2026.01.20 Oaklawn Racing Updates

Racing Updates
Compiled by Robert Yates

Her first Oaklawn workout was a bullet.

Nitrogen worked five furlongs in 1:00 Saturday morning for dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, who is pointing the millionaire Grade 1 winner for the $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) for older fillies and mares April 11 at Oaklawn.

Nitrogen’s time was the fastest of 62 recorded at the distance and more than a second quicker than the No. 2 clocking published. Nitrogen breezed with stablemate Quick to Charm during the special 10-minute workers-only period immediately after the first surface renovation break. The track was fast.

Nitrogen, under Prairie Meadows and Will Rogers riding champion Kylee Jordan, and Quick to Charm broke off together at the five-furlong marker. Nitrogen covered her first three furlongs in :36.40 and pulled away from Quick to Charm and another worker through the stretch. Nitrogen galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.40. Quick to Charm, an older female who is winless in seven lifetime starts, was credited with five furlongs in 1:03.

“The track’s pretty deep right now,” assistant trainer Caden Arthur, who oversees Casse’s Oaklawn division, said Sunday afternoon. “I mean, not a lot of water, trying not to let it freeze. She moved over it phenomenally. Went a minute flat and did it cruising. Glad she caught some company in front. Gave her something to chase a little bit. ‘Quick’ worked good. She’s just not on Nitrogen’s level. Not a lot of fillies in the country are, so it was a little hard to stay with her. She did good. She worked her own work. I was happy. Nitrogen is Nitrogen. She got the name for a reason. She breathes different air.”

A homebred for D. J. Stables (Jonathan and Leonard Green), Nitrogen is among three finalists for an Eclipse Award as North America’s champion 3-year-old filly of 2025 after winning six of nine starts, including the Alabama Stakes (G1) Aug. 16 at Saratoga.

In her final two 2025 starts, Nitrogen finished second against older horses in the Spinster Stakes (G1) Oct. 5 at Keeneland and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Nitrogen recorded workouts Dec. 31 and Jan. 7 at Casse’s Florida training center before shipping to Oaklawn. She arrived Jan. 11.

Casse said Nitrogen could make her 4-year-old debut in the $400,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) March 7 at Oaklawn. The Azeri is the final major local prep for the Apple Blossom. Both races are 1 1/16 miles.

“Very happy she’s here,” Arthur said. “She looks great today, the day after her work, and we’re excited for her 4-year-old campaign.”

Nitrogen galloped Tuesday afternoon under former jockey Autumn Lavertu.

Sandman Works Toward 2026 Debut

Millionaire Grade 1 winner Sandman moved closer to his 2026 debut with a workout over a fast track Tuesday afternoon for dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.

Sandman, unraced since late August, covered five furlongs in 1:02 under two-time Oaklawn riding champion Cristian Torres. Sandman traveled his first three furlongs in :37 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.20.

Assistant trainer Caden Arthur, who oversees Casse’s Oaklawn division, said Sandman could make his 4-year-old debut in a Feb. 6 allowance race. If all goes well, that would serve as a bridge to the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 28.

“He had a good breeze,” Arthur said. “The track’s real deep. We’ll have one more breeze next week, hopefully, around Wednesday, depending on the weather. That allowance race is kind of what we’re shooting for as a prep for the Razorback.”

Sandman ran four times last season at Oaklawn, winning an allowance race in his final start at 2 and the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1).

Tuesday marked Sandman’s sixth published workout this season at Oaklawn. Training was delayed approximately four hours Tuesday because of freezing temperatures.

Finish Lines

Oaklawn’s 64-day split season resumes Jan. 30. The 51-day Classic racing season runs through May 2. … Nominations closed Monday for the $1 million Southwest Stakes (G3) and the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes. Both 1 1/16-mile races are scheduled to be run Jan. 31. The Southwest, Oaklawn’s second of four Kentucky Derby qualifying races, closed with 79 nominations. The Martha Washington is Oaklawn’s first of three qualifying races for the Kentucky Oaks (G1), the country’s biggest race for 3-year-old fillies. The Martha Washington closed with 30 nominations. … Grace Is Free is pointing for the Martha Washington, trainer Robert N. Cline said Tuesday morning. Grace Is Free, in her last start, won the six-furlong $150,000 Mockingbird Stakes Jan. 4. The Mockingbird marked the first Oaklawn stakes victory for Cline and his longtime significant other, jockey Kelsi Harr. … Unbeaten Grade 2 winner Ewing is scheduled to make his 3-year-old debut in the six-furlong $150,000 Ozark Stakes Feb. 16, according to assistant trainer Caden Arthur, who oversees dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse’s Oaklawn division. Ewing, in company, worked five furlongs in 1:02.40 over a fast track Sunday afternoon. … Two Oaklawn-raced horses, Thorpedo Anna (North America’s champion older dirt female) and Shisospicy (3-year-old filly, female sprinter and female turf horse), are finalists for 2025 Eclipse Awards. Thorpedo Anna won Oaklawn’s $750,000 Fantasy Stakes (G2) en route to 2024 Horse of the Year honors and champion 3-year-old filly. She returned last year to win Oaklawn’s $400,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) and $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1). Both races were for older fillies and mares. Shisospicy suffered her only United States loss last year with a runner-up finish in the Mockingbird. Shisospicy won her final five American starts (all on grass), including the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) against males and older horses Nov. 1 at Del Mar. The 55th annual Eclipse Awards ceremony is Thursday night in Palm Beach, Fla.