J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables' Sandman (Tapit), who overcame a tangled start in the Jan. 25 GIII Southwest Stakes before closing from the back to finish second under Cristian Torres, will make his next start in the Feb. 22 GII Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, confirmed Mark Casse Sunday.
Casse also said Sandman will remain at Oaklawn, where the trainer has a string in Hot Springs for the first time since 2019. The Rebel is Oaklawn's final major prep for the $1.5-million GI Arkansas Derby at 1 1/8 miles Mar. 29.
“He's one of the reasons I came there,” Casse said. “This is the first time in some time. That was a real interrupted schedule, as well, training. So many things the way he ran were good. We're staying there. That is our path to the [Kentucky] Derby. It will be the Rebel next.”
Of his Southwest effort, the Hall of Famer added, “I was just happy that he was fine,” Casse said of the one-length defeat. “I've been doing this for a long time and watched a lot of horses run, good horses that could never overcome the break that he had to even hit the board. So, I think: 1) hats off to Cristian. Not really sure how he stayed on and 2) he didn't panic. He let the horse get himself together and the rest goes to Sandman. I said going in we're going to find out whether he's a man or a boy and I think he's a man.”
The 1 1/16-mile Southwest was Oaklawn's second of four Kentucky Derby qualifying races. The Southwest allotted 42 total points (20-10-6-4-2, respectively) to the top five finishers toward Kentucky Derby starting eligibility.
Sandman, a $1.2 million at the OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in training purchase, ran fifth in the GIII Iroquois at one mile Sept. 14 and third in the GIII Street Sense at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 27. Both races were at Churchill Downs.
“He did [everything but win] and probably more,” Casse said of the Southwest. “Obviously, you're disappointed when you miss the opportunity to win a big race, a million-dollar race, but we came away with so many positives that it's hard to be very disappointed.”
Sandman was assigned a career-high 92 Beyer Speed Figure for the Southwest, a three-point improvement over his previous best, which came in a 1 ¾-length allowance victory at 1 mile Dec. 13 at Oaklawn to close his five-race 2-year-old campaign.
Sandman only had two half-mile workouts in advance of the Southwest after Oaklawn lost more than 10 days of training earlier in January to winter weather.
Sandman galloped 1 ½ miles Sunday morning and will probably work next weekend, said Caden Arthur, who oversees Casse's Oaklawn division.
The Rebel will offer 105 total points (50-25-15-10-5, respectively) to the top five finishes toward the Kentucky Derby, which is limited to 20 starters.
The post Tapit’s Sandman Rebel Bound appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.