Lochte locks in a win in G3 Tampa Bay Stakes

Medaglia d'Oro's G1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap-winning son Lochte added the first Graded Stakes win of his five-year-old season January 24 with a thrilling win in the G3 Tampa Bay Stakes. Off to a terrific start to the year, Lochte represented the fourth Black type winner to date in 2015 for Medaglia d'Oro.

Between horses in fifth along the backstretch in the one-and-one-sixteenth-mile turf race, Lochte loomed in third with three-furlongs to go. As the pace quickened around the turn, the son of Medaglia d'Oro put in a run, taking the lead in the stretch and holding off competition in the final strides to seal the win at the wire.

Bred by Maura Gittins, Lochte was a $475,000 yearling purchase at Saratoga. He is out of Stakes winner Lemon Kiss, a full-sister to multiple Graded Stakes winner Kiss The Kid.

In addition to Lochte, Medaglia d'Oro's other Stakes winners in 2015 are G2 Ft. Lauderdale Handicap winner Mshawish, Jazil Stakes victor Micromanage, and Marie G. Krantz Memorial winner Notte d'Oro. The sire of 11 G1 winners lifetime, Medaglia d'Oro's most noteworthy runners are Horse Of The Year Rachel Alexandra, another G1 winner on the turf Marketing Mix, and G1 Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty.