Long Range Toddy scores upset in Rebel Stakes division 1

A quartet of horses from Southern California invaded Oaklawn Park for the first division of the Grade 2, $750,000 Rebel Stakes on Saturday, but it was Long Range Toddy who stuck up for the home team by running down heavily favored Improbable in deep stretch to score an 8-1 upset.

Long Range Toddy ($18.80) got a shrewd, clever ride from veteran Jon Court, who took back from the pace entering the backstretch and let others do the dirty work before re-engaging in the stretch. Long Range Toddy, fourth coming off the bend, was taken to the middle of the track and closed best to beat Improbable by a neck in 1:42.49 for 1 1/16 miles on the fast main track.

Improbable came into the race unbeaten in three starts and was 2-5 for his first start of the year. He was caught four paths wide on both turns under Drayden Van Dyke, surged to the front coming into the stretch, was up by a length with a furlong to go, but could not stave off Long Range Toddy in the closing yards. He finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of third-place Galilean, who was one length better than Extra Hope.

Easy Shot was fifth and was followed, in order, by Ninth Street and Classy John.

Proud Nation was scratched earlier in the day, as expected, and Corruze was scratched during the post parade, leaving a field of seven.

Long Range Toddy, a son of Take Charge Indy who was bred and is owned by Willis Horton, had finished third in the Grade 3 Southwest on Feb. 18 after finishing second in the Smarty Jones – both at Oaklawn – in his prior starts this year. Court was riding him for the first time.

“Jon gave him a beautiful trip today and I love how he earned it late,” Steve Asmussen, who trains Long Range Toddy, told Oaklawn’s publicity department. “The horse is extremely kind. Jon worked him the other day and his comment was that he was push-button. The horse was away well and got a good spot. They went about their business and he relaxed down the backstretch.

“You could tell coming into the stretch he was loaded. He waited until they all lined out, didn’t waste any ground and wheeled him out late like he should and got rewarded for it.”

Long Range Toddy has now won four times in seven starts. This was his first graded stakes win. He won two listed stakes – the Springboard Mile and Clever Trevor – last year at Remington Park.

Long Range Toddy earned $450,000 in prize money, and picked up 37.5 points toward a berth in the Kentucky Derby on May 4 based on the system Churchill Downs uses to determine the maximum 20-horse field.