Photo: Tommy Land/Eclipse Sportswire
Grade 1 winner Sandmanfinishing last in Preakness at Pimlico on May 17th, and will be shipped from Belmont to Saratoga on Monday morning, preparing for a Grade 2 start. Jim Dandy.
Hall of Fame trainer Mark Cass is subject to Sandman for the owner. Casse said Tapit Colt is preparing for the 1 1/8 mile Jim Dandy on July 26, so he hopes it will include the $1.25 million Travers (G1) on August 23 as part of its spa summer campaign.
“He left for Saratoga this morning,” Kass said. “I wanted to give him a bit of time. He ran all winter and when I decided to go back to Preakness that Belmont would be out of the question.”
Sandman scored on a 1/2-long score, 1/8 mile Arkansas Derby (G1) in Oak Lawn in March, despite being sharply down the lane. He then competed for the first two legs of the Triple Crown, finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby, and was sealed with a sloppy, sealed main track for the Churchill Downs. Finally, Hall of Fame John Velazquez rose, and he closed from the length of pace from the last nine, 12 lengths to finish a 3/4 length of victory journalism.
“I thought he ran well. He was fixed in the mud after the race. He had a hard time keeping his eyes open. He had half of the Pimlico racetrack in his trachea,” Kass said. “Johnny said he thought he had lost focus a bit. He did wandering around the stretch, so I’d probably put a flasher on him for Jim Dandy.”
Sandman graduated from Spa in August and won a 1 3/4 length victory in the 7-furlong maiden print on his second question.
“When I was two, the best race he ran was in Saratoga, so my plan is to run at Jim Dandy and get him ready for the traver,” Kass said.
Sandman has more than $1.4 million in banks via a 10:3-1-3 record.
Casse is holding an important lineup in Saratoga for the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, from June 4th to June 8th.
One of the most exciting CASSE outlooks is DJ Stable’s Kentucky homemade nitrogen. He will bring four race wins to the $300,000 Wonder (G2), a pure 1/16-mile turf test for the sophomore, on June 7th.
Medaglia D’Oro Bay was three-quarters long at Nataluma (G1) at Woodbine in September and finished third at Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf from 12th at Del Mar in November.
She was perfect in four starts this year, graduating from Ginger Brew at Gulfstream Park in January, adding Florida Oaks (G3) in Tampa Bay Downs in March, Appalachian (G2) in Keeneland in April, and Edgewood (G2) in Churchill Downs on May 2.
“She left today to go to Saratoga from Kentucky. We are extremely proud of her and hopefully it will continue,” Kass said.
She has been piloted through her streak by Jose Ortiz. Jose Ortiz makes use of her impressive foot rotation with great success. Casse said the riders believe the talented bay has won a lot over the tank.
“It looks like that. Jose certainly feels that way,” Kass said.
Other Belmont Stakes Racing Festive starters in Casse include La Cara in the Acorn (G1), My Boy Prince from Jaipur (G1), Vernon Valley in Astoria, Glitter at Tremont, Gold at Creed, Dazzle at InterContinental (G2), and corruption at Belmont Gold Cup (G2), Ariana (G3) in poker, Charlotte’s heart in Boowley, and Kingston’s clear conscience. Mi Bago, who entered the Pen Mile (G3) on Friday, could potentially make a quick return at Penin Ridge (G3).
Cass pointed out that Christophe Clement, who passed away over the weekend, will be greatly overlooked in Saratoga this summer.
“He was a great jockey, which was a terrible loss for his family and horse racing,” Kass said. “The biggest compliment I could give to a trainer was when I saw the race and when he had horses in the race, I knew I had to beat him.
