Though blinkers and a patient ride by Jose Ortiz certainly helped Locked win the March 1 Santa Anita Handicap (G1), make no mistake—this is one talented colt. He lost ground on both turns, had to catch the rejuvenated 8-year-old Express Train, and still destroyed the field by 8 1/2 lengths in a dazzling display, all after shipping in from Florida.
Not that Locked caught bettors by surprise. In against the likes of graded winners Katonah and J B Strikes Back from the Doug O'Neill barn, Mirahmadi and New King from the Bob Baffert barn, and fellow shipper Hit Show, Locked went off as the 7-10 favorite in the eight-horse field.
Mirahmadi had impressed on the front end by 4 1/2 lengths in a Jan. 4 allowance optional claimer. He took the lead again in what was his first attempt at the Big 'Cap's 1 1/4-mile distance. Longshot Midnight Mammoth, who also likes to set the pace, raced just a length behind, followed by Express Train and J B Strikes Back.
Locked, who drew post seven of eight, had to race four wide around the first turn. Sixth early behind Mirahmadi's fractions of :23.46 for the first quarter-mile and :47.24 for a half-mile, Locked began to move forward on the second turn.
Express Train, the 2022 Big 'Cap winner, saved more ground, slipping through on the rail inside of Mirahmadi and Midnight Mammoth. He took the lead briefly at the mile marker, but Locked swooped in with the momentum, passing the old warrior and then striding out to increase his margin throughout the stretch.
At the wire, Locked stopped the timer in 2:01.71, a record-setting 8 1/2 lengths ahead of Express Train. Express Train finished 3 3/4 lengths ahead of third-place Hit Show, who closed after running last early.
"Even though Locked lost a lot of ground around both turns, he was more engaged," said Aron Wellman, president and founder of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which owns Locked with Walmac Farm. "Jose did tell me before the race, 'I'm not going to worry about how much ground I lose. I just want to make sure he's engaged and that he's in the clear.' And he called it and rode him with confidence."
Todd Pletcher, who trains Locked, gave Ortiz instructions to be aggressive, the jockey said.
"The horse has a nice stride," Ortiz said. "When he gets into stride, he covers a lot of ground."
Eclipse had a huge day. Earlier on the Santa Anita card, the group won the San Felipe Stakes (G2) with Journalism, a 3-year-old on the Triple Crown trail they own with several others. Michael McCarthy, a former Pletcher assistant, trains Journalism. Eclipse also had Vixen, co-owned with D. J. Stable, win the Herecomesthebride Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park.
Despite the many big races Pletcher has won from coast to coast, he had yet to take a Big 'Cap. Based in the East, Pletcher does well shipping horses to Southern California tracks for major stakes. Locked was making his second start at Santa Anita. He finished third in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) to Pletcher-trained Fierceness and Baffert-trained Muth .
In just seven lifetime starts, Locked has won the 2023 Breeders' Futurity (G1), 2024 Cigar Mile Handicap (G2), and now the Big 'Cap. Earlier this year, he ran second in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park.
Winning the Santa Anita Handicap proved particularly special to Wellman, a native Californian.
"It's just a huge honor to be here with a horse like Locked," Wellman said. "I grew up coming to Santa Anita every weekend with my parents. To win a race like the Big 'Cap is what dreams are made of."
The team decided to add blinkers for the Big 'Cap after Locked was shuffled back following a slow start in the Pegasus.
"We have been tinkering with the idea of putting blinkers on him for a long time," Wellman said. "But he always runs so well that it's kind of hard to make that move. Johnny Velazquez rode him in an allowance race at Aqueduct that set him up before the Cigar. Every time, even though he was winning those races, Johnny was like, 'You've got to put blinkers on him.' So credit to Johnny for pushing us to do so."
Eclipse and Walmac bought Locked for $425,000 from the Eaton Sales consignment at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Rosa Colasanti bred Locked in Kentucky from her homebred Malibu Moon mare Luna Rosa. The mare is a half sister to graded winners Gabby's Golden Gal and Always a Princess.
Locked, Hall of Fame, Recharge, Guns Loaded, Runnin N Gunnin, and Running Away are 2025 stakes winners sired by champion and Hall of Famer Gun Runner . An earner of nearly $16 million on the track, Gun Runner stands for a 2025 stud fee of $250,000 at Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky.
