Lone Rock rallies up rail for Tinsel Stakes victory
Lone Rock won his fifth stakes race of the year Saturday when he rallied up the rail to win the $200,000 Tinsel at Oaklawn Park by three-quarters of a length over stablemate Thomas Shelby.
It was another half-length back in third to Beau Luminaire.
The Tinsel was a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up. The new stakes was created to help usher in December racing at Oaklawn.
Lone Rock ($5.60) was cutting back from 1 5/8 miles for the Tinsel and settled in fourth along the rail as Huge Bigly set fractions of 23.31 seconds for the opening quarter and 47.80 for the half-mile. Thomas Shelby took over through six furlongs in 1:12.60, while Lone Rock advanced then surged along the rail to edge his stablemate and cover the distance in 1:49.77.
“It was a heck of a race on paper and proved it on the track,” trainer Robertino Diodoro, who trains both Lone Rock and Thomas Shelby, said in a post-race interview broadcast by Oaklawn.
Diodoro trains Lone Rock for the partnership of R. A. Hill Stable and Flying P Stable.
Ramon Vazquez has been the regular rider of the horse, who is a son of Majestic Warrior. Lone Rock has now won 14 of 37 starts for earnings of $1,144,921.
*** C Z Rocket, who was to have made his first start since the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in the eighth race, was scratched Saturday.
*** There will be no racing Dec. 24-26 at Oaklawn in observance of Christmas. Following the Sunday card, the next live race date is Dec. 31.