Two-year-old colt Sandman stepped right up second-time out, holding strong along the rail and powering through the stretch to win impressively on Saturday at Saratoga.

The gray son of Tapit moved forward from a fifth-place debut at Churchill on June 27. West Point, St. Elias Stable and CJ Stables acquired him at the OBS March sale of two-year-olds in training.

“Since Day 1, he always showed that he was kind of head of the class,” trainer Mark Casse said. “Every time I would throw something at him, he says, ‘I want more.'”

Jockey Dylan Davis guided Sandman, one day before he scored on West Point’s Carson’s Run in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby.

The next morning, Casse added, “Very rarely do I wake up in the middle of the night and think of a horse, but I did last night at 1 a.m. Don’t think we’ve scratched the surface with this guy. I told Dylan going into the race that I wanted to rate the horse and get an education. I wasn’t as concerned about a win as we have much bigger plans for this colt!”

Sandman will point to the $300,000 Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at one mile Saturday, September 14 at Churchill Downs. Also on the radar is the $600,000 Grade I Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity at one and one-sixteenth miles Saturday, October 5 at Keeneland.

Video back at the barn
Interview in the winners circle with Jason Blewitt
BloodHorse story