Stewart: Long Range Toddy 'ready to run' in the Oaklawn Mile
Long Range Toddy will be making his first start out of the Dallas Stewart barn on Saturday when he takes on the $150,000 Oaklawn Mile.
Still campaigned by Willis Horton Racing LLC, the 4-year-old son of Take Charge Indy came out of the Steve Asmussen barn for the first 12 races of his career.
“He’s a real nice, accomplished horse,” Stewart said of the graded stakes winner. "The horse is ready to run.”
Long Range Toddy will be ending a layoff, racing for the first time since finishing seventh in the Oklahoma Derby (G3) on Sept. 29.
“We expect him to do well. Hopefully it’ll be a prep for the Oaklawn Handicap,” Stewart said. “He sure looks like he’s in good race shape to me. His weight is good. And he’s been working every week.”
The Oaklawn Mile drew a full field of 14, including Grade 1 winners Tom's d'Etat and Improbable, as well as multiple graded winner Mr. Money.
“We would probably prefer to be in an allowance race coming off a layoff, since he hasn’t run in a long time,” Stewart said. “Given the point of where we’re at, there’s only a certain amount of racing.”
Long Range Toddy has been putting in regularly-scheduled breezes at Oaklawn Park, where he won a division of last year’s Rebel Stakes (G2). He also took a pair of Remington Park stakes as a 2-year-old, the Clevor Trevor and Springboard Mile, on his way to running in the 2019 Kentucky Derby.
“Several jockeys have worked him and been real happy with him. We’ve got Brian Hernandez riding (on Saturday) and that’s a good thing. We hope to build upon this race."
Should Long Range Toddy move forward off the Oaklawn Mile, the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) runs May 2.
The 5-year-old War Front mare returned to win a Sunday allowance at Oaklawn, with the timing of that race impacting whether she'll appear in the track's signature race for older fillies and mares.
“The Apple Blossom is back in like 13 days. We’re looking at it,” Stewart said of the April 18 race. “I’d hate to come back with (her) that quick. Given where we’re at and where we’re going to go from here, she’s doing well and she’s healthy. We may take a shot with her.”
“I was really happy to see her run the other day. She ran a really big race."
Awe Emma also runs for owner Willis Horton, who reunited recently with Stewart. Together, the two won the 2006 Kentucky Oaks with Lemons Forever.