LEXINGTON, Ky. — Locked continued a loaded opening weekend at Keeneland for his connections by overcoming a wide trip and a stubborn foe for a half-length victory in the Grade 1, $600,000 Breeders' Futurity on Saturday evening. The victory secured a spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile starting gate on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita for Locked, as part of the event's "Win and You're In" Challenge series. Locked also earned a handful of points toward a spot in the starting gate for the 2024 Kentucky Derby, as the Futurity awarded its top finishers points on the 10-5-3-2-1 scale. Locked ($3.52) is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm, and is trained by Todd Pletcher. He gave Eclipse and Pletcher another major candidate for the 2-year-old program at the Breeders' Cup after Candied took the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes on Friday at Keeneland. :: Bet Keeneland with confidence! Get DRF PPs, Picks and more. "Great weekend for Eclipse," said Pletcher, who has now won the Futurity four times, including last year with eventual Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and divisional champion Forte. "It's a real credit to the job that they do selecting these horses." Jose Ortiz, aboard Locked, teamed up with Pletcher for a Grade 1 double on Saturday, as they won the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile later in the evening with Up to the Mark, co-owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable. Opening weekend isn't over yet, and Pletcher will saddle champion Nest in tomorrow's Grade 1 Spinster Stakes for Eclipse and Repole. Locked, a $425,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, has gotten a wealth of seasoning in just three starts in his young career. The colt debuted going six furlongs on Aug. 5 at Saratoga - a race that may have been a bit short for the son of classic sire Gun Runner, and even more so when he was bothered and steadied at the start. He ran on well to be third. Locked stretched out to a mile on Sept. 1 at Saratoga, a race run essentially in a 1 1/2-turn configuration out of a chute along the clubhouse turn. Although he was bumped at the break, Locked got his feet under him to race in second early, and took over as he pleased en route to a 7 1/4-length victory. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 96 for that effort, the highest for a juvenile at the Saratoga meet. Off that performance, Locked was sent away favored in the Futurity's field of eight starters. He was away well under regular partner Ortiz, who gave him a forward warm-up, but his outside post left him wide around both turns of the 1 1/16-mile race. "We expected he'd handle [the distance] well - kind of unfortunate with the outside draw," Pletcher said. "He was hung out pretty wide on both turns. Jose was kind of handcuffed into just being stuck there." Baytown Chatterbox, upset winner of the Ellis Park Juvenile over the summer, and Just Steel, who came out of his sprint maiden win over Locked to set a hot pace before fading in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes, pestered one another through the early going. They achieved moderate early splits of 24.47 for the quarter and 48.23 for the half. Just Steel took over leaving the backstretch, but West Saratoga, winner of the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes last month at Churchill Downs, began to loom a threat stalking outside in third near the five-sixteenths pole. Meanwhile, while Locked was still on the outside, with Ortiz about to swing him four wide into the stretch, The Wine Steward, who had broken from the inside post under Luis Saez, had been quietly picking his way through horses, while saving ground the whole way. That colt raced in second around the turn, and cut the corner with clear sailing into the stretch as others began to fade. However, Locked was full of run and came to The Wine Steward with a rush once the two straightened away. He put a head in front and appeared poised to open up, but The Wine Steward battled back along the inside. Locked clawed inches away from his foe to hit the wire a half-length in front.  "He showed a lot of determination to fend off a nice colt," Pletcher said. Locked finished the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.06 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 87. New York-bred The Wine Steward was stretching out in distance for the first time after winning the Bashford Manor against open company and the Funny Cide Stakes against statebreds, both at six furlongs. "He got beat by a good horse," Saez said. "That horse had a long race already. He got a little tired, but next time we’re going to be all right." Trainer Mike Maker indicated that the Breeders' Cup would be considered for The Wine Steward. After the top two, it was 3 3/4 lengths back to Generous Tipper, who had been last after the opening half but came on to edge Northern Flame by a neck for the third-place slot. It was more than six lengths back to the others in the strung-out group, as West Saratoga, Just Steel, Awesome Road, and Baytown Chatterbox rounded out the order of finish. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.