Stonestreet Stables’ leading sprinter Rock Fall, last Saturday’s winner of the $400,000 Vosburgh S. (G1) at Belmont, will stand alongside his sire Speightstown at WinStar Farm when he retires at the conclusion of 2015.
Fresh off his seventh straight victory – and second straight in a Grade 1, Rock Fall will likely be the favorite when he lines up later this month in the $2,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) – a race his sire won 11 years ago en route to capturing Eclipse honors for Champion Sprinter.
“I am thrilled that our outstanding sprinter Rock Fall will enter stud alongside stablemate Carpe Diem at WinStar Farm for the 2016 season,” said Barbara Banke, owner of Stonestreet Stables. “Rock Fall offers breeders the opportunity to capture his impressive physical, raw talent, consistent speed, and pure heart in future generations. He’s a first-season horse that should make everyone’s list.”
Elliott Walden, President & CEO at WinStar, added: “Speightstown is on the verge of exploding as a sire of sires with the high-quality colts he’s had, but Rock Fall is the one we’ve been waiting for to stand alongside his sire. We love this colt, and everyone who’s been connected with Speightstown, including Todd Pletcher, has raved about how much Rock Fall reminds them of his sire. We are honored to have him, and I really believe he possesses every quality of Speightstown to replicate him as a leading sire for years to come.”
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Rock Fall burst onto the scene early last year as a 3-year-old, breaking his maiden at Belmont by 9 ¼ lengths with a 104 Beyer, and the speedy dark bay colt hasn’t lost since. During his seven-race win streak, he’s broken 1:10 for six furlongs on six different occasions, and broken 1:09 in his last three wins – all in major graded stakes in New York.
Rock Fall captured his first graded victory in the $250,000 True North S. (G2), stealing the show on the Friday before Belmont Stakes day with a dominant 3 ¾-length win in 1:08.37, earning a 110 Beyer – still the fastest Beyer at six furlongs in 2015. He followed up that performance with another win over top sprinters in the $350,000 Vanderbilt H. (G1) at Saratoga, blitzing six furlongs in 1:08.75 and earning a 106 Beyer.
In last Saturday’s Vosburgh, Rock Fall stopped the clock in 1:08.70 and earned a berth into the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland, where he owns a 9-length allowance win and 109 Beyer from earlier this spring. In his body of work, Rock Fall has run Beyers of 110, 109, 106, and 104 twice, and amassed $749,180 in earnings to date for Stonestreet Stables.
“Rock Fall reminds me of his sire Speightstown quite a bit,” said Pletcher. “It’s rare for a sprinter at that level to be this consistent, but he has a lot of fight to go along with all of that natural talent.”
A $250,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select yearling, Rock Fall hails from the multiple stakes-winning mare Renda, who was the first winner and first stakes winner from the debut crop of leading sire Medaglia d’Oro.
For more information about Rock Fall, please contact Kyle Wilson, Sean Tugel, or Caroline Walsh at 859-873-1717, or visit WinStarFarm.com.
