Veteran Long On Value Grants Quick Return in Highlander
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Long On Value wins the Highlander Stakes at Woodbine
Long On Value provided a quick return to his new connections June 30 in the $250,000 Highlander Stakes (G1T).
In just his second start for Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Steve Laymon and trainer Brad Cox, the 7-year-old son of Value Plus powered past Lady Alexandra in deep stretch at Woodbine, gave 4-year-old Ten Strike their first grade 1 victory, and punched his ticket to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) in November at Churchill Downs.
"It's fantastic," said Ten Strike founding partner Clay Sanders. "We won our first graded stakes race a month ago (with grade 3 Arlington Classic Stakes winner Ezmosh May 26), so this is a big moment for a lot of people. We have about 30 partners overall, this horse has probably 18 or 19, and we had 22 people show up today for this race. That's how much it meant to us."
The Highlander is a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" event for the Turf Sprint, although Long On Value is not Breeders' Cup-nominated and would have to be supplemented at a cost of $100,000—the same price his connections paid in November when they bought Long On Value from ELiTE Sales' consignment to the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Racing manger Liz Crow said the partners will discuss their options and will likely supplement.
Well back in early stretch of the six-furlong turf sprint, after Lady Alexandra took over the lead from Axtell, Long On Value and jockey Florent Geroux unleashed a late rally on the outside and just got up to win by a neck in a final time of 1:07.13. It was Long On Value's second win in two starts this season, on the back of a 2018 debut in the June 2 Mighty Beau Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs. Prior to that, his last result was a third in September in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile (G1T) for Wachtel Stable, George Kerr, and Gary Barber.
"I couldn't wait to get to ride him the first time in the Mighty Beau at Churchill," Geroux said. "The horse was doing great in the mornings and I couldn't wait to see if the horse had the same amount of talent as he did in 2017. And he did. He ran really good at Churchill, and after the race it was just the logical spot to come here, especially when it's a 'Win and You're In' for the Breeders' Cup, which is running this year at our home track at Churchill."
Of Long On Value's Highlander effort, Geroux added, "He's kind of a closer. He likes to run and make one run at the end, and I think a racetrack like Woodbine suits him very well because it's a very long stretch and he has time to make his run."
Bred in Virginia by Snow Lantern Thoroughbreds out of the Orientate mare Long Message, Long On Value won the 2014 Twilight Derby (G2T) and 2015 Canadian Turf Stakes (G3T) while trained by Bill Mott. The Hall of Fame trainer guided the talented bay through his transition from dirt to turf and managed 27 of his 32 starts, the majority in graded company. But a grade 1 win was lacking from his past performances until Saturday.
"We've always been a big fan of this horse over his career with Bill Mott, and we've got to give credit to Bill, who did a great job keeping this old guy sound," Sanders said. "We thought he would flourish in the Brad Cox barn, and Brad did so well at Woodbine last year and won the Highlander here with Green Mask. We just thought the race would be a perfect spot."
Sanders and Laymon were partners in 2014 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) winner Dayatthespa, and Sanders said grade 1 winners Watsdachances and Mind Your Biscuits are other runners he's had a share in who have gone to the Breeders' Cup.
"But a lot of our partners in this horse haven't had a Breeders' Cup starter," he said. "For a lot of these people, it's their first time in big-time racing, so it feels so good."