Locked crushes Santa Anita Handicap; Formidable Man takes Kilroe Mile

On a stakes-packed Saturday at Santa Anita, Locked impressed with an 8 1/2-length demolition of the historic Santa Anita H. (G1).

Coming off a runner-up finish in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup (G1), Locked relished stretching out over 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita. The four-year-old Todd Pletcher trainee rated in the back half of an eight-horse field as Mirahmadi set fractions of :23.46, :47.24, and 1:11.91, but he was never more than 3 1/2 lengths off the lead while racing with blinkers for the first time.

“He had the blinkers on today. 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,” said winning jockey Jose Ortiz, who was guiding Locked for the first time since a third-place finish in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). “The horse has a nice stride, when he gets into the stride he covers a lot of ground.”

Locked was still in fourth place after a mile in 1:36.44, but down the homestretch he seized command and roared to the finish line in 2:01.71, rewarding bettors who backed him to 7-10 favoritism. Express Train, winner of the 2022 Santa Anita H., stayed on to finish clearly second-best over Hit Show. Midnight Mammoth, J B Strikes Back, Katonah, New King, and Mirahmadi trailed the strung-out field.

The Santa Anita H. marked Locked’s first triumph at the Grade 1 level since taking the 2023 Breeders’ Futurity (G1) as a juvenile. During an abbreviated three-year-old campaign in 2024, his biggest win came in the Cigar Mile H. (G2).

“I feel great to win a race like this with a horse like Locked, he is unbelievable,” said Ortiz. “I really loved him since he was a two-year-old. I’m very happy for the owners and Todd. I appreciate the opportunity to ride him back today.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Formidable Man launched a terrific rally under jockey Umberto Rispoli to win the Franke E. Kilroe Mile (G1).

Following the scratch of Thunder Road (G3) winner El Potente, seven horses faced the starter in the one-mile turf test. Racing without blinkers for the first time in his 12-start career, Formidable Man rated about three lengths behind splits of :23.20, :47.26, and 1:11.70, then gobbled up ground along the rail to beat Zio Jo by half a length in 1:34.57.

Cabo Spirit, Almendares, and Mi Hermano Ramon were the next three across the wire, all finishing within 1 1/4 lengths of Formidable Man. Neat and Air Force Red trailed the field.

The victory marked a rebound for Formidable Man. Winner of the Hollywood Derby (G1) and Del Mar Derby (G2) as a three-year-old last year, the son of City of Light started 2025 with a 12th-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) at Gulfstream Park in Florida.

“A lot of things got wound up in Florida, a lot of music a lot of things going on Pegasus day,” said winning trainer Michael McCarthy. “A little bit of a sensory overload for him, and we thought he was finishing his races well enough that blinkers would make little to no difference anymore.”

McCarthy also won the Buena Vista (G2) with Liguria. Under Flavien Prat, the five-year-old mare rallied up the inside and clocked one mile on turf in 1:34.31, 0.26 faster than males in the Kilroe Mile.

Winner of the Jimmy Durante (G3) back in 2022 and the Wild Applause S. in 2023 for original trainer Chad Brown, Liguria missed all of 2024 and prepped for the Buena Vista with a third-place finish in the Feb. 1 Megahertz (G3) at Santa Anita. The daughter of War Front improved significantly in her second start back, trailing a six-horse field through splits of :22.50, :45.37, and 1:10.18 before rallying to win by a head.

“She is a very classy filly and has trained well here,” said McCarthy. “She came to Santa Anita off of an extended break and had to start, then stop, to get her going. I thought her first race back was very good, maybe a touch further back than I would have liked the other day. It turned out it was basically the same thing today. Flavien was able to find a seam at the rail and get the job done. She is a quality filly. Her resume spoke volumes when she came here. I’m just glad we were able to get her get her in form and hopefully keep her there for a while.”

Tirupati edged Megahertz winner Rashmi by a neck for second place, followed by Uncorked, Big Hug, and Omaha Girl.