Court predicts more 'magic' in Arkansas Derby, beyond

The duo that upset in the first flight of the Rebel Stakes (G2) will pair up again at Oaklawn Park in the April 13 Arkansas Derby (G1), with jockey Jon Court saying, “I think we’re making some magic happen.”

Court said he’ll be in the irons again on Long Range Toddy in the final 2019 Kentucky Derby prep, choosing to ride that multiple stakes winner over Gray Attempt, another up-and-coming 3-year-old trained by his father-in-law, Jinks Fires.

“This one, he’s one of the best, to make it a short answer,” Court said of the decision to stay on the Steve Asmussen-trained Long Range Toddy.

A son of Take Charge Indy, the Willis Horton homebred has missed the exacta in just once of his last six starts.

“He’s a horse that has the skill, the talent, and it’s impressive, just how he’s progressing as a 3-year-old,” continued the 58-year-old Court, who could become the oldest jockey on record to ride in the Kentucky Derby later this spring. “The intelligence level this horse seems to have, he just takes it to a next level, and you’re just like, ‘Wow, how far can we go if the stars are aligned and the karma is right?’”

Court’s Rebel tactics on 8-1 Long Range Toddy included “a well-executed ride with perfect timing,” said the veteran jockey, who successfully shot past odds-on favorite Improbable to win by a neck back on March 16.

Then last Saturday, Court gave Gray Attempt a winning ride in Oaklawn’s Gazebo Stakes, a sprint that put the colt under consideration for the Arkansas Derby as well.

“I’m feeling it now, but as good as it’s been, I don’t want to take anything for granted because this could all end tomorrow,” Court said.

“I’ve rode for [Asmussen] off and on and we’ve had some success. We have some good communication. We reach out sometimes and talk about horse racing and family and every now and then we’ll talk about business, and we talked about this meet and something came out about a couple of horses, and I was given an opportunity.”

For now, Court said he’s focused on what’s next — the Arkansas Derby — and not the bit of history he could make on the first Saturday in May. But as a winner of Remington Park’s Springboard Mile to cap his 2-year-old season, then a runner-up in Oaklawn’s Smarty Jones and third in the Southwest (G3), Long Range Toddy is squarely in the Kentucky Derby field having collected 53.5 qualifying points.

That said, while Court has the mount now, there are no guarantees, with Asmussen known to go to Ricardo Santana Jr. as his first call rider.

“I’ve been on the Derby trail many times before, and I’ve been on horses that have won and then they get to the Derby and they have a different rider,” Court said. “Things like that happen. You know, a lot of chips have to fall in place, but we’ll see. Like I said, it’s one step at a time right now, and that next step is the Arkansas Derby.”

Court, a Florida native with more than 4,000 wins to his name, has ridden three times previously in the Kentucky Derby, last guiding the Horton-owned Will Take Charge to an eighth-place finish in 2013.

Last year, Mike Smith became the second-oldest jockey to win the Derby at age 52. Bill Shoemaker, aboard Ferdinand in 1986, remains the oldest to ever win it at 54. As far as the oldest to ride, but not necessarily win, Bobby Baird was 57 when aboard Raymond Earl in the 1978 running, when he finished 10th as Affirmed and Alydar battled it out under the Twin Spires.