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Locked during his last visit to California, ahead of the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif. — Locked, a Grade I winner for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, will make the cross-country trip from Florida to Santa Anita where on Saturday he will square off with eight rivals in the 88th running of the Grade I, $300,000 Santa Anita Handicap for older horses going 1 ¼ miles.
The Santa Anita Handicap is part of a blockbuster program Saturday at The Great Race Place. In addition to the historic Big ‘Cap, the card will feature the Grade I Frank E. Kilroe Mile on turf, Grade II DK San Felipe for 3-year-olds on the Kentucky Derby trail and the GII Buena Vista for fillies and mares at a mile on turf.
Locked most recently rallied to be second in the GI Pegasus World Cup at 1 1/8 miles when making his 4-year-old debut Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park. Previously, the Gun Runner colt took down the GII Cigar Mile in December at Aqueduct.
As a 2-year-old, Locked won the GI Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland before a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita. He will be ridden by Eastern-based jockey Jose Ortiz.
Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm, Locked is 7: 4-1-2 with $1,481,650 in earnings.
Also shipping west for the Big ‘Cap is Hit Show for trainer Brad Cox. A 5-year-old horse by Candy Ride, Hit Show most recently rallied to win the GIII Louisiana Stakes going 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds on Jan. 18. It was Hit Show’s fourth graded stakes win for owner Wathnan Racing and upped his record to 16: 8-1-0 with $1,410,928 in earnings. He will have the services of last year’s Eclipse Award-winning jockey Flavien Prat.
Hit Show goes from last to first in the G3 Louisiana S. at @fairgroundsnola for trainer @bradcoxracing! @flothejock was up.
— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) January 18, 2025
TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/li0bbay3S9
Among the leading local hopes are the emerging Mirahmadi for trainer Bob Baffert, recent Grade II winners Katonah and J B Strikes Back for trainer Doug O’Neill, and 2022 Santa Anita Handicap winner Express Train for trainer John Shirreffs.
Mirahmadi comes in off a sharp front-running, 4 ½-length allowance win going a mile at Santa Anita Jan. 4. Since that breakout victory, the 4-year-old Into Mischief colt has fired off three consecutive bullet works including a six-furlong drill in 1:11.80 on Feb. 17 and another six-furlong work in 1:12.0 on Sunday.
Owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables et. al, Mirahmadi is 11: 2-4-2 with $203,740 in earnings. He will have Juan Hernandez aboard.
Katonah most recently won the GII San Pasqual going 1 1/16 miles by two lengths over runner-up Express Train on Jan. 25 at Santa Anita. It was the second stakes win and first graded victory for the 6-year-old gelding by Klimt. Owned by R3 Racing, Katonah is 17: 5-3-2 with $481,180 in earnings. He will be ridden by Tiago Pereira, who was also aboard for both previous stakes wins.
J B Strikes Back was a front-running winner of the GII Laffit Pincay Jr. going 1 1/16 miles when making his stakes debut Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. The 4-year-old gelding by Goldencents, who was claimed twice last year while still a maiden, is owned by Janie Buss’ Purple Rein Racing. He is 9: 4-0-0 with $191,660 in earnings. Antonio Fresu, who was aboard in the San Pasqual, retains the mount.
Express Train finished two lengths back of Katonah when second in the San Pasqual. The 8-year-old Union Rags horse, who was sidelined 18-plus months from October 2022 to April 2024, is seeking his first win since the 2022 Big ‘Cap. Express Train is 24: 7-6-5 with $1,543,800 in earnings for owner C R K Stable. Jockey Hector Berrios will ride.
THE GI SANTA ANITA HANDICAP WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 10 of 11 Approximate post time 4:30 p.m. PT
- Express Train – Hector Berrios – 120
- New King – Mike Smith – 115
- Hit Show – Flavien Prat -124
- J B Strikes Back – Antonio Fresu – 119
- Mirahmadi – Juan Hernandez – 116
- Katonah – Tiago Pereira – 121
- Locked – Jose Ortiz – 124
- Midnight Mammoth – Armando Ayuso – 116
- Tarantino – Edwin Maldonado – 118
First post Saturday is 12 p.m. PT. Admission gates open at 10 a.m.
