Barn Tour: Diodoro looks to make another Kentucky Derby run

Robertino Diodoro has finished second in the Oaklawn trainer standings every year since 2017, finishing behind Steve Asmussen each of those years.

Now, halfway through the 2022-23 meet, he’s at the top of the standings, with 41 wins. Chris Hartman is in second with 28 wins, and Asmussen is next with 25. Diodoro has had 158 starters at the meet, second only to Asmussen’s 228.

“I always say it's a team effort,” Diodoro told Horse Racing Nation on Monday. “And I think we did a good job of buying and claiming the right horses for certain conditions that fit here at Oaklawn.”

He also credited “a really good group of owners.”

Things are going so well in fact, that Diodoro could have a horse on the Kentucky Derby trail. That would be Airtime, a son of American Freedom who is pointed to the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby after going 2-for-2 this year at Oaklawn.

“We're pretty excited about him,” Diodoro said.” It's one step at a time, but he ran a big race and the horse just seems better and better. Ran a big number the other day” in a Feb. 18 optional-claiming allowance he won by 1 1/4 lengths. “Again, one step at a time. But I'm not sure if I've been this excited about a horse we claimed in quite a while. So hopefully we can, and got lucky and continue to get a little lucky with him here in the near future.”

Diodoro claimed Airtime for $50,000 for owner Randy Howg after his previous start, a 10 1/4-length win in an optional-claiming starter race at Oaklawn on Jan. 29.

“We're taking a big swing, but I think the horse deserves it,” Diodoro said. “And we've still got another work or two to go before. But the way he worked this past weekend, he's definitely showing all the signs of deserving another shot at it for sure.”

Airtime worked five furlongs in 1:00.8 Saturday.

“He just continues to train very, very strong. You can just tell that he's a young horse that's just developing and getting better and better. Sometimes you get these claiming horses and they kind of do their job. And sure, they might look good for a little bit or for a big performance one day. But with these young horses, it's kind of neat to watch when you get one that you can just tell that it's still developing and just getting better and better every day. So I think we're all pretty excited about him.”

Diodoro has had one colt in the Kentucky Derby, Keepmeinmind, who finished sixth in 2021.

The trainer provided updates on other horses in his stable for the latest in HRN’s Barn Tour series.

Adaline Julia. The 4-year-old Oxbow filly was claimed by Diodoro after she finished second in her debut at Keeneland in October. She’s 2-for-2 since and coming off a January allowance win. “She's a filly that we're very excited about,” Diodoro said. “I really think she's running some big races and big numbers going the distance that she doesn't even want to go. I hope I'm right. I really think she wants to go two turns. I think she'll be better when she gets to two turns. I think we're going to try her one more time in an allowance. Hopefully that goes as planned. And then we're going to start looking for a couple of stakes. She's probably one of those ones, I call them a tier-two, tier-three stakes horse. But I think we can have some fun with her this summer.”

Lovely Ride. The 5-year-old daughter of Candy Ride finished sixth in the Azeri (G2), after getting caught by A Mo Reay in the Bayakoa (G3). Before that, she had two straight stakes wins. “I feel bad for her on Saturday, but she ran her race. Cristian Torres thought she ran her race. I really thought she ran her heart out to get only sixth. I felt bad for her. I think it just comes down to she's not quite the Grade 1, Grade 2 mare. I think when the running started, it was a little different type of mares running at her. So I think we're just going to give her a little extra time in between the race Saturday and her next race and point her to a couple little lesser stakes. Try to dodge horses like Secret Oath and a few of those other ones because she's just not quite that type of mare. Again, these mares, you've got to be careful. You don't want to run them so hard too many times without winning, because sometimes they can go the wrong way on you. Like I said, I really think she gave it her all on Saturday and just got outrun by some better mares.”

Lone Rock. Now 8 years old, the son of Majestic Warrior was 2-for-5 last year before getting a break. He is back at work at Oaklawn. “Lone Rock is doing great. The plan is a couple more works, and get a run in the Temperence Hill on April 2. … We're getting excited to get him back going.”

Great Escape. The 4-year-old Midnight Storm colt has two seconds from two starts this year and is looking for his first win since the Canadian Derby (G3) in August. “He’ll probably run one more time at Oaklawn and then point him to a few lesser stakes away from the big guys.”