Long On Value’s career span over six seasons and he started 32 races. He was victorious on nine of these outings while finishing second and third five times apiece. His career began in Virginia and was bred by Snow Lantern Thoroughbreds with trainer Don Roberson.
Early Days
His early career under Roberson ensured that punters were quick to find when the talented Long On Value would be running in the horse racing schedule. He was hot property and won on each of his first two runs at Delaware Park and Colonial Downs. The previously mentioned event was the first start for the horse, and he won by a comfortable four-and-a-half furlongs on the dirt. The Jamestown Stakes was his first significant win in 2013.
He was transferred to Randy Allen’s barn following these two victories, before he was to taste success once more on his first run for his new trainer. This came in the form on the Strike Your Colors Stakes, back at the scene of his maiden victory at Delaware Park; running clear to win by six lengths. Another move followed this for Long On Value; as he was to be trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott; with the potential for Grade One success becoming an expectancy. However, this was to be achieved on the grass.
Grade One Success
Success didn’t come without shortcomings, and eight races went by without Long On Value tasting victory. This included disappointing sixth place finishes at Saratoga and Belmont Park in the Hopeful Stakes and Foxwoods Champagne Stakes, in his first two Grade One races. A drop back down to Grade Three and Grade Two competition followed but to no avail.
The potential remained, however, and this was rediscovered once more when a sudden upturn in form occurred on the 13th September 2014 meeting at Canterbury Park in the Mystic Lake Derby. This was followed up by a first graded success in the Grade Two Twilight Derby at Santa Anita.
A disappointing return to the same track followed this, with a seventh-place finish in the Mathis Brothers Mile Stakes. However, a bounce back to form followed this in the Grade Three Canadian Turf Stakes at Gulfstream Park. This bright spark to start the 2015 season was believed to be a sign of things to come.
However, it didn’t work out that way, and it was to be a case of so near yet so far. A third-place finish at the Keeneland Maker’s 46 Mile Stakes was a solid outing, before finishing second in two graded meetings at Gulfstream Park and Belmont Park in the Canadian Turf Stakes and Allowance Optional Claiming respectively. His record of winning one big race a year remained, however, with a victory in the listed Lucky Coin Stakes at Saratoga.
Later Years
It could be argued that the last two years of Long On Value’s career were potentially his most successful. This began with a painful loss by a nose in the Al Quoz Sprint on the undercard for the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse. However, the signs were good, and this was followed by consecutive third-placed finishes at Saratoga and Woodbine before there would be a fitting end to his career.
He was purchased by trainer Brad Cox for $100,000 out of the Keeneland Breeding Stock Sale in 2017. Punters were left thinking what could have been if he would have been able to work with Cox sooner. Victory in the Mighty Beau Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs was his first run in 2018 before he finally reached the pinnacle at Woodbine in June 2018. Winning, the Mighty Beau Overnight Stakes, he collected a prize of $70,000, adding a further $40,000 to his earnings sheet.
In total, the horse won a sum of $1,022,073 during his career, which makes him likely to have become the first ever millionaire horse of Augusta County.
He was victorious in the Grade One Highlander Stakes by six furlongs, and this would be a fitting end for the much-loved horse for the racetrack.
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