Dream Lith taking Arkansas road to Kentucky Oaks

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Dream Lith is set to take the Oaklawn Park road to the Kentucky Oaks. She established herself as a leading contender for the classic on Nov. 27 by winning the Grade 2 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs.

Dream Lith earned 10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks and sits fourth on the leaderboard. She will soon arrive in Arkansas.

“Dream Lith went to Cypress Creek in Midway, Kentucky, for a short break and will head to Oaklawn by the first of January,” said Robertino Diodoro, who trains the filly for Cypress Creek Equine and Arnold Bennewith.

“In a perfect world, the ultimate goal is the Oaks, with two races at Oaklawn. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. She came out of the race great. I think she she’s got room for improvement. I think she’s going to develop into a nice 3-year-old.”

Dream Lith, by Medaglia d’Oro, won her debut in a maiden special weight sprint at Saratoga. She captured the Golden Rod by a length, and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 82.

Oaklawn has three points races for the Kentucky Oaks and Diodoro said Dream Lith will be considered for the Grade 3, $300,000 Honeybee on Feb. 26.

Lone Rock eyes Tinsel

Another top runner in Diodoro’s barn is Lone Rock, who has won four stakes in 2021. His latest came in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on the Breeders’ Cup Saturday undercard at Del Mar.

Lone Rock is now a candidate for the $200,000 Tinsel, a new race for 3-year-olds and up over 1 1/8 miles on Dec. 18 at Oaklawn.

“He’s here at Oaklawn and he’s doing really well,” Diodoro said. “He had a great work the other day and if everything goes as planned, he’ll run in the Tinsel. We want to make sure he tells us he’s ready to go, and right now all signs are he’s ready to go. As long as that continues, we’ll run in the Tinsel.”

Lone Rock races for Flying P Stable and R.A. Hill Stable.