Sandman Breezes On Turf At Saratoga, Aimed For Nashville Derby originally appeared on Paulick Report.

D.J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables’ Grade 1 winner Sandman breezed over Saratoga Race Course’s Oklahoma training turf on Sunday in his first foray over the grass, covering a half-mile solo in :49.70.

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Piloted through the work by Jose Ortiz, who rode the colt to his victory in the Arkansas Derby (G1) in March at Oaklawn Park, Sandman skipped along the turf without being asked and came through the lane strongly before an extended gallop-out.

Trainer Mark Casse said he was more than pleased with the effort, which was Sandman’s first breeze since finishing a disappointing last-of-5 in the Jim Dandy (G2) on July 26 won by dual classic winner Sovereignty.

“I was very happy with him, and more importantly, he was very happy. He was like a kid in a candy store,” Casse said, with a smile. “Jose and I had talked about it before. He said especially in the Jim Dandy, when you ask him to go, he kind of scrambles. He doesn’t have the turn-of-foot, and that’s why he relies on others to do his dirty work. If they don’t do it, he’s not going to run good. That’s why he didn’t run well in the Jim Dandy – the pace was too slow, and he couldn’t catch them. Plus, really good horses.

“Turf horses, when you ask them to go, they can accelerate, and I had told Jose – I hadn’t planned on Jose breezing him today, but I said, ‘I just want you to let him drop his head and see if he wants to do something just the last eighth of a mile,’” Casse continued. “He said to me, ‘I never even had to ask him. I just sat there.’ Then it was more about trying to pull him up. We weren’t looking for speed.”

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Ortiz agreed that Sandman was enjoying himself on the grass.

“He worked good and Mark was looking for an easy half, so that’s what we tried to do,” Ortiz said. “He feels good.”

With a successful first breeze over the turf now on his resume, Sandman, who finished third in the Preakness (G1) after a closing seventh in the Kentucky Derby (G1), is likely headed to Kentucky Downs for the $3.5-million Nashville Derby (G3) on August 30 traveling 1 5/16 miles.

“I think we can make it official – we’re going to go to the Nashville Derby,” Casse concluded. “The only way we weren’t doing that is if I wasn’t happy today. I’ve never seen Jose so excited. A mile and five sixteenths for three-and-a-half million – that’s where we’re going. I would have been shocked and disappointed if he didn’t get over [the turf] because every indication he’s ever given me was he would like grass.”

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The son of Tapit was a $1.2 million purchase at last year’s OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and is out of the Distorted Humor mare Distorted Music, who won one race over the Arlington Park synthetic in 2014. He is a half-brother to graded stakes-winner She Can’t Sing, who was Grade 3-placed and a three-time stakes-winner on grass.

This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Aug 10, 2025, where it first appeared.