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| Staff Writer |
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Aron Wellman isn’t going to waste too much time patting himself on the back. He is proud of how the horses from Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which is based in the United States, have performed over the past year, but he has set aggressive long-term goals for the team’s success.
So far this season, horses from Eclipse have produced 61 winners at a win rate of 20 percent. Fifteen of those wins were Black Type wins, while nine were graded and four were group ones.
Eclipse’s success has come from all around the world, winning races in America, Europe, and Australia.
“That said, we’re our harshest critics, and we learn far more from our failures than from our successes,” Wellman said. “So as 2023 nears an end, we’re carefully reflecting on mistakes we have inevitably made so we can consistently improve our stable on a global scale annually and, in turn, deliver the results our partners very much deserve for putting such loyal faith into the Eclipse partnership program.”
One horse, Geologist, is working toward competing at 1,000 Guineas and has shown an impressive form. Geologist will also be competing at the Dubai Carnival. What Wellman hopes is that Geologist will be able to build upon an already strong brand.
Eclipse has a lifetime win rate of over 20 per cent from over 2,700 runners. Wellman said that setting markers for success is an important part of pushing things forward.
“We’re very goal-driven,” Wellman said. “For us, we want to compete at the highest level the world over, so we must be realistic about how and where we place our horses. To be able to strike at 20% while playing in the upper echelon of the game is a huge accomplishment we do not take lightly, and we very much hope we can sustain that level of winning output, so our stable is able to stand the test of time.”
But the success people see around the world isn’t the only aspect of Eclipse Stables that Wellman is proud of. What the organization prefers to see is consistent strength from the foundation up.
“As proud as we are of our win percentage in the big leagues, we are equally proud of the “black type” we have been able to achieve for our fillies so as to create residual value for our partners and for the stallion prospects we’ve made,” Wellman said. “We eat, sleep and breathe every single horse under the Eclipse umbrella so as to have an intimate understanding of each horse’s strengths, and we have incredible horsemen and women training our equine athletes, so that combination is critical in winning at a high rate in big races, year-in and year-out, which is what truly separates the men from the boys in this cutthroat industry.”
Eclipse wants to do whatever they can to find good horses. Geologist didn’t end up being just a one-off. In addition to Geologist, Eclipse was able to bring in two other fillies in conert with bloodstock agent and longtime friend, Jamie Lloyd and trainer Amy Murphy and her husband, Lemos Desouza.
Wellman has been pleased with the returns on the other two horses as well.
“All three of the fillies won races. Geologist is a Stakes winner and group-placed, and another is a very promising filly named Needlepoint who won an important Maiden event at Chantilly on Prix de Diane day and whom we have high hopes for at age three,” Wellman said. “And two of the fillies ran at Royal Ascot. So, we’re off to a flying start with the program for Amy, which was all conceived by our involvement with her the year prior with a high-level performer named Manhattan Jungle. This year, we upped the ante and purchased five yearling fillies for Amy, so they are just about to turn two. We have a nice group, but it’s early days and they have much to prove before I would be so bold as to compare any to Geologist.
Geologist, a 2YO filly, is set to run on 5th Jan 2024 at the Jumeirah Guineas Trial. Geologist finished in seventh place during her last run at Chantilly.
But Wellman said the team quickly refocused on preparing her to run in Dubai. After a few encouraging results, they are feeling good about her prospects.
“The Group three at Chantilly was not a good outing for Geologist,” Wellman said. “The ground was very heavy, and she was coming into the event off a very hearty campaign with significant travel all over Europe. Prior to that, her only subpar run was at Royal Ascot, and even that day, she ran a deceptively good race, so for her to run so poorly in late October was concerning, but we feel as though she had some viable excuses. After that dud, we regrouped, refreshed and set our sights on Dubai, and she’s shown us every step of the way that she’s up to the task. Hopefully it will prove to be a worthwhile venture.”
Geologist has seen a sustained record of success. She has five wins in her career, including two on flat turf, two in rules races and once in a stakes race.
“Geologist is terrific,” Wellman said. “We freshened her after her most recent run in October with a vision of heading to Dubai, and she arrived at Meydan late last week looking a picture. Amy Murphy, her husband, Lemos Desouza and their staff have done a masterful job with this filly, and we’re going in with guarded optimism that Geologist is the right one for the job.”
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Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners has a specific type of horse it looks for. No matter where the sale is occurring, Eclipse is attempting to find a horse that has the prospect of performing at the highest level.
But it is an inexact science. Sometimes, a purchase will surprise them. Sometimes, the horse doesn’t end up meeting the exact performance levels they hoped for.
“That is our goal. Now, we are wrong way, way more often than we’re right. This just comes with the territory, but if we can be right a bit more frequently than our competition, then we will have a chance to come back the following year and keep the stable in business. That’s all we can ask for.”
What has helped Eclipse is the world becoming more international. Sales aren’t just limited to local areas.
“The world is so small now, and travel is so much more sophisticated and convenient that it allows us to be far more creative and enterprising when it comes to a global perspective,” Wellman said. “You need to do your best to be selective about the horses, and with whom you take an aggressive approach, but we have such incredible horsemen and women in control who dedicate their lives to these animals, so we know they’ll be given their best opportunity to succeed when we go outside the box. If the horse is smart and classy enough and has the right mental and physical constitution, it’s our responsibility to posture it for maximum success, and there are no limits as to where we’ll go to try to win a prestigious race.”
Wellman believes that the racing at the Dubai Carnival has been firmly established as a premiere event on a global scale. It is an environment that is a good proving ground for a prospect. Should Geologist do well there, she will have prospects at plenty of other racetracks as well.
“We have had limited exposure to the meet, but with more Euro trainers sending strings for the winter, it made sense for us to consider a prospect for the Carnival,” Wellman said. “The world pays close attention to the standard program, the World Cup night preps, and of course, World Cup night is one of the finest racing programs on the calendar.”
Wellman enjoys the question about how to make next year as successful as this one. Ultimately, it’s up to everyone on the team to keep things moving forward.
“Hopefully, the horses will cooperate!” Wellman said. “This year, we have 60 wins and 59 seconds with one week remaining in the year. The ratio from wins to seconds should ideally be a bit more significant with the advantage to the wins, of course. So, if we can improve our management so that we convert some of those seconds into wins, we should be able to improve next year.”
The challenge for Eclipse will be to lay the foundation for more success. There’s no clear-cut path to that success. Every horse has a different path to victory, and the challenge is for Eclipse to foster that success by finding the right methods to bring it out of them.
“All we can do is do our best to apply ourselves to the craft and learn from every experience,” Wellman said.
“Like I said, we’re going to swing and miss far more often than we hit it out of the park, but if we can improve our ratio of purchases to successes, we’ll be delighted. That, in conjunction with campaigning Group One winners, and we’ll be in biz.”
By Dean McHugh