Locked romps in the Santa Anita Handicap (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif. — It was a successful raiding party for Eastern-based shipper Locked Saturday at Santa Anita as the odds-on favorite romped to an 8 ½-length victory in the Grade I, $300,000 Santa Anita Handicap presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino going 1 ¼ miles. The winning margin is the largest in the history of the Big ‘Cap, which was first run in 1935.
With Jose Ortiz aboard for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, Locked (3-5) didn’t break particularly well but was hustled up to be in about mid-pack first time past the finish line. He was then caught some five-wide on the first turn as Mirahmadi and jockey Juan Hernandez seized the lead.
Mirahmadi (7-1) would proceed to carve fractions of 23.46, 47.24 and 1:11.91 for six furlongs with Midnight Mammoth and Express Train (12-1), the 2022 Big ‘Cap winner, tracking the leader. Locked, meanwhile, was kept in the clear while racing on the outside.
As the field reached the second turn, Mirahmadi began to falter. He would ultimately finish last in the eight-horse field. Express Train would seize the lead under Hector Berrios and looked to be going comfortably when reaching the quarter pole in 1:36.44.
At that point Locked—who was wearing blinkers for the first time—began to make an outside rally. He swept past Express Train entering the stretch and extended his lead all the way to the wire, winning in a time of 2:01.71. Express Train held second by 3 ¾ lengths over Hit Show (2-1) with Midnight Mammoth (62-1) completing the superfecta.
“I talked to Todd, and he told me to be aggressive out of the gate and put him as close as I can and the horse will do the rest,” Ortiz said of the winner. “The horse has a nice stride, when he gets into the stride he covers a lot of ground.”
Locked’s winning margin bested the previous record of 7 ¾ lengths set by Game on Dude in 2013.
#7 LOCKED ($3.40) was spectacular in the $300,000 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) at @santaanitapark! The four-year-old Gun Runner (@Three_Chimneys) colt was piloted by @jose93_ortiz for trainer @PletcherRacing.
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) March 2, 2025
The now two-time Grade 1 winner is owned by @EclipseTBP and @WalmacLLC. pic.twitter.com/EbG0KpN8kb
This was Eastern-based Ortiz’s first win in the Big ‘Cap.
“I feel great to win a race like this with a horse like Locked, he is unbelievable,” said Ortiz, who in 2017 won the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding jockey. “I really loved him since he was a 2-year-old. I’m very happy for the owners and Todd. I appreciate the opportunity to ride him back today.”
Locked is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm LLC. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners was also the co-owner of Saturday’s GII DK San Felipe winner, Journalism.
“It is just a huge honor to be here with a horse like Locked,” said Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. “I grew up coming to Santa Anita with my parents and to win a race like the Big ‘Cap is what dreams are made of. We have had a huge day.”
Locked improved to 8: 5-1-2 with $1,661,650 in earnings. Most recently, the 4-year-old Gun Runner colt rallied to be second in the GI Pegasus World Cup Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park. That effort came after winning the GII Cigar Mile in December at Aqueduct. As a 2-year-old, Locked won the GI Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland prior to a third-place finish in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.
Locked paid $3.40, $2.40 and $2.10. Express Train, trained by John Shirreffs, returned $7.00 and $3.40. Hit Show, ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Brad Cox, paid $2.20.
Live racing at Santa Anita resumes Sunday with an 11-race card starting at 12 p.m. PT.
