Stallwalkin' Dude returns in allowance

As a winner of 20 of 59 races and more than $1.68 million, Stallwalkin’ Dude has done most everything asked of him with a notable exception: He has yet to win following a layoff. An actively campaigned horse over a career that dates back to 2012, he has started just five times following breaks of 45 days or longer, with his best finish being a third.

Friday at Belmont Park, his productivity off the bench gets another test when he returns for his first start since last fall in the eighth race, an $85,000 allowance at six furlongs on the main track. Matched against seven rivals, including New York-bred stakes winner Eye Luv Lulu and streaking allowance winners Wonderful Light and Forge, he needs a sharp return to prevail.

Typical of a horse trained by David Jacobson, Stallwalkin’ Dude has been breezing slowly. “You don’t get paid in the morning so there is no reason to run fast,” he said.

Although he may return at less than his best, the presence of three speed horses – Angry Moon, Eye Luv Lulu, and Forge – should provide Stallwalkin’ Dude with a lively pace to close into. He utilized late-running tactics to win three stakes from 11 starts last year, taking the Diablo, Tale of The Cat, and then the Grade 3 Fall Highweight last out at Aqueduct on Nov. 23.

David Cohen rides Stallwalkin’ Dude, an 8-year-old gelding that Jacobson claimed for himself for $16,000 at Gulfstream Park in September 2014. Jacobson owns him with Sol Kumin’s Head of Plains Partners, who bought into the horse in the fall of 2015.

KEY CONTENDERS

Stallwalkin’ Dude, by City Place
Last 3 Beyers: 103-106-104

◗ Of his five races after layoffs, two have come for Jacobson: a fourth in the mud at Belmont in an allowance in July 2016, and a third in the Tom Fool at Aqueduct in March of that year.

◗ He needed time off after winning last fall’s Fall Highweight, which marked his 11th start of 2017. “My expectations are to get him back to the level, or going forward, into the summer,” said Jacobson.

Eye Luv Lulu, by Pollard’s Vision
Last 3 Beyers: 98-87-97

◗ Coupled with Forge due to common ownership, he has been in sharp form in New-York bred races. He won the Affirmed Success over the six-furlong trip at Belmont on April 27.

Wonderful Light, by Tiz Wonderful
Last 3 Beyers: 96-93-99

◗ He has won three of his last four with his one loss over the stretch being a second to Westwood, an eventual stakes winner at Belmont. An up-and-comer, he faces his stiffest test after winning first- and second-level allowances in two victories this year.