Wings Locked Up ends turf skid with Honor the Hero

Wings Locked Up probably prefers racing on dirt over turf, but his turf chops proved more than adequate for the $50,000 Honor the Hero Stakes on Saturday at Canterbury Park.

Wings Locked Up had lost his last four turf starts while winning six dirt races over the same period, but snuck up on nobody in the Honor the Hero. Sent off the 13-10 favorite under Orlando Mojica, Wings Locked up bounced straight to the lead, set splits of 21.88 and 44.35 over Canterbury’s long-cut but fast-playing grass course, and never had an anxious moment, coming home 1 1/2 lengths in front of Majestic Pride. The runner up, who chased the winner all the way at a distance short of his best, finished 1 1/2 lengths clear of third-place Bushrod.

Wings Locked Up was timed in 56.09 for five furlongs on a course called “good” by Canterbury but listed as “firm” in the race’s official chart. He paid $4.60 winning for the 17th time in 47 starts. Wings Locked Up received a 91 Beyer Speed Figure.

The Honor the Hero originally was scheduled for May 28, but was one of three races called off because of persistent lightning at Canterbury. The race was redrawn earlier this past Wednesday.

Clinton Stuart trains Wings Locked Up, a 6-year-old gelding by Munnings and out of the Capote mare, Sixteen Spices, for Sad Sac Racing. Wings Locked Up won his first race, in 2014, for just a $15,000 claiming price, but has been a reliable stakes horse in the Midwest for years now – on dirt or turf.