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Diodoro Eyes Saratoga’s Birdstone For Dominating Brooklyn Winner Lone Rock

Flying P Stable's Lone Rock has become a master of 12-furlong marathons, winning his third consecutive start in a 1 1/2-mile contest by capturing Saturday's Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn presented by Northwell Health on the Belmont Stakes Day undercard at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trainer Robertino Diodoro earned his first career graded stakes wins at a New York track when Lone Rock dominated a nine-horse Brooklyn field to win by 11 1/4 lengths. The gelded son of Majestic Warrior earned the first career triple digit Beyer Speed Figure of his 33-start career, garnering an even 100 after pressuring Musical Heart's early pace in second position before powering away a winner in a final time of 2:28.97 over a fast main track.

“He's a nice horse who is just getting better,” Diodoro said. “Horses are athletes. Sometimes, they are late bloomers. He's a horse who thrives on training, and you need that if you're going to run a mile and a half. The more we train him, the stronger he gets.”

Lone Rock is 4-1-0 in five starts in his 6-year-old campaign, which started with an optional claiming victory going 1 1/16 miles over a sloppy and sealed Oaklawn Park track in February. Lone Rock was then stretched out to 12 furlongs for the first time next out and ran second by a neck to Carlos L. in the Temperance Hill in March at Oaklawn before posting a 6 3/4-length win against optional claimers at the same distance and track a month later.

That effort gave Diodoro confidence to enter him in the Isaac Murphy Marathon in April at Churchill Downs, and a 3 3/4-length win there prompted a more ambitious spot in the 132nd running of the Brooklyn. Lone Rock took advantage of the opportunity, earning his first graded stakes win in a career that started in 2017 when he broke his maiden at third asking at Indiana Grand Race Course.

“It goes back to his training; he does it so easy,” Diodoro said. “He's a big horse with a long stride. Yesterday, he probably could have went another time around.”

Lone Rock, who has trained at Belmont, Oaklawn and Churchill this year, could next be in action for the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, with his conditioner citing the $120,000 Birdstone for older horses going 1 3/4 miles on August 5 as a possibility.

“We'll definitely take him to Saratoga for the race going a mile and three-quarters; that most likely will be his next stop,” he said.

Diodoro won his second graded stakes since 2018 and the first of the year with Saturday's effort.

“For our team, we've been winning races at most of the places where we've been and it's been a good year so far, but we had been in a dry spell for winning these big races,” Diodoro said. “So, we couldn't get a better place or time than to win it on Belmont Stakes Day. The team needed it. All the assistants and workers were pumped up. We needed a win like that.”

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Domestic Spending Gives Chad Brown Record Seventh Manhattan Victory

Back in 1926, the legendary songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart wrote that “we'll turn Manhattan into an isle of joy.” That song, “Manhattan,” written for the Broadway musical “Garrick Gaities,” was a big hit around the time a Thoroughbred trainer named James Rowe Sr. was recording the last of his six victories in the Manhattan Stakes, a race inaugurated in 1867 at defunct Jerome Park.

Fast forward nearly a century to 2021, when another Thoroughbred trainer, Chad Brown, was turning the Manhattan Stakes into a personal isle of joy, winning the119th running of the Grade 1, $750,000 turf fixture over a mile and a quarter for the seventh time – all in the last 10 years. It took Rowe 45 years to collect his six Manhattan wins.

Brown entered four of the Manhattan's field of 10 older turf runners, and he finished 1-2, with Klaravich Stables Inc.'s 4-5 favorite Domestic Spending coming from well off the pace under Flavien Prat to corral Brown's pacesetting Tribhuvan and Eric Cancel in the final furlong to win going away by 2 3/4 lengths. Tribhuvan held second, with early trailer Gufo getting up for third and West Coast invader Masteroffoxhounds finishing fourth. Brown-trained Rockemperor and Master Piece finished fifth and sixth, with Channel Cat, Colonel Liam, City Man and Bye Bye Melvin completing the order of finish.

Time for 1 1/4 miles was 1:59.08. Domestic Spending, a 4-year-old Kingman gelding bred in Great Britain by Rabbah Bloodstock Limited, paid $5 for the win, his sixth in seven lifetime starts.

An inquiry was conducted into the stretch run concerning the winner drifting into the path of Masteroffoxhouds, but the original order of finish stood.

This was the second Manhattan hat trick for Brown, a four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer who scored with Horse of the Year and male turf champion Bricks and Mortar in 2019 and Instilled Regard last year. He put three consecutive Manhattan successes together from 2014-16 with Real Solution, Slumber and Flintshire, respectively. Brown won his first Manhattan in 2012 with Desert Blanc.

“This has been an important race for us,” said Brown. “It's such a great tradition, and to be run before the Belmont Stakes every year. It is one of the premier turf races for males at a classic distance in the country and I hold it in high regard. We point for it every year, and I've been so lucky, me and my team, to have some good horses through the years to work with.”

The Manhattan victory was the second G1 triumph on the Belmont Stakes card for Brown and Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables. They teamed with Jose Ortiz to win the G1 Acorn Stakes with Search Results.

Cancel seemed intent on securing the early lead on the French-bred Tribhuvan, who came into the Manhattan off a wire-to-wire victory in the G2 Fort Marcy at Belmont Park May 1. He sailed along at a good clip, getting the first quarter mile in :23.81 and the half in :46.95, then opening up a wide margin approaching the far turn after six furlongs in 1:11.00.

Prat settled Domestic Spending into seventh early, a few paths off the hedge rounding the first turn. He remained unhurried until going into the final turn, gradually gaining ground and swinging five wide into the stretch to take aim on his front-running stablemate. Tribhuvan kept running strong through a mile in 1:35.51, but Domestic Spending had too much class and momentum in the final quarter mile, taking command inside the sixteenth pole.

“We had a good trip,” said Prat. “He broke well and I got him to relax all the way around there. It was a pretty strong pace. When it was time to make a move, he responded very well. Then, he was floating a little bit down the lane when he was by himself. He ran a good race.

“He went a mile and a quarter well today. He showed a good turn-of-foot last time and today, with the strong pace it's hard to show the same turn of foot and he did. I think I had more in reserve. He was floating a little bit down the lane, but I felt that I had more horse.”

“My horse ran a great race,” Cancel said of Tribhuvan. “It was a wonderful performance. The instructions were to go to the lead and if you can take it, take it. I tried to work hard to get the win, but he got beat by the other horse. He still ran great. And I can't take it away from him.

“I try to let him relax and put my hands down on him. From there on, he was doing everything by his himself. When I asked him, he picked it up. He just got beat by a better horse.”

The victory was the third consecutive G1 for Domestic Spending, purchased by Klaravich Stables for about US$414,000 as a yearling at the Tattersalls October yearling sale in England. He came into the Manhattan off a dead-heat win with Colonel Liam in the G1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, his first race since winning the G1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar last Nov. 28. Before that, Domestic Spending won the Saratoga Derby Invitational in August after suffering his lone defeat when third in the G2 Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga.

“This horse has been a particular challenge,” said Brown. “We had to geld him after his 2-year-old year, even with that breeding, because he wouldn't train. We had several different people on our team working with this horse, down at Stonestreet and down in Ocala. So many people have touched this horse and really worked with and got his natural ability out of him. The latest is Flavien [Prat], who is now getting along just terrific with this horse. It's really my team. They've done an outstanding job developing this horse. There was a point in time when he was a baby that I didn't think we'd ever get him to the races.”

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Search Results Snares Acorn Over Fast-Closing Obligatory

Coming off her only career loss in a hard-fought race against Malathaat in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, Klaravich Stables Inc.'s Search Results dropped back to a one-turn mile for trainer Chad Brown and responded with her first Grade 1 triumph in Saturday's Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The 3-year-old filly by Flatter was ridden to victory by Javier Castellano, named as a substitute for the injured Irad Ortiz Jr., who was involved in a spill on Thursday and will be out about two weeks. Search Results was the fourth winner in the first five races on the Belmont Stakes card that Ortiz had been named to ride, including Drain the Clock in the G1 Woody Stephen Stakes.

“I was at the right place at the right time,” said Castellano. “I was very fortunate to [get the mount from injured Irad Ortiz, Jr.]. I'm thankful to Chad Brown for the opportunity to ride this horse; we've had a lot of success in the past. I'm sorry for Irad Ortiz that he got hurt, but it gave me the opportunity to ride.”

Sent off the 4-5 favorite, Search Results paid $3.80 to win after running the one-mile in 1:35.50 on a track rated fast but which had taken on considerable rainfall Friday afternoon.

Juddmonte's Obligatory, coming off a last-to-first victory in the G2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs on the same day that Search Results ran second in the Kentucky Oaks, finished a fast-closing second for trainer Brad Cox, falling a half-length short. Make Mischief, third in the Eight Belles, finished a length back in third, with Eight Belles runner-up Dayoutoftheoffice fourth – beaten a nose for third – after setting the pace. Travel Column rounded out the order of finish for the five 3-year-old fillies contesting a race first run in 1931.Miss Brazil was scratched.

Equibase chart of Acorn

This was Brown's second Acorn victory, having won the 2019 running with Guarana.

“I'm just so proud of her to come back in five weeks after a real dog fight with Malathaat,” said Brown. “To bounce right back and lay it on the line again, this filly has so much talent and so much heart. She's a very rare kind of horse to have, and we're so lucky to have her.”

Search Results was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, which consigned the filly to the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale as part of the Select Sales consignment. She was purchased for $310,000 by Mike Ryan, agent, on behalf of Klaravich Stables owner Seth Klarman.

Dayoutoftheoffice jumped out to the early advantage in the long run down the Belmont backstretch, leading through an opening quarter mile in :23.50 and a half mile in :47.23. Make Mischief sat to her outside, with Search Results racing three wide into the far turn and just behind the top two. Obligatory, ridden by Jose Ortiz, lagged at the back of the field, never more than five lengths behind the leader.

Into the stretch, after six furlongs in 1:11.00, Search Results drew up alongside Dayoutoftheoffice, and gradually eased past that filly while Make Mischief fought to keep pace with the eventual winner. In the final sixteenth of a mile, with Search Result's victory seemingly assured, Obligatory came roaring down the outside and tried to make a race of a it, falling a half-length short at the wire.

“The pace wasn't fast but she was right there,” said Castellano. “That's the good thing about her. You can put her where you want. You can be a little closer to the pace or you can be a little bit off the pace. I don't think she's a difficult horse to manage. She's very easy and straightforward. I'm just lucky I had the opportunity to ride her.”

Obligatory's rider, Jose Ortiz, said of the filly by Curlin: “She ran huge. The pace was a lot slower today and when they started running at the three-eighths pole, they got the jump on me. It was very hard to keep her engaged with them, but she made a good run down the lane.”

The win was the fourth in five career starts for Search Results, who debuted at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 3, winning a six-furlong maiden race by four lengths. She shipped to New York to win the Busher Invitational on March 6, then won Aqueduct's G3 Gazelle by 2 3/4 lengths. She got a good trip under Irad Ortiz Jr. in the Kentucky Oaks, but came up a neck short of the Todd Pletcher-trained Curlin filly Malathaat in a battle of the unbeatens.

Search Results is by Flatter, a stakes-placed A.P. Indy stallion who stands at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky., where his 2021 fee was $35,000. The Acorn winner was produced from Co Cola, a Todd Pletcher-trained stakes-place filly by Candy Ride. Search Results come from the family of Canadian champion Kimchi and G1 winner Mind Your Biscuit, now standing at stud in Japan.

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Baron Samedi Continues European Dominance In Marathon Belmont Gold Cup

Baron Samedi continued the dominance of European runners in the Grade 2, $400,000 Belmont Gold Cup at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on Friday, closing strongly in the stretch under John Velazquez to win the two-mile turf race by 2 3/4 lengths as the 6-5 favorite. It was the seventh consecutive victory for the English-bred gelded son of Harbour Watch dating back to August 2020.

Argentine-bred Fantasioso finished second with Javier Castellano aboard, with Ajourneytofreedom (one of three entries from the barn of Mike Maker) third and Kinenos fourth in the field of nine older marathoners.

Baron Samedi covered the two miles on yielding turf in 3:27.30, more than 10 seconds slower than 2018 winner Call to Mind ran the distance. Trained in Ireland by Joseph O'Brien, Baron Samedi became the fourth consecutive Belmont Gold Cup winner to invade from Europe. The only starter in this year's field based in Europe, he paid $4.60 to win.

Inaugurated in 2014, the Belmont Gold Cup is the longest graded stakes run in North America.

The final four races on Friday's program were delayed when a thunderstorm moved through the area, dumping a significant amount of rain on the course.

Owned by LECH Racing LLC, Baron Samedi was sold for about US$5,000 as a weanling. He was slow to develop as a racehorse, losing his first five starts, and didn't win his first race until after being gelded. Once he figured out how to win, however, he has not finished behind another horses, gradually moving from the Irish handicap ranks into Group company, ending his 2020 campaign with a win in a Group 2 race at Longchamp going 1 3/8 miles and then launching his 2021 season with a win in the Group 3 Vintage Crop Stakes going 1 3/4 miles at Navan in Ireland on April 25.

Velazquez allowed Baron Samedi to settle into sixth position early as So High and Eric Cancel grabbed the early lead, going an opening quarter mile in :24.37, a half in :50.11 and six furlongs in 1:15.48.

Conviction Trade and Jose Ortiz raced in second through the opening mile in 1:43.03, then took over from the leader in the second run down the backstretch.

As the field rounded the final turn following a 1 1/4-mile clocking in 2:08.61, So High re-engaged with Conviction Trade, but the field was closing in on the two leaders.

Ziyad was the first to make a move, and Velazquez followed that one into the stretch while hugging the inside hedge. Once Baron Samedi cleared Ziyad, Velazquez swung him off the rail and took dead aim on the front-runners. Baron Samedi veered outwardly under a left-handed strike of the whip from Velazquez and into the path of a closing Fantasioso, the eventual runner-up, but there was no inquiry or claim of foul from that incident.

“The winner came out, but he was clear,” Castellano said. “He opened up by two lengths and it didn't affect me at all.”

Straightened away and under right-handed pressure, Baron Samedi took command and maintained the advantage over the runner-up in the final furlong to win comfortably.

“Baron Samedi is a very good horse and Johnny [Velazquez] gave him a great ride.
said O'Brien. “He hadn't been that far before, but he had handled that kind of track before, so we weren't worried about the rain. We just worried about them taking the race off the turf.

“This horse just doesn't get tired, he just keeps coming and coming,” Velazquez said. “But I had to ride him because he's kind of slow-paced. He's a grinder; just keeps coming and coming. I didn't want to end up being a little too soon so I thought I' better just keep him going. He did everything good. Once we got to the three-eighths pole I was riding him and getting to where I wanted to be and he gave me a good feeling from then on. The course was very soft, but he handled it well. No complaints.”

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