The Producers: Part 1, Locked and Bloodstock

Wandering Eyes · 2025-07-07T19:30:47Z

In this new series, we'll spotlight the dams and connections of some of 2025's racetrack superstars. First up, we'll set the scene by explaining our objective and search for trends, then for a curtain raiser we'll kick off the series by checking in with the dam of one of the top older horses of 2025. Tabbed to be something special from the start, 'TDN Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner) is a multiple Grade I stakes winner and future Gainesway stallion.

Grade I-Winning Trends

The end of June marked the halfway point of 2025, with 34 of the 93 scheduled Grade I races for the year already in the books. With five dual Grade I winners to date, that leaves 29 individual Grade I winners in 2025 through June. So much is made of the sires and broodmare sires of those elite horses–and rightfully so–but it takes two to tango. What about the broodmares?

Twenty-nine broodmares have produced Grade I winners this year through June. While it's vitally important to stallion careers to get those top-level winners, it's somewhat of a 'unicorn' situation for a mare to do it. Based on numbers alone, broodmares have so few chances in comparison to stallions. It's not an overstatement to say it changes everything when they do.

Not only can a Grade I winner change the trajectory of the mare's future produce in value and in the quality of the stallions she visits, but it changes the people around that mare, too. In the extreme, a Grade I producer can help pay off a farm if she or her future progeny are sold. At the very least, a mare like that in the field delivers a sense of pride and a heavy–but welcome–responsibility to those who care for her.

We tried to identify trends among the year's Grade I producers, but it will surprise no one to learn there seems to be no clear-cut rhyme or reason behind the special mares responsible for the year's top runners beyond astute bloodstock decisions, hard work by good teams, and that elusive element known as luck. Sure, breeders can increase their chances by using the leading sires (Into Mischief has the most individual Grade I winners this year with three) and top broodmare sires (Distorted Humor leads that category with three), but other patterns? Forget about it.

Sarah Andrew

Only one mare this year was producing a second career Grade I winner (Spirit of St Louis's dam, the late Khancord Kid); some were young (White Abarrio's dam Catching Diamonds was four when he was foaled); and some were in the latter part of their producing careers (Choisya (GB)'s dam Fragrancy (Ire) was 16 when she was born). Some mares were unraced, some only placed. About two-thirds of the producers broke their own maidens, while about half earned black-type.

Many of the mares have been through an auction ring themselves, with Keeneland selling the most among the 2025 Grade I producers to date. About a third of the mares sold for under $100,000 publicly at some point in their lives. A few brought seven figures.

The sires of the 2025 Grade I winners are similarly tough to pin down: with most currently standing in Kentucky, where they usually need an exceptional race record to earn a shot, they stand for a variety of fees. Their ages, too, are all over the place. The seemingly ageless Medaglia d'Oro is the elder statesman (age 23 when Good Cheer was foaled), while Maximus Mischief and Omaha Beach were only five when Raging Torrent and Kopion, respectively, were born. Right around half of the sires were 10 or under when their 2025 Grade I winner was foaled.

With no discernable patterns, where does that leave us? Perhaps simply with a reminder that hope prevails as the foundation of our great sport. If it were easy to breed a Grade I winner, everyone would do it. These mares are something special, yes, but so many factors have to go right along the way, from planning a mating to conception to foaling to every single step that gets those horses into a starting gate and finally the winner's circle at the elite level. That's why only 29 mares in the first six months of the year can carry the banner of Grade I producer for 2025.

Over the coming weeks, we'll take a look at several of those mares and check in with some of their connections and the people who care for them. What makes these mares so special? What do they have in the pipeline? What goes into their matings? First up is Locked's dam, Luna Rosa (Malibu Moon).

Locked wins the Santa Anita Handicap, his second Grade I | Benoit

Luna Rosa, dam of Locked

Already a Grade I winner at two, Locked registered a 109 Beyer Speed Figure in his eye-popping 8 1/2-length score in the GI Santa Anita Handicap in March.

Dr. Naoya Yoshida and his wife, Marie Yoshida-Debeusscher, foaled and raised not only Locked, but also his dam, Luna Rosa.

It all stemmed from a meeting in 1995 in Ireland, when Federico Barberini, a Newmarket bloodstock agent based at that time in Italy, paid a visit to Kildangan Stud, where Dr. Yoshida worked. That chance meeting would lead to a cherished client and multiple generations of Locked's family for the Yoshidas. In 2008, Barberini bought a mare named Gabriellina Giof (GB) (Ashkalani {Ire}) at the Keeneland January sale for $75,000 for his client, Roman restauratrice Rosa Colasanti. The mare had previously been a 2-year-old stakes winner in Italy for Colasanti, and had since been sold and exported to this country, where she won another black-type event and placed in the 2001 GII San Clemente Handicap at Del Mar for Arnold Zetcher. Now she was back in Colasanti's hands, but an ocean away.

Luna Rosa last month near Lexington | Sarah Andrew

Barberini advised Colasanti to keep Gabriellina Giof at Dr. Yoshida's Winchester Farm near Lexington. Although they hadn't yet made it to the races when Dr. Yoshida began caring for Gabriellina Giof in the same pastures where 1983 Broodmare of the Year Courtly Dee once grazed, the mare had already produced MGISW Gabby's Golden Gal (Medaglia d'Oro) and MGSW & GISP Always a Princess (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}). Under Dr. Yoshida's watch, she would produce Luna Rosa, her final foal before she passed away.

Colasanti retained Luna Rosa, racing her as a homebred. While campaigning under trainer Rodolphe Brisset–around the same time he went out on his own after more than a decade as assistant to Hall of Famer Bill Mott–she ran well at two, finishing a strong second in a Keeneland maiden special weight. Luna Rosa then broke her maiden at three while going eight furlongs on the turf at Horseshoe Indianapolis in 2018.

“Rodolphe Brisset, whom we've supported from early in his career, loved Luna Rosa,” remembered Dr. Yoshida. “She really showed ability. While she won only one race from her five starts, she performed very well on both dirt and on turf. She was a beautiful mover.

“She also had her own mind. She's very tough, as was her mother, so even now we treat her like a queen,” said Dr. Yoshida with a laugh.

After going to Frosted for her first foal–a now-5-year-old gelding named Mega Moon who was last seen finishing second in an optional claimer at Santa Anita at the end of May–Luna Rosa was sent to Gun Runner as part of his third book. Dr. Yoshida felt the Three Chimneys stallion would be ideally suited to the mare.

“I saw Gun Runner on the racetrack and thought he was very unique. Obviously, he was a very good dirt horse, but he had really good action like one running on the turf, almost like he was flying. It was very light, very smooth, and I thought we could produce a Classic-type horse in using Gun Runner for Luna Rosa. That's the main reason we chose him, although he was still a new stallion.

“Ms. Colasanti has a very good artistic eye when she's evaluating a horse. Each horse has to pass her test. That means we have to produce a world-class and a Classic-type horse.”

Dr. Naoya Yoshida | Sarah Andrew

Dr. Yoshida said Locked passed Colasanti's test and really stood out from the start. .

“We were very happy because he had presence–a lovely presence–and a certain dignity from the time he was born, but he was easy to handle. He also had an impressive walk.

“Luna Rosa is a powerful mare, but Locked is built more like Gun Runner. Although when looking at Luna Rosa from the side, I can see the same kind of square line which Locked has. In addition, any tough mentality he has most certainly comes from Luna Rosa.”

While Dr. Yoshida may have brought the suggestion of Gun Runner for Luna Rosa to the table, he said mating plans for the mare are a group decision.

“We work together with all of our boarding clients to make decisions for mating arrangements. Ms. Colasanti has been so kind to trust our suggestions since she started to keep her horses at the farm, but we always give our comments and suggestions to her to make our final decision together. There are so many important factors, of course–ability, race performance, commercial value, budget.”

Luna Rosa went to Caravaggio and Tiz the Law in the two years following Locked, and visited Gun Runner's GI Preakness Stakes-winning son Early Voting for the current yearling. That colt is scheduled to go through the Keeneland September sale as part of Book 1. Dr. Yoshida said he looks like a Classic horse.

“When we decided to enter the yearling for the Keeneland sale, Ms. Colasanti considered keeping him because he is very nice. This Early Voting colt has a very classy shape with a nice top line. He's a little different type from Locked, but extremely nice.”

Locked himself sold at the 2022 Keeneland September sale for $425,000 to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm. They sent him to Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and the colt quickly rewarded Dr. Yoshida's vision, breaking his maiden in his second start at two at Saratoga in a 'TDN Rising Star' performance, then adding a win in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity before hitting the board in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He missed the Classics with a minor ligament injury. Since coming back late last year, he's captured the GII Cigar Mile and the Big 'Cap in addition to a runner-up effort in the GI Pegasus World Cup. He was last seen finishing third in Friday's GII Suburban Stakes at Saratoga.

Rosa Colasanti's Luna Rosa | Sarah Andrew

Luna Rosa has a full-brother to Locked on the ground and was bred back to Gun Runner again for next term. Dr. Yoshida said the foal reminds him of Locked and is showing signs of being another top colt.

“I have a really good feeling on this foal, too,” said Dr. Yoshida.

Both Locked and last year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone are bred on the identical cross, being by Gun Runner and out of Malibu Moon mares. They are also both foals of 2021. Even when getting in on the ground floor of a cross works so well, Dr. Yoshida is not one to rest on his laurels.

“It's lovely to have Locked racing well, but we are also constantly thinking ahead to the next winner from this family. We always need to work harder and update our strategy.”

Dr. Yoshida continued, “Ms. Colasanti most enjoys breeding and racing in Europe, so having first Gabriellina Giof and now Luna Rosa at the farm gives our team the mission to protect her passion. I hope we have more success for Ms. Colasanti. Her success helps promote cooperation between Europe and the United States, and that's what we try to do.”

Up next, we'll check in with the dams and some of the breeding decisions behind a few key 3-year-old colts of 2025: GI Curlin Florida Derby winner Tappan Street and GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner Burnham Square.