Vazquez, Miller Take Santa Anita Autumn Meet Titles

Jockey Ramon Vazquez, a 38-year-old native of Puerto Rico, finished with 25 victories through the 18-day stand Santa Anita Autumn meet to capture the riding title, finishing five wins ahead of runner-up Juan Hernandez. Vazquez, who started riding in California in March after stints at Prairie Meadows and Oaklawn, took his first-ever Santa Anita title on the meet's closing day Sunday.

“I'm grateful to be here and to the owners and trainers who have supported me,” said Vazquez. “I'm blessed, this is big for me because not everybody who comes to ride at Santa Anita has made it [leading jockey] in such a short time. I'm so blessed and I thank everybody who has supported me.”

Miller, a 56-year-old native Angelino who bases primarily out of San Luis Rey Downs Training Center, collected his fourth Autumn Meet title and his sixth overall Santa Anita training crown.

“We're very excited to win another title at Santa Anita,” said Miller. “It's always a great accomplishment to win there. It's a team effort. The people in the barn did a great job all meet and really special thanks to my owners for being just the best, the most loyal group of owners a guy could ask for. Looking ahead, we'll have a small string at Oaklawn but our main focus will be at Santa Anita.”

Live racing will return to The Great Race Place with opening day for the 2022-23 Winter Spring Meet on Monday, Dec. 26.

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Dream Lith Rallies Late To Win Golden Rod At Churchill Downs

Yuugiri battled back after a challenge from Sandstone around the far turn, but Dream Lith's driving stretch run saw her catch Yuugiri late to take the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Yuugiril was out fastest in the 1 1/16-mile stakes, taking a two-length lead early, with Cancel This and Sandstone sitting second and third. Sandstone moved up on the backstretch, pulling within a head of Yuugiri as they came out of the far turn.

In the stretch, Yuugiri repelled Sandstone's challenged, increasing her lead as Sandstone was unable to continue pressing the leader. To her outside, Dream Lith and jockey Ramon Vazquez were driving, closing ground between the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro and the leader. In the race's final jumps, Dream Lith passed Yuugiri to win by a length, with Sandstone holding on for third.

The final time for the G2 Golden Rod was 1:44.72. Find this race's chart here.

Dream Lith paid $20.20, $8.40, and $3.60. Yuugiri paid $7.20 and $3.60. Sandstone paid $2.40.

Bred in Kentucky by Southern Equine Stables LLC, Dream Lith is out of the Street Cry (IRE) mare Elle Sueno. She is owned by Cypress Creek Equine and Arnold Bennewith and trained by Robertino Diodoro. Consigned by Bluewater Sales, the filly was a $590,000 RNA at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale. With her victory in the Golden Rod, Dream Lith earns 10 points toward the 2022 Kentucky Oaks, with Yuugiri earning four points, Sandstone two points, and fourth-place Famed earning one point. The G2 stakes is the 2-year-old filly's second win in fourth starts, for career earnings of $313,455.

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Lone Rock Sets Track Record In TAA Stakes Win At Del Mar

Lone Rock, 2021's master of the long-distance dirt race, posted his sixth win of the year in the 1 5/8-mile Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes at Del Mar. On the Breeders' Cup undercard, the 6-year-old gelding set a track record of 2:42.61, breaking the record for the rarely contested distance that has stood since 1957.

Coming off a last-out second in the Grand Prix American Jockey Club at Belmont Park, Lone Rock stayed a length off frontrunner Tizamagician from the break, biding his time throughout the marathon TAA Stakes. Locally Owned, who beat Lone Rock in the Grand Prix last-out, was third, with Cupid's Claws and Hapi Hapi rounding out the field. On the final turn, Lone Rock made his bid for the lead, pulling even with Tizamagician entering the stretch, as Locally Owned tired and fell back.

In the Del Mar stretch, Lone Rock took the lead easily, striding away from Tizamagician to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Cupid's Claws came on for third. Hapi Hapi and Locally Owned rounded out the order of finish. Find this race's chart here.

Lone Rock paid $5.00, $2.80, and $2.10. Tizamagician paid $2.60 and $2.10. Cupid's Claws paid $2.60.

Winning jockey Ramon Vazquez pledged to donate 10% of his earnings from his mounts on Breeders' Cup Saturday to the family of jockey Miguel Mena, who was killed in a pedestrian accident in Louisville, Ky., earlier this week.

“No special instructions for me. He just said to ride him like you know how. I had a good trip all the way. I was very confident in my horse and he was running well. At the eighth pole, I asked and he ran hard. He's a good horse,” Vazquez said after the race.

“It played out the way we thought it would. We expected (Tizamagician) would go and we would make him use a little bit to clear us. Then when it was time, he likes it on the outside and we could go get him. This is such a good horse. He makes our jobs easy,” Sean Williams, trainer Robertino Diodoro's assistant, told the Del Mar Press Office after the TAA Stakes.

Bred in Kentucky by Town & Country Horse Farms and Pollock Farms, Lone Rock is by Majestic Warrior out of the Hard Spun mare Ruby Lips. The gelding is owned by Flying P Stable and R.A. Hill Stable. Lone Rock was consigned by Taylor Made Sales and sold to Shortleaf Stable for $55,000 at the July 2016 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale. With this win, the 6-year-old gelding has six wins in eight starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 13 wins in 36 starts and career earnings of $1,024,921.

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Shannon C Headlines Field For Silver Goblin At Remington

For the first time since 2016, there will be a new horse rewarded with the Silver Goblin Stakes trophy on Friday, Nov. 12 at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Remington Park's all-time winningest horse, Welder, has won the race the past four years for owner Ra-Max Farms (Clayton Rash) of Claremore, Okla., three times for trainer Teri Luneack.

The 8-year-old gelding who retired on Oct. 15 with 16 wins at Remington Park and 27 overall has won the Silver Goblin Stakes a record number of times, one ahead of Okie Ride. This year, there were 20 nominations to the 6-1/2 furlong race, including the horse that beat Welder in the final race of his career. The race is written for 3-year-olds-and-older that are Oklahoma foals. Shannon C won the Oklahoma Classics Sprint on Oct. 15 and Welder ran third.

Shannon C had been beaten by Welder four times in his career before winning the Oklahoma Classics Sprint, but the fifth time was the charm. The 6-year-old gelded son of Latent Heat, out of the Fistfite mare Miranda Diane, is owned by B and S Racing (Robert Smith) of Springfield, Mo., and trained by Scott Young. He was ridden to his Classics win by Leandro Goncalves.

Shannon C could very well be the heir apparent to picking up the dropped baton. He is on a two-stakes win streak, having taken the $70,000 Remington Park Turf Sprint on Sept. 3. He could easily be the favorite in the Silver Goblin off those consecutive stakes wins.

“Shannon has been an iron horse from Day One,” said Young. “The Classics win was his day. It took a while but he showed why Bob and Ted (Bozarth and Smith) breed horses to Miranda Diane. It's come full circle now. He got that Oklahoma Classics win that we've been shooting for, for what? The past four years.”

Shannon C drew away impressively at the end, winning by three lengths at 5-1 odds. Young ran 1-2 in the race as Mesa Moon held off Welder by one length. The trainer has also nominated Mesa Moon for owner Cimarron TTT Farms (Marvin Triplett) of Edmond, Okla. Mesa Moon was three lengths back of his stablemate in the Oklahoma Classics Sprint at 6 furlongs.

Shannon C earned $78,000 for the win and improved to 27 starts, seven wins, 11 seconds, and two thirds for $368,766 in earnings.

Another multiple stakes winner that figures to vie for favoritism, if he should hit the entry box of this race, is Quality Rocket. He was soundly defeated in seventh in the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Turf on Oct. 15, after winning it last year and taking the Red Earth Stakes two years in a row on the turf. His talents go far beyond routing on the grass, however. He has won the Route 66 Stakes at Fair Meadows in Tulsa, Okla., two years in a row on the dirt at the distance for the Silver Goblin Stakes.

Quality Rocket, a 7-year-old gelded son of Backstabber, out of the King of Scat mare, has an impressive lifetime record of 36 starts, 11 wins, nine seconds, and one third for $409,006 in earnings. If he were to go in the Silver Goblin, he would be the top money earner. That's not too shabby for a horse that had been put in for a $7,500 claiming tag three races in a row in the early part of his career. He is owned by Jeremy Ball of Shawnee, Okla., trained by Boyd “Jobe” Caster. Ramon Vazquez has been in the saddle for his last two stakes tries.

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The record time for the Silver Goblin is 1:15, set by Zee Oh Six in 2005, the first year of the race named for one of the greatest Oklahoma-breds in history. Silver Goblin is seventh among Okie-breds in lifetime money earned with $1,083,895. He is behind Kip Deville ($3,325,489), Lady's Secret ($3,021,325), Shotgun Kowboy ($1,548,684), Clever Trevor ($1,388,841), Welder ($1,263,359), and She's All In ($1,102,489). Silver Goblin had 26 career starts with 16 wins, four seconds, and three thirds from 1993-99. He will long be remembered for running second to Cigar in the 1995 Oaklawn Handicap at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. Cigar was in the middle of a 16-race win streak. Cigar won just short of $10 million in his career.

Racing continues next week with a Wednesday-Saturday night schedule. First post time is 7:07 p.m. Central.

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