Multiple grade 1 winner Locked will miss his intended engagement in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) because of an untimely illness and has been retired from racing.
He will stand at Gainesway Farm for the 2026 breeding season.
A son of leading sire Gun Runner , Locked is the second foal from Luna Rosa, a winning daughter of Malibu Moon and a half sister to multiple grade 1 winner Gabby's Golden Gal and multiple grade 2 winner Always A Princess.
Brilliant from the start for trainer Todd Pletcher and campaigned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm, Locked broke his maiden by 7 1/4 lengths during September of his 2-year-old year at Saratoga Race Course. He followed that victory with a win in the Breeders' Cup Futurity (G1) at Keeneland then completed his 2-year-old campaign with a fast-closing third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
Locked's 3-year-old debut created headlines when he stopped the clock in 1.21.02 for 7 furlongs at the Belmont at Aqueduct meet. He scored another impressive win just a few weeks later in the prestigious Cigar Mile (G2), defeating older horses including grade 1 winners Mullikin and Book'em Danno.
Locked continued his top form on the at 4 and took his talents out West to win the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) by a record 8 1/2 lengths. The emphatic victory was highly rated by all metrics, including a 109 Beyer, 3 1/2 Ragozin, a 108 Equibase Speed Figure, and negative 5 Thoro-Graph.
"From the moment we put a saddle on his back at Ocala Stud, Locked always presented himself as a superior talent," said Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners president Aron Wellman. "He was a star 2-year-old, returned at age 3 off nearly a year layoff after getting knocked off the Kentucky Derby trail with a rare injury, to come a tick off the track record for 7 furlongs at Aqueduct and then conquered older foes, including several grade 1 winners, in the Cigar Mile. He was a troubled second in the Pegasus World Cup and then set the record for the largest margin of victory in the Santa Anita Big 'Cap, only to close out his career with a logic-defying win in the historic Woodward. He was a stellar racehorse and with his natural athleticism, toughness, pedigree, and looks, we are enthusiastic about his prospects of becoming a marquis stallion at Gainesway as an heir apparent to his sire, Gun Runner."
"Locked is an exciting stallion prospect of the highest caliber," said Gainesway's Antony Beck. "In his career, he demonstrated true brilliance and versatility from distances ranging from 7 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles. I couldn't be more excited about Locked's arrival at Gainesway, and I look forward to breeding a large number of our best mares to him."
Locked retires with six wins from 11 starts and earnings of $1,911,825.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
