Elliott Walden has a roadmap in mind when buying horses for WinStar Farm and its partners, and the success of Kentucky Derby winner Justify and third-place finisher Audible are the latest examples of trusting the process. Walden, president and CEO of WinStar Farm, signed the tickets on the two colts with China Horse Club for a combined $1 million. Getting the horses to the Derby was a goal, but it was not the ultimate goal. “Our racing stable is geared towards trying to produce stallion opportunities,” Walden said. “When we go to a sale, we typically focus on colts. A lot of people are focusing on fillies and colts, and it divides their time. We really only look at half the catalog, and it gives us an opportunity to really study the colts a little better.” Signing under his nom de auction, Maverick Racing, Walden landed Justify, a son of Scat Daddy, for $500,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale. The following spring, he signed on behalf of WinStar Farm for the same price to secure the Into Mischief colt Audible at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream select 2-year-olds in training sale. :: Get breeding & sales news, Beyer info, and more delivered right to your email! WinStar Farm stands 22 stallions at its Versailles, Ky., farm. With their efforts on Saturday, Justify and Audible all but secured their spots among the farm’s roster at the end of their racing careers, likely joined by 17th-place finisher Noble Indy, a Grade 2-winning WinStar homebred who is campaigned with Repole Stable. Of WinStar’s stallion roster, 10 members raced for the operation, either exclusively or in partnership. Four were homebreds (Commissioner, Speightster, Super Saver, and Tourist), two were bought into privately after their racing careers had begun (Battle of Midway and Daredevil), and four more were either bought at auction by the WinStar operation, or WinStar became a partner shortly after the fall of the hammer (Carpe Diem, Constitution, Gemologist, and Revolutionary). “We first look at pedigree and try to look through the catalog,” Walden said. “Pedigree is very important – who the horses are by is very important, and then look for the right physical. “That sounds easy but it does eliminate a lot of horses that are potentially very good racehorses. You can fall in love with a horse physically, but then you look at the page and you think, ‘Is this a horse that we’re going to stand in the stud barn?’ The answer is no a lot of times, so we try to start with the end in mind.”