Sandman breaks his maiden Aug. 10 at Saratoga (Chelsea Durand)
Robert Yates/Oaklawn Park
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Fittingly, Oaklawn’s first seven-figure race of the 2024-2025 meeting includes a seven-figure horse.
Sandman – pricey but promising – is among 10 horses entered in Saturday’s $1 million Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds, a 1 1/16-mile event that is Oaklawn’s second of four Kentucky Derby qualifying races.
Probable post time for the Southwest is 4:10 p.m. (Central). First post is 11:25 a.m. The 12-race card includes six stakes, highlighted by the Southwest, the 10th race. Mystik Dan, the 2024 Southwest winner, captured the Kentucky Derby.
The Southwest is preceded by the $150,000 King Cotton for older horses at six furlongs, $145,000 General MacArthur Overnight for older horses at 1 1/8 miles, $150,000 Fifth Season for older horses at one mile, $145,000 Bugler Overnight for older fillies and mares at six furlongs and the $300,000 Martha Washington for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles.
The Southwest, seven figures for the first time after previously being worth $800,000, will offer 42 total points (20-10-6-4-2, respectively) to the top five finishers toward Kentucky Derby starting eligibility.
Sandman, a gray son of super sire Tapit, is seeking his first career stakes victory after being purchased for $1.2 million at the OBS March Sale of 2-year-olds in training. Sandman will be making his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest, his third opportunity for a black-type breakthrough.
“From the beginning, he’s impressed me,” said Mark Casse, Sandman’s dual Hall of Fame trainer. “He impressed me the day we bought him. He impressed me the first week training and every week after. I’ve been disappointed in some of his performances. I just kind of felt like he hasn’t run as well as he’s trained. But his last race was a good one and I felt satisfied after that and I felt like he was moving forward. He’s going to have to continue to move forward if he’s a Derby horse. I think he is. But the thing about this game is it’s not what you think.”
Southwest entrants from the rail out: Gaming, Juan Hernandez to ride, 117 pounds, 2-1 on the morning line; Publisher, Erik Asmussen, 117, 12-1; Monet’s Magic, Francisco Arrieta, 119, 15-1; Tiztastic, Keith Asmussen, 119, 10-1; Render Judgment, Emmanuel Esquivel, 117, 15-1; Sandman, Cristian Torres, 119, 5-1; Patch Adams, Flavien Prat, 117, 5-2; American Promise, Tyler Bacon, 117, 6-1; Bon Temps, Nik Juarez, 117, 30-1; and Speed King, Rafael Bejarano, 117, 15-1.
Render Judgment (foot issue) will be scratched, trainer Kenny McPeek said.
Gaming, a Grade 1 winner and finalist for champion 2-year-old male, will be making his 3-year-old debut for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has won the Southwest a record six times. The speedy Patch Adams will be making his stakes and two-turn debut for trainer Brad Cox, a two-time Eclipse Award winner. Speed King finished second, beaten a half-length, in the $300,000 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 13 at Remington Park for trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs. Springboard Mile winner Coal Battle returned to win the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 4, Oaklawn’s first Kentucky Derby qualifying race.
Casse said he believes there will be an honest pace Saturday, which should benefit Sandman’s late-running style.
“That’s a good thing for us,” Casse said. “Obviously, it’s a big race, lot of money and you want to win it. But more importantly, I just want him to learn from it and try to move forward.”
Sandman is trying to build off a sharp allowance victory to close an up-and-down five-race 2-year-old campaign. Ridden for the first time by Torres, Sandman closed strongly in deep stretch to score by 1 ¾ lengths Dec. 13 at Oaklawn. His winning time of 1:38.71 generated a career-high 89 Beyer Speed Figure.
#2 SANDMAN ($5.20) got the green light under @cristiantorr64 around the far turn and ran down the leader in the stretch to win race 7 at Oaklawn Park. The 2yo son of Tapit is trained by @markecasse.
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) December 13, 2024
Watch more on @FanDuelTV. pic.twitter.com/j6jmzsDXJW
Sandman was coming off a third-place finish in the $200,000 Street Sense Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 27 at Churchill Downs. The Street Sense marked the two-turn debut for Sandman, who broke his maiden at seven furlongs Aug. 10 at Saratoga. Sandwiched around the maiden victory were fifth-place finishes in his June 27 debut at six furlongs and the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3) at one mile Sept. 14. Both races were at Churchill Downs.
Sandman has recorded two half-mile workouts at Oaklawn since his allowance victory, the last a :48 move Jan. 17 that ranked third of 141 times published at the distance.
Although Oaklawn has lost more than 10 days of training this month to winter weather, Casse said he believes Sandman has a solid foundation for his 3-year-old debut because four of his races last year were seven furlongs or longer.
“Obviously, we’ve had some interruptions in our training, which is not shocking given the weather,” Casse said. “But the good news is I feel like we were way ahead of the game and so our horse is in a good place. He’s got a lot of experience. Whether it’s the Kentucky Derby, the (Kentucky) Oaks, the King’s Plate, those races, I kind of always try to get ahead of schedule in case you have a few little mishaps along the way. I’ve done it both ways. I would hate to be catching up, getting that type of weather. Feel like we’re in a good place. Now, we’ve got to figure out does he belong at the top. This will be a good indication. It’s a solid race.”
Casse trains Sandman for D. J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables.
Sandman collected four Kentucky Derby qualifying points for his finishes in the Iroquois and Street Sense. Oaklawn’s Kentucky Derby qualifying series continues with the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (G2) Feb. 22 and the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) March 29.
