Photo:

Sophie Shore / Eclipse Sportswire

Neither Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup second-place finisher Locked nor Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Soul of an Angel will race in the Grade 1, $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 22 in Riyadh.

Trainer Todd Pletcher had been preparing Locked for the race, and he returned to the work tab Friday for his first drill since the Pegasus. However, the horse’s ownership thought traveling so far would be too risky, according to a report Monday from Mike Welsch of Daily Racing Form. Locked will instead be pointed to the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) on March 1.

Soul of an Angel, the champion female sprinter of 2024, will also bypass the Saudi Cup according to the report from Welsch. Though trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. described her as “ready to run”, Joseph plans to switch back to galloping and then ramp her up for a return in the Grade 1 Madison on April 5. She was two deep on the reserve list for the Saudi Cup when her connections decided Sunday to skip the race.