Lone Rock Targets Title Defense in Birdstone Stakes

Flying P Stable, R.A. Hill Stable, and Flying Partners' leading marathoner Lone Rock  will vie for a repeat victory July 28 in the $200,000 Birdstone Stakes, a 1 3/4-mile test for older horses over the main track at Saratoga Race Course.

The Robertino Diodoro trainee arrives off a third-place finish behind returning rival Fearless  in the Brooklyn Stakes (G2) June 11 at Belmont Park, where he bobbled at the start and ran evenly throughout the 12 furlongs to be bested a neck out of place honors by Warrant .

"I thought he came up just a little bit flat, but you can't be perfect every day," said Diodoro. "It's hard to knock this horse. He's been great for us and I really think the real Lone Rock is going to show up on Thursday. We're looking forward to another chance against Fearless, who is a nice and very solid horse. We're really excited."

The 7-year-old son of Majestic Warrior  will be making his 42nd start when he emerges from post 2 on Thursday with Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the irons for the first time. Claimed by Diodoro out of a winning effort in November 2020 at Churchill Downs, he boasts a 10-7-2-1 record at distances of 12 furlongs or longer.

Diodoro said it has been gratifying to see Lone Rock take to longer races.

"Horses are athletes and some take longer to bloom. He was always meant to be a good horse… It just took him a while to put it all together and for us and other connections to find the niche of him wanting to run long," Diodoro said. "He trains like a horse that wants to run all day and obviously now he's showing it in the afternoons."

Repole Stable's Fearless, who relished a stretch-out last time in his 2 3/4-length Brooklyn score, will target another long-distance effort Thursday. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the 6-year-old son of Ghostzapper   closed from fifth under Luis Saez in the Brooklyn to score the fourth graded stakes victory of his career.

Pletcher said Fearless will face a challenge in stretching out an extra two furlongs from the Brooklyn.

"We were exploring some options there and he gave us the impression that he would stay on," said Pletcher. "There's a big difference between a mile and a half and a mile and three quarters, but I thought he did it well enough to give it another try."

Saez retains the mount from the inner post. 

Pletcher will also be represented by the graded stakes-placed Portos , who finished fourth in the Brooklyn. Ten Strike Racing's veteran 7-year-old Original Intent  completes the lineup with Vintage Thoroughbreds' Shooger Ray Too , who finished second behind Lone Rock in this event last year. 

Entries: Birdstone S.

Saratoga Race Course, Thursday, July 28, 2022, Race 5

• STK
• 1 3/4m
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 3:21 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Fearless (KY)	Luis Saez	124	Todd A. Pletcher	-
2	Lone Rock (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	122	Robertino Diodoro	-
3	Original Intent (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Bentley Combs	-
4	Portos (KY)	Flavien Prat	118	Todd A. Pletcher	-
5	Shooger Ray Too (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	J. Tyler Servis	-