Locked locks down Santa Anita Handicap by record margin

ARCADIA, Calif. – Locked was a lock in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday.

The class of the field and odds-on favorite, Locked scored a record-setting victory in winning the mile and one-quarter Big 'Cap by 8 1/2 lengths. It was the largest margin of victory in a race that was first run in 1935.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz and wearing blinkers for the first time in a race, Locked gave East Coast trainer Todd Pletcher his first victory in the Big 'Cap. It wasn’t even close. Despite losing ground on both turns, Locked rallied to a convincing victory in 2:01.71.

The 8-year-old veteran Express Train, winner of the 2022 Big 'Cap, parlayed a ground-saving trip to finish second. Hit Show, second choice in the betting, finished third. Midnight Mammoth finished fourth, while pacesetter Mirahmadi finished eighth and last.

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Locked, runner-up last out in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, was the class of the ’Big Cap going in and looks even better coming out.

“To be a Grade 1 winner at 2, to win the [Grade 2] Cigar Mile at 3, and now the Santa Anita Handicap at 4, he’s [building] himself a pretty hefty resume," said one of Locked's owners, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners president Aron Wellman.

Locked earned a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure, tied for the top Beyer earned in races at one mile or longer in 2025. White Abarrio earned the same figure for his victory in the Pegasus World Cup.

The dominating performance establishes Locked as one of the top horses in the country. He was at the top of a similar list before. The last time Locked raced at Santa Anita, he finished third as odds-on favorite in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He was an early candidate for the 2024 classics until he was sidelined with an unusual ligament injury.

“He had a really bizarre injury that not a lot of people had ever seen before,” Wellman said.

Locked recovered and returned as an improved older horse. He scored a facile comeback victory in an autumn allowance at Aqueduct, won the Cigar Mile, and finished second in the Pegasus.

After his win in the Big ’Cap, Locked, sired by Gun Runner, has won five races and $1,661,650 from eight starts.

Although the inside appeared best on the Santa Anita main track on Saturday, Ortiz was willing to sacrifice ground for a clean trip. Wellman said, “Jose told me before the race, ‘I’m not going to worry about how much ground I lose. I just have to make sure he’s engaged and in the clear.'”

When a jockey is riding the best horse, he can afford to take the long way home. Locked rallied from sixth and looped the field on the far turn before crushing his rivals.

Express Train, the John Shirreffs trainee trying to become the first 8-year-old to win the Big 'Cap since 1947, looked like a potential upset winner turning for home. Express Train saved ground in third, snuck inside pacesetter Mirahmadi on the far turn, and led the field into the lane.

“He put himself in a great spot. Hector rode him perfect,” Shirreffs said. “What a thrill to see him turn into the stretch on the lead. (Hector) had to make a lot of decisions. He made all good ones.”

In addition to his 2022 Big 'Cap victory, Express Train now has two runner-up finishes in the race – 2021 and 2025.

Hit Show, the Brad Cox trainee who was second choice in the betting at 2.90-1, was a no-threat third under Flavien Prat.

“He didn’t jump very well, but after that, I was behind Locked,” Prat said, suggesting he liked his position. “When we got to the half-mile pole, they kind of kicked away. Just couldn’t keep up from there.”

J B Strikes Back finished fifth, followed by Katonah, New King, and Mirahmadi.

Locked is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm. The win by Locked capped a big day for Eclipse, which also owns Journalism in partnership. Earlier on Saturday, Journalism stamped himself as an early Kentucky Derby favorite with an impressive win in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes.

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