Multiple grade 1 winner Locked will stand at Gainesway near Lexington upon his retirement from racing, the farm announced March 5. The 4-year-old son of leading sire Gun Runner won the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) March 1 by a record 8 1/2 lengths.
Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt registered a 108 Equibase Speed Figure and a 3 1/2 Ragozin for his dominant Big 'Cap victory. The colt has now strung together five consecutive triple-digit ESF performances and achieved his fifth consecutive single-digit Ragozin.
Locked broke his maiden going a mile at Saratoga Race Course by 7 1/4 lengths and was awarded a 109 ESF for that dominant performance in only his second start at 2. Locked followed with an impressive late run in the 2023 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, where he kicked clear to win by a half-length over The Wine Steward. He finished the season with a third in the the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
"Locked displayed special talent from the onset," Pletcher said. "His tactical ability, brilliant turn of foot, and demeanor are rare."
Locked continued to impress at 3 when he defeated older horses in the 2024 Cigar Mile Handicap (G2), getting the best of grade 1 winners Senor Buscador , Mullikin, and the 3-year-old Book'em Danno.
"Locked is exactly what we are looking to capture in a stallion at Gainesway," said Brian Graves, Gainesway's general manager. "He has shown brilliance in his maiden victory at Saratoga and a grade 1 win at 2. He has also shown versatility in his freaky performances ranging from a mile to 1 1/4 miles in graded events at 3 and 4. We are looking forward to what Locked can add to his résumé as one of the top horses in training. He is a two-time grade 1 winner by Gun Runner, bred on a magic cross, and in top form. The sky is the limit with Locked."
With the Santa Anita Handicap victory, Locked improved to five wins in eight starts, with increased earnings of $1,661,650. He has never finished off the board.
"To see him carry on his brilliance from his 2-year-old season to win the Cigar Mile at 3 at the stallion-making distance, to proving his elite stamina with a record-setting Big 'Cap triumph at the classic distance, he's proven to be an extraordinary talent," said Aron Wellman, president and founder of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. "While we are bullish on the remainder of his 4-year-old campaign, we're also so enthused for him to prove a potential generational stallion at Gainesway."
Italian owner/breeder Rosa Colasanti bred Locked in Kentucky out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Luna Rosa, who Colasanti bred out of her most successful racehorse Gabriellina Giof, a grade 2-placed stakes winner. Previously with owner/breeder Arnold Zetcher, Gabriellina Giof produced Luna Rosa's half sisters multiple grade 1 winner Gabby's Golden Gal and grade 1-placed, multiple grade 2 winner Always a Princess. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac purchased Locked for $425,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
