 starts and hails from the family of Pin Oak's Sovereign Award winner Hasten to Add and Grade 1 winner See How She Runs, who produced multiple graded stakes winner Don't Leave Me.

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