Oak Park Stakes Previews – Southwest Day

Compiled by Robert Yates

Fittingly, Oaklawn’s first seven-figure race of the 2024-2025 meeting includes a seven-figure horse.

Sandman – pricey but promising – is among 10 horses entered in Saturday’s $1 million Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds, a 1 1/16-mile event that is Oaklawn’s second of four Kentucky Derby qualifying races.

Probable post time for the Southwest is 4:10 p.m. (Central). First post is 11:25 a.m. The 12-race card includes six stakes, highlighted by the Southwest, the 10th race. Mystik Dan, the 2024 Southwest winner, captured the Kentucky Derby.

The Southwest is preceded by the $150,000 King Cotton for older horses at six furlongs, $145,000 General MacArthur Overnight for older horses at 1 1/8 miles, $150,000 Fifth Season for older horses at one mile, $145,000 Bugler Overnight for older fillies and mares at six furlongs and the $300,000 Martha Washington for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles.

The Southwest, seven figures for the first time after previously being worth $800,000, will offer 42 total points (20-10-6-4-2, respectively) to the top five finishers toward Kentucky Derby starting eligibility.

Sandman, a gray son of super sire Tapit, is seeking his first career stakes victory after being purchased for $1.2 million at the OBS March Sale of 2-year-olds in training. Sandman will be making his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest, his third opportunity for a black-type breakthrough.

“From the beginning, he’s impressed me,” said Mark Casse, Sandman’s dual Hall of Fame trainer. “He impressed me the day we bought him. He impressed me the first week training and every week after. I’ve been disappointed in some of his performances. I just kind of felt like he hasn’t run as well as he’s trained. But his last race was a good one and I felt satisfied after that and I felt like he was moving forward. He’s going to have to continue to move forward if he’s a Derby horse. I think he is. But the thing about this game is it’s not what you think.”

Southwest entrants from the rail out: Gaming, Juan Hernandez to ride, 117 pounds, 2-1 on the morning line; Publisher, Erik Asmussen, 117, 12-1; Monet’s Magic, Francisco Arrieta, 119, 15-1; Tiztastic, Keith Asmussen, 119, 10-1; Render Judgment, Emmanuel Esquivel, 117, 15-1; Sandman, Cristian Torres, 119, 5-1; Patch Adams, Flavien Prat, 117, 5-2; American Promise, Tyler Bacon, 117, 6-1; Bon Temps, Nik Juarez, 117, 30-1; and Speed King, Rafael Bejarano, 117, 15-1.

Render Judgment (foot issue) will be scratched, trainer Kenny McPeek said.

Gaming, a Grade 1 winner and finalist for champion 2-year-old male, will be making his 3-year-old debut for Hall of

Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has won the Southwest a record six times. The speedy Patch Adams will be making his stakes and two-turn debut for trainer Brad Cox, a two-time Eclipse Award winner. Speed King finished second, beaten a half-length, in the $300,000 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 13 at Remington Park for trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs. Springboard Mile winner Coal Battle returned to win the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 4, Oaklawn’s first Kentucky Derby qualifying race.

Casse said he believes there will be an honest pace Saturday, which should benefit Sandman’s late-running style.

“That’s a good thing for us,” Casse said. “Obviously, it’s a big race, lot of money and you want to win it. But more importantly, I just want him to learn from it and try to move forward.”

Sandman is trying to build off a sharp allowance victory to close an up-and-down five-race 2-year-old campaign. Ridden for the first time by Torres, Sandman closed strongly in deep stretch to score by 1 ¾ lengths Dec. 13 at Oaklawn. His winning time of 1:38.71 generated a career-high 89 Beyer Speed Figure.

Sandman was coming off a third-place finish in the $200,000 Street Sense Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 27 at Churchill Downs. The Street Sense marked the two-turn debut for Sandman, who broke his maiden at seven furlongs Aug. 10 at Saratoga. Sandwiched around the maiden victory were fifth-place finishes in his June 27 debut at six furlongs and the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3) at one mile Sept. 14. Both races were at Churchill Downs.

Sandman has recorded two half-mile workouts at Oaklawn since his allowance victory, the last a :48 move Jan. 17 that ranked third of 141 times published at the distance.

Although Oaklawn has lost more than 10 days of training this month to winter weather, Casse said he believes Sandman has a solid foundation for his 3-year-old debut because four of his races last year were seven furlongs or longer.

“Obviously, we’ve had some interruptions in our training, which is not shocking given the weather,” Casse said. “But the good news is I feel like we were way ahead of the game and so our horse is in a good place. He’s got a lot of experience. Whether it’s the Kentucky Derby, the (Kentucky) Oaks, the King’s Plate, those races, I kind of always try to get ahead of schedule in case you have a few little mishaps along the way. I’ve done it both ways. I would hate to be catching up, getting that type of weather. Feel like we’re in a good place. Now, we’ve got to figure out does he belong at the top. This will be a good indication. It’s a solid race.”

Casse trains Sandman for D. J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables.

Sandman collected four Kentucky Derby qualifying points for his finishes in the Iroquois and Street Sense. Oaklawn’s Kentucky Derby qualifying series continues with the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (G2) Feb. 22 and the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) March 29.

MARTHA WASHINGTON

Oaklawn’s first of three Kentucky Oaks qualifying races is headed Quietside, one of the country’s leading 2-year-old fillies of 2024.

A homebred for Arkansan John Ed Anthony’s Shortleaf Stable, Quietside will be making her 3-year-old debut in the Martha Washington, bumped to a record $300,000 this year after previously being worth $250,000.

The Martha Washington will offer 42 total points (20-10-6-4-2, respectively) to the top five finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Oaks. Oaklawn’s Kentucky Oaks prep series continues with the $500,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) Feb. 22 and the $750,000 Fantasy Stakes (G2) March 29.

Thorpedo Anna swept the Fantasy and Kentucky Oaks en route to 2024 Horse of the Year honors.

Quietside completed her 2-year-old campaign with a runner-up finish behind Good Cheer in the $400,000 Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Nov. 30 at Churchill Downs. Quietside is the 8-5 program favorite in the projected six-horse Martha Washington field.

“Quietside’s amazing,” trainer John Ortiz said. “She hasn’t missed a beat. We’re on the same page as the whole country is right now (weather): Light training. But I don’t want to change her routine. She’s as happy and ready as a I can possibly have her.”

Oaklawn has lost more than 10 days of training in January to winter weather. Still, Quietside has a class edge on her opponents after chasing some of the country’s top 2-year-old fillies, including Immersive and Good Cheer.

A daughter of Malibu Moon, Quietside won her Aug. 4 career debut at Saratoga by 6 ¼ lengths, then finished second behind Immersive in the $300,000 Spinaway Stakes (G1) Aug. 31 at Saratoga. Quietside, in her two-turn debut, finished third behind Immersive in the $600,000 Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 4 at Keeneland. Quietside was beaten 2 ½ lengths by Good Cheer in the Golden Rod.

Immersive was named the country’s champion 2-year-old filly Thursday night. Stablemate Good Cheer, also unbeaten, was a finalist for an Eclipse Award.

Ortiz tapped eight-time Oaklawn leading jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. to ride Quietside for the first time in the Martha Washington. She will break from the rail. Unbeaten Her Laugh (2 for 2) is the early 2-1 second choice.

“It’s a small field and you’ve just to play the break and let the race set up before the first turn,” Ortiz said. “Ricardo’s going to have to make all his decisions as he goes into the first turn, where he wants to have her placed, whether he wants to be on the rail or tip her out and let somebody else have it.”

Quietside, based on her finishes in the Alcibiades and Golden Rod, has eight Kentucky Oaks qualifying points.

Anthony is seeking a record-tying 39th career Oaklawn stakes victory. The late John Franks won 39 Oaklawn stakes races, the last coming in 2000.

KING COTTON

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The Ortiz-trained Happy Is a Choice is the 8-5 program favorite for the King Cotton, which also drew millionaire multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Tejano Twist and multiple stakes winners Miles Ahead and Gulfport.

Happy Is a Choice and Gulfport finished 1-2, respectively, in the $150,000 Ring the Bell Stakes at 6 furlongs Dec. 7 at Oaklawn. Happy Is a Choice, who is seeking his third consecutive stakes victory, is scheduled to break from post 6 in the projected six-horse field under Ramon Vazquez.

“Perfect thing for him,” Ortiz said. “We’re very fortunate to draw that post for him. He’s a horse that likes to set off of them, anyway, so we’ll play it from the break. Ramon fits this horse like a glove. Hope we get the racing luck and get the job done.”

The late-running Tejano Twist ran second in last year’s King Cotton, his first of five runner-up finishes in 2024. Tejano Twist concluded a winless 2024 campaign (0 for 9) with a second behind Banishing in a $133,000 stakes-level allowance at 6 furlongs Dec. 20 at Oaklawn.

Banishing returned to dominate the six-furlong $145,000 Byerley Turk Overnight Stakes for older horses Thursday at Oaklawn.

“He’s doing great,” Hartman said of Tejano Twist. “Can’t believe he lost last time, but he ran into a good horse.”

Miles Ahead surpassed $1 million in career earnings with a head victory in the $225,000 Thanksgiving Classic Stakes at 6 furlongs Nov. 28 at Fair Grounds in his last start. He ran fourth in last year’s King Cotton for trainer Paul McGee.

FIFTH SEASON

Liberal Arts returns to Oaklawn riding a two-race winning streak since moving to the barn of Cox.

Liberal Arts, in his last start and second for Cox, was an 11 ¾-length winner of a 1 1/16-mile off-the-turf allowance Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds. Liberal Arts (3-1) switches to Flavien Prat, the country’s 2024 Eclipse Award-winning jockey, for the Fifth Season.

Top New York-bred The Wine Steward is the 5-2 program favorite for the Fifth Season, which drew nine entrants.

The Wine Steward, unraced since finishing ninth in the Belmont Stakes last June at Saratoga, is Grade 1-placed for trainer Mike Maker.

Other Fifth Season entrants include Seize the Night for trainer Eddie Milligan Jr. and the versatile Henro for Hartman.

Seize the Night cuts back to a mile after winning the $175,000 Tinsel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles Jan. 5 at Oaklawn.

Henro concluded 2024 with a sharp score in a stakes-level allowance at six furlongs Dec. 27 at Oaklawn. Henro was a two-time stakes winner last year, taking the $250,000 Iowa Derby at 1 1/16 miles July 6 at Prairie Meadows and the $300,000 Harrods Creek at seven furlongs Sept. 21 at Churchill Downs.