Sandman found the perfect setup and delivered a brilliant performance to win the Arkansas Derby

The son of Tapit made the most of the fast pace in the race to shine under the guidance of Puerto Rican José Ortiz

Sandman and José Ortiz, with everything wrapped up / COADY PHOTO

HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas (Special for Turf Diario) – All Sandman needed was a fast pace to put his rivals to sleep... The Tapit colt scored his first graded stakes victory last Saturday at Oaklawn Park, dominating by 2 1/2 lengths over Publisher (American Pharoah) in the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1), held before a crowd of 68,500 people.

Positioned seventh after 800 meters, 13 1/2 lengths behind the leader, Sandman began a powerful move on the second turn, easily passing the tired frontrunners Cornucopian (Into Mischief) and Speed King (Volatile), as well as Coal Battle (Coal Front), as they neared the final stretch.

With José Ortiz in the saddle, the son of Tapit took command on the outside, and despite drifting out in the final furlong, he was never in danger of losing his lead.

Publisher, who has yet to break his maiden after seven starts and was wearing blinkers for the first time, finished second, 4 1/2 lengths behind, ahead of Coal Battle, a multiple stakes winner at Oaklawn, who crossed the line in third. A length and a half behind, Cornucopian, the race favorite, made his stakes debut at 1800 meters, in just his second career start.

From the start, Cornucopian and Speed King set a suicidal pace, posting fractions of 22.46 for the first 400 meters, 45.21 for the half-mile, and 1:10.37 for the 1200 meters. Neither could sustain it. But Sandman, running from behind, capitalized on the situation. His final time on a fast track was 1:50.8.

For trainer Mark Casse, a two-time member of the Hall of Fame, this was his second victory in the Arkansas Derby, having won it in 2017 with Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile). Sandman, making his fifth start in a black-type race, had previously finished second in the Southwest Stakes (G3) on January 25, encountering some trouble during the race, and third as the favorite in the Rebel Stakes (G2) on February 23, both at Oaklawn over 1700 meters.

With this victory, Sandman earned 100 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby (G1), securing his spot in the big race on May 4 at Churchill Downs. His record now stands at 3 wins in 8 starts, with earnings of $1,254,595.

Purchased for $1,200,000 at the OBS March Sale of 2-year-olds in training, the gray colt is owned by D. J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, and CJ Stables.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw the fractions. I said, ‘Well, if they keep going at this pace, they’ll have to be superstars to make it to the wire.’ The faster they went, the more confident I became. And the faster they accelerated, the more I smiled. The fact that he (drifted out in the stretch and still won easily) shows how good he is. He wasn’t focused, but still managed to pull away from the field. As José (Ortiz) said, the important thing with him is to find his rhythm. Once he does, he just keeps going. José told me he didn’t even breathe hard when he pulled him up after the race," said Casse.

For his part, Puerto Rican José Ortiz shared, “Since the Iroquois Stakes (G3) last September at Churchill Downs, we knew he wasn’t a one-turn horse. I was a little sad to lose the ride when he came this way, but now I’m happy to have gotten it back. Today, at 1800 meters, he showed that two turns is his game. I’m very happy, very excited. Kentucky Derby, here we come! I noticed in the previous videos that he didn’t respond well to the left-handed whip, so I only used it once and didn’t insist. But he was already coming with plenty of strength.”