Sandman Arrives in Saratoga; Aims for Jim Dandy

[Wandering Eyes]

Sandman (Tapit), coming off a third-place effort in the GI Preakness Stakes, shipped from Belmont Park to Saratoga Race Course Monday morning and he is expected to make his next start in the July 26 GII Jim Dandy Stakes.

“I wanted to give him a little bit of time,” trainer Mark Casse said. “He ran all winter long and I knew when we decided to run him back in the Preakness that the Belmont was going to be out of the question.”

Sandman earned a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby with his win in the GI Arkansas Derby and, after finishing seventh in Louisville, he closed from last-of-9 and 12 lengths off the pace to finish 2 3/4 lengths adrift of Journalism (Curlin) in the Preakness.

“I thought he ran well,” Casse said of Sandman's effort in the Preakness. “He was caked in mud after the race. He struggled to keep his eyes open. When we scoped him afterwards, he had half the Pimlico racetrack in his trachea. Johnny [Velazquez] said he thought he lost focus a little. I'll probably put blinkers on him for the Jim Dandy because he has done some wandering down the stretch.”

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