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Lone Rock Shortens Up Successfully, Takes Tinsel Stakes At Oaklawn

Lone Rock has made his reputation as a long distance specialist, winning at a mile and a half and beyond more than once in 2021, but he showed in the inaugural Tinsel Stakes at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort that he can win at nine furlongs as well. Over a muddy track in Hot Springs, Ark., the gelded son of Majestic Warrior dug in gamely to outlast stablemate Thomas Shelby and take the stakes by a length.

At the break, jockey Reylu Gutierrez hustled Huge Bigly out to the lead, with Thomas Shelby, Warrior's Charge, and Lone Rock following. Into the first turn, Huge Bigly was a length and a half in front, as Thomas Shelby and jockey David Cohen bided their time in second, with Warrior's Charge and Lone Rock stalking down the backstretch. As they approached the far turn, Cohen sent Thomas Shelby on Huge Bigly's outside, taking the lead with Warrior's Charge looking for room to make his play for the lead.

Lone Rock was caught in traffic on the turn, cutting to the inside of Thomas Shelby as the field enterted the stretch. The two stablemates dueled down the Oaklawn straight, with Beau Luminarie rallying on the far outside. Lone Rock was able to dig in and pass Thomas Shelby, hitting the wire three-quarters of a length in front. Thomas Shelby held on for second as Beau Luminarie's late challenge was not enough to catch the two front runners.

The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:49.77. Find this race's chart here.

Lone Rock paid $5.60, $3.60, and $2.80. Thomas Shelby paid $4.60 and $3.80. Beau Luminarie paid $4.00.

Bred in Kentucky by Town and Country Horse Farms and Pollock Farms, Lone Rock is out of the Hard Spun mare Ruby Lips. He is owned by R. A. Hill Stable and Flying P Stable and trained by Robertino Diodoro. 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. The 6-year-old gelding has seven wins in nine starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 14 wins in 37 starts and career earnings of $1,144,921.

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Lone Rock Will Try To End 2021 Season On Top In Oaklawn’s Inaugural Tinsel Stakes

Lone Rock tries to punctuate a sensational 2021 campaign in the inaugural $200,000 Tinsel Stakes Saturday at Oaklawn.

Probable post time for the 1 1/8-mile Tinsel, which goes as the ninth of 10 races, is 4:13 p.m. (Central). Racing begins at 12:30 p.m.

The Tinsel, for 3-year-olds and up, is among four new races added to Oaklawn's stakes schedule to accommodate an expanded season in 2021-2022 (66 days) and December opening, the earliest in track history. It has drawn a field of seven, including three millionaire multiple graded stakes winners.

Lone Rock opened 2021 with an allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles last February at Oaklawn, his first start since trainer Robertino Diodoro re-claimed the gelding for $40,000 in November 2020 at Churchill Downs. A two-time allowance winner at the 2021 Oaklawn meeting, Lone Rock flourished after targeting races beyond the American classic distance (1 ¼ miles) and surpassed $1 million in career earnings with a 1 ½-length victory in the $250,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes (G2) Nov. 6 at Del Mar in his last start. Lone Rock set a 1 5/8-mile track record (2:42.61) under Oaklawn regular Ramon Vazquez.

Diodoro said he doesn't believe cutting back to 1 1/8 miles will be a problem for Lone Rock, whose shortest race this year was the February allowance.

“I don't think so, just because the horse is doing so good right now and there's enough speed in there, on paper, anyway,” Diodoro said. “Again, we'll see what happens Saturday.”

Lone Rock has bankrolled $722,884 in winning 6 of 8 starts (all in 2021) since Diodoro took back the now-6-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding on behalf of New York owner Jason Provenzano (Flying P Stable). Prior to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Lone Rock had captured an April 11 allowance race at Oaklawn, $130,000 Isaac Murphy Marathon Overnight Stakes April 27 at Churchill Downs, $400,000 Brooklyn Stakes (G2) June 5 at Belmont Park and the $120,000 Birdstone Stakes Aug. 5 at Saratoga.

The April 11 race, Isaac Murphy and Brooklyn were all 1 ½ miles. The Birdstone was 1 ¾ miles. Lone Rock also finished second in another 1 ½-mile race, the $150,000 Temperence Hill Stakes for older horses, March 13 at Oaklawn.

Overall, Lone Rock has a 13-4-2 record from 36 lifetime starts and earnings of $1,024,921. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance was his fifth career stakes victory.

Diodoro said the Tinsel could serve as the gelding's bridge to another shot against Grade-1 company in 2022. Lone Rock ran in the $500,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) for 2-year-olds in 2017 at Keeneland, but spent most of his career in the allowance ranks before blossoming in niche events this year.

“At the same time, it's one day at a time, definitely,” Diodoro said. “We're just focused on Saturday night now and see what happens.”

Also entered in the Tinsel are Warrior's Charge and Tenfold, two other millionaire multiple graded stakes winners.

Warrior's Charge won the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses in 2020 at Oaklawn for trainer Brad Cox. Warrior's Charge exits a runner-up finish, beaten a nose by Tinsel entrant Thomas Shelby, in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race Oct. 24 at Keeneland. Warrior's Charge still received a career-high 101 Beyer Speed Figure, four points higher than for his Razorback victory.

“He likes Oaklawn,” Cox said. “I think it's a good spot. He drew well. Looks like a shorter field. I think it's good timing since his last race. He received some big figures out of his last run and he's had plenty of time to recover from it. If he gets some similar figures again, I think we'll be in good shape.”

Tenfold, a Grade 2 winner, captured his first two career starts at the 2018 Oaklawn meeting for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen before finishing third in the Preakness. Diodoro also entered the speedy Thomas Shelby, who has won three consecutive starts, including a narrow decision over Warrior's Charge in October, and seven overall in 2021.

“There's lots of speed in the race, but we definitely aren't changing our tactics, that's for sure,” said Diodoro, who trains Thomas Shelby for four-time defending Oaklawn champion owner M and M Racing (Mike and Mickala Sisk). “We're going to go as hard as we need to go on the front end and hopefully have enough to last.”

The projected seven-horse Tinsel field from the rail out: Huge Bigly, Reylu Gutierrez to ride, 117 pounds, 6-1 on the morning line; Lone Rock, Ramon Vazquez, 124, 8-5; Beau Luminarie, Ricardo Santana Jr., 124, 6-1; Title Ready, Brian Hernandez Jr., 124, 9-2; Tenfold, Luis Contreras, 117, 6-1; Thomas Shelby, David Cohen, 121, 8-1; and Warrior's Charge, Florent Geroux, 124, 5-2.

Diodoro also entered Thomas Shelby in Sunday's seventh race, a starter/optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles.

Beau Luminarie is the first scheduled starter at the meeting for trainer Rodolphe Brisset, who won the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses in 2019 at Oaklawn with Quip. Beau Luminarie is seeking his first stakes victory after near-misses in the $150,000 Ben Ali (G3) April 10 at Keeneland and the $60,000 Tri-State Overnight Aug. 7 at Ellis Park. Although Beau Luminarie has nine runner-up finishes in his 18-race career, he's won his last two starts, both in allowance company this fall in Kentucky.

“I think with the year he's had, it's no pressure,” Brisset said. “He's just turned the corner and found the wire. He's been finding the wire. Before, he had a tendency to want to hang, he had a tendency to want to run second. All of a sudden, he just learned how to win. I think we are in the right spot. I'm not saying he's going to win by 5, but he's improving and we'll see what happens. Likely, he'll get a break after the race and set him up for next year.”

Grade 3 winner Title Ready will be making his second start after finishing 11th behind 2021 Razorback winner Mystic Guide in the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) March 27 in the United Arab Emirates for trainer Dallas Stewart.

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Warrior’s Charge Will Target Tinsel Stakes At Oaklawn

Millionaire multiple Grade 3 winner Warrior's Charge is targeting the inaugural $200,000 Tinsel Stakes Dec. 18 at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Ark., for his next start, Liz Crow, racing manager for the horse's co-owner, Ten Strike Racing, said Thursday afternoon.

Warrior's Charge, who is trained by Brad Cox, has recorded two workouts this season at Oaklawn, including a five-furlong drill in 1:00 over a fast track Saturday morning. The Tinsel, for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles, is among four stakes created to accommodate Oaklawn opening in December for the first time in its 117-year history.

“That's the initial goal of the season, just to get him started down there,” Crow said.

Warrior's Charge has made eight starts at Oaklawn, recording powerful maiden special weights and first-level allowance scores as a 3-year-old in 2019 before finishing fourth in the Preakness. He won Oaklawn's $500,000 G3 Razorback Handicap for older horses in 2020.

A son of Munnings, Warrior's Charge has bankrolled $1,045,690 off a 5-4-4 record from 19 lifetime starts. Although winless in seven starts this year, Warrior's Charge ran fifth in the $1 million G2 Oaklawn Handicap last April at Oaklawn, second in the $600,000 G2 Stephen Foster Stakes June 26 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and third in the $200,000 Parx Dirt Mile Stakes Sept. 25 at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Penn. Warrior's Charge ran second in an Oct. 24 allowance race at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., in his last start.

“We've thought about it (retirement), but I think we're going to run him through 2022, probably, unless we're able to put something together,” Crow said. “But this is a racing partnership that loves Oaklawn, and they aim for Oaklawn every year and so I don't think they want to retire him with some of these lucrative purses that they can aim for this season. Obviously, if the right deal came along, we'd probably consider it.”

Ten Strike (Marshall Gramm and Arkansas native Clay Sanders) won 10 races, solely or in partnership, during the 2021 Oaklawn meeting that ended last May. Ten Strike campaigns Warrior's Charge with Madaket Stables (Sol Kumin).

Ten Strike, which offers fractional ownership to partners, has 20-25 horses at Oaklawn with five trainers, Crow said. In addition to Cox, Ten Strike also has horses with Jason Barkley, Bentley Combs, Randy Matthews, and Lindsay Schultz. A former assistant under Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, Schultz recently went out on her own and had her first two career Oaklawn starters (Pepper Pike and Capture the Glory) Saturday. Both were for Ten Strike.

“Oaklawn's always a main priority for Ten Strike,” Crow said. “We call ourselves like an Oaklawn-based racing partnership, so certainly always the goal is to win at Oaklawn and run at Oaklawn. I think Marshall and Clay like supporting these young trainers and we pushed Lindsay to Oaklawn to start her career, just because we thought that we be another great outlet to have horses there.”

Ten Strike also races several horses with prominent Arkansas businessman Frank Fletcher, including G3 winner Lady Rocket and unbeaten 2-year-old Rocket Dawg, who is by 2017 Arkansas Derby winner and champion Classic Empire. Lady Rocket was the first starter and first winner for the partnership, breaking her maiden in her August 2020 debut at Saratoga.

Cox also trains Lady Rocket and Rocket Dawg, a $375,000 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Sale purchase and sharp Nov. 19 debut winner at Churchill Downs.

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“Hopefully, he'll make some starts at Oaklawn,” Crow said. “Really hope he can run in some of those races like the Smarty Jones and stuff, so we'll see. I think that we have some exciting horses that are pointing toward Oaklawn this year.”

Lady Rocket, who ran in two allowances races at the 2021 Oaklawn meeting, was a nine-length winner of the $250,000 G3 Go for Wand Handicap Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. Rocket Dawg, who broke his maiden by 5 ½ lengths at seven furlongs, returned to the work tab Saturday at Churchill Downs, breezing a half-mile in :49.60.

Lady Rocket is the first stakes winner and graded stakes winner for the Ten Strike/Fletcher union.

“It's gone well so far,” Crow said. “It's kind of a limited number of horses so far. They have only had like six horses together, but it looks like we have two good ones. Fingers crossed about Rocket Dawg. I don't want to jinx him. I want him to stay sound, but we're pretty excited about him. He ran some big numbers. He ran like an 11 Rag and a 3 ½ Thoro-Graph. He looks like he could be a really nice horse.”

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Millionaire Marathoner Lone Rock Headed To New Oaklawn Race

Lone Rock was a $40,000 claimer when he came to Oaklawn for the 2021 meeting. He returns a multiple Grade 2 stakes winner and with $1,024,921 in career earnings.

And the marathon runner may not be done this year.

Trainer Robertino Diodoro said Tuesday morning that Lone Rock is under consideration for the inaugural $200,000 Tinsel Stakes for 3-year-olds and up Dec. 18 at Oaklawn. The 1 1/8-mile Tinsel is among four new races added to Oaklawn's 2021-2022 stakes schedule to accommodate an expanded season (66 days) and December opening, the second-earliest in track history.

A two-time allowance winner at the 2021 Oaklawn meeting, Lone Rock flourished after targeting races beyond the American classic distance (1 ¼ miles) and surpassed $1 million in career earnings with a 1 ½-length victory in the $250,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes (G2) Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Lone Rock set a 1 5/8-mile track record (2:42.61) under Oaklawn regular Ramon Vazquez.

Lone Rock has bankrolled $722,884 in winning 6 of 8 starts (all in 2021) since Diodoro re-claimed the now-6-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding for $40,000 last November at Churchill Downs on behalf of New York owner Jason Provenzano (Flying P Stable).

“He was meant to be a good horse,” said Diodoro, Oaklawn's leading trainer in 2020. “Horses are like athletes. You see some of these kids come out of college, or they're in college, and they're rock stars and then they go pro and they're nowhere to be found. Sometimes, it's the other way around. Guy's mediocre in college, but takes the next step and goes to the pros. Same thing with these horses.”

In Lone Rock's case, he became a pro at long, long distances.

Prior to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Lone Rock had captured an April 11 allowance race at Oaklawn, $130,000 Isaac Murphy Marathon Overnight Stakes April 27 at Churchill Downs, $400,000 Brooklyn Stakes (G2) June 5 at Belmont Park and the $120,000 Birdstone Stakes Aug. 5 at Saratoga.

“The farther the better,” Diodoro said.

Lone Rock began his racing career with mega-successful Oaklawn owner John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs, who covets long-winded, two-turn runners, and now-retired trainer Will VanMeter. Lone Rock, prior to being gelded, closed his 2018 campaign with a victory in Remington Park's $75,000 Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial Stakes at 1 mile and 70 yards.

Diodoro originally claimed Lone Rock for $40,000 from Anthony and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott in July 2020 at Saratoga. Mott, on behalf of himself and Paradise Farms Corp., took the gelding back for $40,000 approximately three months later at Keeneland.

“We were kicking ourselves for running him back for the $40,000,” Diodoro said. “But we had to win some races. We were in a little bit of whatever. We just got lucky to get him back.”

Diodoro said Lone Rock received a brief freshening at Turf Paradise in Phoenix following the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance before shipping to Oaklawn. The gelding arrived Saturday in Hot Springs, Diodoro said.

“We're going to train him here for 10 days and see how he trains and then we'll make a decision whether to give him a break or continue on,” Diodoro said. “Our original plan was to give him a break. A few things have unfolded in the last little bit, so we're going to see. So far, he seems good. We want to make sure he's 100 percent.”

Overall, Lone Rock has a 13-4-2 record from 36 lifetime starts. Lone Rock began 2021 with a 1 1/16-mile allowance victory at Oaklawn. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance was his fifth career stakes victory.

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