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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Lone Rock Claims Brooklyn Stakes With Overpowering Stretch Run

After a one-year COVID-19 hiatus, the Grade 2 Brooklyn Stakes returned to Belmont Park with a dazzling performance by a former claimer turned long-distance specialist, Lone Rock. Running in the colors of Flying P Stable, Lone Rock sat just off of Musical Heart for the first mile, took the lead on the final turn, and then draw away from Tizamagician and Moretti to win the $400,000 stakes for 4-year olds and up by 11 1/4 lengths.

Favored Tizamagician broke awkwardly, allowing Musical Heart and Lone Rock to grab the lead and run 1-2 for the first mile. With fractions of :23.91 for the first quarter and :47.85 for the first half, Kendrick Carmouche and Musical Heart set a steady pace, with Lone Rock and Ramon Vazquez sitting a length behind. As the field of nine rounded the sweeping final turn, Vazquez moved Lone Rock into the lead, with Tizamagician and Flavien Prat moving up as well. Into the stretch, though, neither Tizamagician nor a fast-closing Moretti could catch the Robertino Diodoro trainee. Lone Rock covered the mile and a half in 2:28.97.

View the race's chart here.

The Brooklyn returned to the Belmont Stakes undercard after the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated changes to the New York Racing Association's stakes schedule in 2020. Friday's rains gave way to a beautiful Saturday, with sunshine that dried out the Big Sandy surface to a fast track.

Lone Rock (3-1) paid $8.90, $4.60, and $3.40. Tizamagician (5-2) paid $4.00 and $3.00. Moretti (6-1) paid $4.00 to show. Campaign, trained by John Sadler, finished fourth, with You're to Blame, Ry's the Guy, Ajaaweed, Rocketry, and Musical Heart rounding out the field.

Trainer Diodoro was pleased with the performance of his former claimer turned stakes horse. “He was meant to be a good horse. He's a horse that is just getting better.” Diodoro told the NYRA press office. “We just have to keep him healthy and happy as long as we can. He loves his job. When you have a horse trying to run these distances, you need one who loves to train, and he definitely enjoys training.”

Ramon Vazquez returned for his third ride and third victory aboard Lone Rock. “When I saw the other horse that has a lot of speed stumble out of the gate, I just put my horse in the best position that I could,” Vazquez said. “I just waited until the end to ask my horse and you can see what happened. It feels awesome.”

Lone Rock is a 6-year-old bay gelding by Majestic Warrior (A.P. Indy) out of Ruby Lips (Hard Spun). He was bred by Town & Country and Pollock Farms in Kentucky and was sold at Fasig-Tipton July 2016 sale for $55,000. The Brooklyn is his fifth start of 2021 and his fourth win of the year. His previous stakes races include a win in the Issac Murphy Marathon Stakes at Churchill Downs on April 27th and a close second in the Temperance Hill at Oaklawn Park in March.

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Modernist Could Target Brooklyn Following Excelsior Score

Pam and Martin Wygod's Modernist earned a 95 Beyer for his 2 1/2-length score in Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Excelsior, a nine-furlong test for older horses at Aqueduct racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

With Junior Alvarado up for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Modernist tracked in second position and shook clear at the head of the lane en route to a convincing win over the late-closing Haikal.

The 4-year-old Uncle Mo colt graduated last January at the Big A ahead of a win in the Grade 2 Risen Star and a third in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, both at Fair Grounds. He was given a freshening after off-the-board efforts in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and Grade 3 Peter Pan at Saratoga.

“He's doing good this morning,” said Mott's New York-based assistant Leana Willaford. “The last couple races last year, he was looking like he was ready for a break and he got one. It obviously helped him. He came back to me here much more mature physically and mentally. I thought he looked great going into the race.”

Willaford said the prominent trip was a good one for the long-running colt, especially after the scratch of 4-5 morning line favorite Mr. Buff.

“He's run well that way. He was on the lead when he broke his maiden and vying for it when he won the Risen Star,” said Willaford. “With Mr. Buff out, you figured you better be up there and they didn't go very fast early. Distance will not be a limitation for this horse. He can go all day.”

A possible target for Modernist would be the 12-furlong Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn on June 5 at Belmont.

WinStar Stablemates Racing's Paris Lights garnered an 85 Beyer for her half-length score over pacesetter Portal Creek in the Grade 3 Distaff on Friday at the Big A.

“She ran great,” said Willaford. “She was sitting a little closer than I imagined she would, but it was good that she did because that filly got away with some slow fractions, too.”

Paris Lights is likely to target the Grade 1, $500,000 La Troienne on April 30 at Churchill Downs.

Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' Candy Man Rocket faded to ninth in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial after an early stalking trip under Alvarado.

“The track was a little deep for him. He sat close easily and Junior said he asked him a little at the three-eighths pole and he gave him a run to the quarter pole,” said Willaford. “He came out of it fine this morning. I think we just need to shorten him up. He looks like more of a one-turn type of horse.”

There's A Chance Stable, Medallion Racing, Abbondanza Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Paradise Farms Corp., and David Staudacher's Horologist is set to make her seasonal debut in Saturday's $100,000 Top Flight Invitational at nine furlongs on the main track.

The 5-year-old New Jersey-bred daughter of Gemologist won the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park and Grade 2 Beldame at Belmont last year. She completed a lucrative campaign with an off-the-board effort in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff in November at Keeneland.

“She's doing good,” said Willaford. “She was here last year before the Beldame for quite a while and she looks as good or better as she did in the late summer and fall.”

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