Locked Gearing Up at Saratoga, Keeneland’s Perryville a Potential Comeback Target
By Steve Sherack
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Locked (Gun Runner–Luna Rosa, by Malibu Moon), one of the early-book favorites for this spring’s GI Kentucky Derby following an impressive win in the GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and third-place finish as the favorite in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall, could return to action in the GIII Perryville Stakes at Keeneland Oct. 19.
Locked missed a pair of intended starts earlier this spring, including the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park Mar. 2, and was subsequently taken out of training by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher due to a knee injury.
“Locked was sidelined prior to the Fountain of Youth with a rare injury to a ligament at the back of his left knee,” Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners President & Founder Aron Wellman said.
“Some of the most renowned vets had never seen this type of injury before, and thanks to Todd Pletcher and his staff for catching some ever so subtle occasional missteps Locked took intermittently, along with modern medical technology, we were able to identify the issue before it became a more serious problem.
We gave Locked ample time to heal and Ian Brennan and his team did their usual first-class job rehabbing Locked at Stonestreet Farm in Ocala before he returned to Todd at Saratoga in early August.”
Locked has posted six workouts at Pletcher’s Saratoga base, including a pair of four-furlong breezes in :50 (9/23) and :49.49 (19/71) over the Oklahoma training track Sept. 8 and Sept. 15, respectively.
“He most recently really stepped up his game with a pretty serious half-mile move with a big-time gallop-out,” Wellman said.
“We never want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but we’re on the brink of circling a comeback race target. Locked is a Grade I winner, but he’s still eligible for a 2x allowance. Unfortunately, unless there’s an extra put up in New York or Kentucky, none of the current allowance races are at the right time or the right distance, so we may have to get a bit creative.
“Although we know he wants two turns and then some, a race like the Perryville going seven furlongs against 3-year-olds is on our radar. We’d love to have Locked primed for the Pegasus World Cup in January, so if we use the Perryville to get him going it puts the Cigar Mile or the Harlan’s Holiday in play as next steps to accomplishing our goal of the Pegasus.”
Wellman concluded, “Naturally, this all hinges on Locked’s cooperation. We know he has the talent, so it will all boil down to executing the game plan, but for now, we’re very pleased with his condition and progress.”
Hailing from the third crop of leading young sire Gun Runner, Locked was produced by a winning half-sister to MGISW Gabby’s Golden Gal (Medaglia d’Oro) and MGSW & GISP Always a Princess (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}). The Gun Runner/Malibu Moon cross is already responsible for GISW Sierra Leone and GSWs Shotgun Hottie and Runninsonofagun. Locked, a $425,000 Keeneland September yearling, is also bred similarly to MGISW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Taiba (Gun Runner), who is out of a Flatter mare.