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Lone Rock Rolls To Another Marathon Triumph In Saratoga’s Birdstone

Flying P Stable's Lone Rock continued his domination of the marathon division, winning his fourth consecutive start at 12 furlongs or longer in Thursday's 11th renewal of the $120,000 Birdstone, a 1 3/4-mile stamina test for older horses at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trained by Robertino Diodoro, the 6-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding launched his streak in March at Oaklawn Park with an optional-claiming tilt and followed with a 3 3/4-length score in April in the Isaac Murphy Marathon at Churchill, both at 1 1/2 miles. Lone Rock entered the Birdstone from a powerful 11 1/4-length score in the 12-furlong Grade 2 Brooklyn presented by Northwell Health on June 5 at Belmont Park.

With regular rider Ramon Vazquez up, Lone Rock tracked in second as Moretti, the defending Birdstone winner with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard, led the seven-horse field through splits of 24.28 seconds, 48.88, 1:13.72 and 1:39.71 on the fast main track.

Lone Rock, traveling comfortably throughout, rated kindly in second position outside the pacesetter with Shooger Ray Too and Ry's the Guy tracking in the second tier in front of You're to Blame, who had three lengths on Rocketry and the trailing He's No Lemon.

Moretti led the field into the final turn, but when Vazquez gave Lone Rock his cue, the veteran gelding advanced with ease putting away Moretti at the top of the lane and powering through the wire a four-length winner in a final time of 2:56.45.

Shooger Ray Too, with Joel Rosario up, completed the exacta by one length over Moretti. It was a further 12 3/4-lengths back to Rocketry in fourth. Rounding out the order of finish was Ry's the Guy, You're to Blame and He's No Lemon.

Diodoro, who secured his second stakes win at Saratoga following Special Relativity's score in the 2019 Shine Again, was full of praise for Lone Rock.

“The horse ran big again,” Diodoro said. “He ran the way he's been training. He's been training like a monster and it's always nice when they train like a monster in the morning and come out in the afternoon and do the same thing. We're pretty proud of him today.

“I thought that Moretti would take the lead from him and Ramon did exactly as I said, which was 'don't let him get away from you,'” added Diodoro. “I've seen it many times when a horse will get out to the front and open up a few and put the rest of the field to sleep. We definitely didn't want that to happen today. I thought Ramon did an excellent job staying on [Moretti] the whole way.”

Lone Rock has won 6-of-7 starts since being claimed back by Diodoro and Flying P Stables for $40,000 out of a winning effort in November at Churchill Downs.

Vazquez made his Saratoga debut a memorable one.

“This is a dream come true. It's been a dream for a long time to ride at Saratoga. I'm so happy,” Vazquez said. “I was really confident in my horse. I was a little worried about the distance; he hasn't run this far before. But I knew my horse was feeling at his best right now. I just put my horse in a good position and when I asked him, he had a lot [left].”

Bred in Kentucky by Town & Country Horse Farms and Pollock Farms, Lone Rock banked $66,000 in victory while improving his record to 34-12-3-2. He returned $3.70 as the 4-5 mutuel favorite.

Diodoro said he will take his time before deciding on a next start for Lone Rock.

“One step at a time,” Diodoro said. “We want to make sure he comes out of this race well. We've got a few ideas in our head, but one step at a time. He showed up once again today and we've just got to keep him going and keep him happy and healthy.”

Live racing resumes Friday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in Race 7 and the Grade 3, $200,000 Troy presented by Horse Racing Ireland in Race 9. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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Moretti Goes For Second Straight Birdstone At Saratoga

Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' multiple graded stakes placed Moretti will attempt to defend his title against a talented field of older horses in Thursday's $120,000 Birdstone, a 1 3/4-mile main-track marathon at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the Medaglia d'Oro bay, out of the Grade 1-winning Concerto mare Rigoletta, is a half-brother to millionaire 2017 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway.

Purchased for $900,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, Moretti blossomed last season, posting a record of three wins and three seconds in six starts, including stakes scores in the Flat Out at Belmont Park and Birdstone at Saratoga to go along with a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont.

Pletcher, a five-time Birdstone winner, said Moretti is working well into Thursday's repeat bid, including a five-eighths breeze in 1:01.88 on July 29 on the Spa main track.

“He's doing well. We know he likes the distance,” Pletcher said. “It's just a matter of keeping him happy and fit. He's coming off a couple of solid efforts and we're looking forward to giving it a try again.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be tasked with engineering the title defense from post 4.

“I think the main thing is to get into a comfortable rhythm rather than worry about who's on the lead or stalking,” Pletcher said. “In these types of races, you just want to get into a good rhythm. You don't get many opportunities at this distance, so we'll give it our best shot.”

Flying P Stable's Lone Rock made the grade last out, romping to an 11 1/4-length score in the 12-furlong Grade 2 Brooklyn presented by Northwell Health on Belmont Stakes Day June 5.

Claimed back by trainer Robertino Diodoro for $40,000 out of a winning effort in November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Lone Rock captured a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer in February at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., in his next outing.

The 6-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding has made his last four starts at 1 1/2-miles, finishing second in the Temperence Hill in March ahead of an optional claiming score on April 11, both at Oaklawn Park. He returned on short rest to capture the Isaac Murphy Marathon on April 27 at Churchill Downs ahead of an eye-opening effort in the Brooklyn that registered a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

Lone Rock posted a bullet half-mile on the main track in :46.60 on July 22 and worked an easy half-mile in :52.19 Friday over sloppy going on the Oklahoma training track.

“He's a horse that loves his job and he's training great. He bounced out of that race like it was nothing,” Diodoro said. “On Belmont day, it was a little warm, and to run that far, you'd think it would take a little bit out of him but he's come back like a monster.”

Ramon Vazquez retains the mount from post 3.

Centennial Farms' multiple graded stakes-winner Rocketry has finished third in the last two editions of the Birdstone.

Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, the 7-year-old Hard Spun bay finished off-the-board last out in the Brooklyn and will look to return to the form that saw him capture the 1 5/8-mile Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in November at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

“That one horse [Lone Rock] looks like a standout in that category. If ever he's going to beat horses like that, it's going this distance,” Jerkens said. “That's what happened in Kentucky. The pace was just too sharp for going that far and they came back to him and he went by them in the very end.”

Ricardo Santana, Jr. picks up the mount from post 7.

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Lothenbach Stables' Ry's the Guy, sixth last out in the Brooklyn, broke through at stakes level in September, taking the 12-furlong Champions Day Marathon at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Ian Wilkes, the 5-year-old Distorted Humor bay breezed a half-mile in :48.44 Thursday on the Saratoga main track.

“He came out of the last race good and I'm happy with him. It won't be an easy assignment; we'll be facing some of the same horses,” Wilkes said. “He has no problem with the track. He's trained here and got over it fine. His works have been solid. I'm very pleased with his breezes here. We've had a little bit of cool weather and that's helped.”

Ry's the Guy will exit the inside post under Chris Landeros.

Final Turn Racing Stable and Noda Brothers' You're to Blame, runner-up in last year's Birdstone, made an impressive first start Sunday for trainer Orlando Noda with a 9 1/2-length off-the-turf optional claiming romp traveling nine furlongs over a fast main track.

The 7-year-old Distorted Humor bay, a veteran of 37 career starts who captured the 2018 Grade 3 Greenwood Cup at Parx, will exit post 6 under Jose Ortiz.

Rounding out the field are graded-stakes placed He's No Lemon [post 2, Manny Franco], and stakes-placed Shooger Ray Too [post 5, Joel Rosario]

The Birdstone is slated as Race 9 on Thursday's 10-race card. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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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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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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