D.J. Stable To Send Sandman, Ewing To Ocala To Be Reevaluated

[Wandering Eyes]

With Eclipse Award-winner Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), who will be heavily favored in Saturday's GII Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn, having won her 2026 debut in the GIII Bayakoa Stakes, D.J. Stable could well be on its way to another successful year. But not everything has gone right in 2026 for the Green family and its stable. Two of its most prominent horses–Sandman (Tapit) and Ewing (Knicks Go)–have been surprisingly disappointing in recent races.

In hopes of getting them back on track, the stable will be sending both to Mark Casse's farm in Ocala to see if the trainer can fix what appears to be broken. Ewing has already arrived in Ocala, and Sandman will travel there next week.

Sandman won last year's GI Arkansas Derby, but has lost six of his races since. He made his 4-year-old debut in a Feb. 7 allowance Oaklawn, finishing fifth. He came back in last Saturday's GIII Razorback Handicap, also at Oaklawn, where he never picked up his feet, finishing sixth. He was beaten 18 lengths.

“Sandman is going to head back to Ocala for reevaluation,” said D.J. Stable General Manager Jon Green. “We were disappointed in the fact that it just didn't seem like he was giving his all in the most recent race. In the allowance race, we were kind of writing it off to the fact that he was down on the rail and he didn't have a chance to stretch his legs like he likes to because he's a big, leggy horse. He also got cut up from actually hitting other horses in the course of that race. So, we were willing to pass on that. The Razorback really disappointed us. He is 100 percent sound, so it's not a matter of soundness issues. We're hoping it's more a mental issue or that there's just something we're missing. He's a happy horse, but he's not giving it his all.”

Green said the plan is to regroup and bring Sandman back to the races at some point this year.

“There are not any plans to retire him at this point,” he said. “That's for the simple reason that we feel like he's got running and racing left in him. We're always going to side with the horse. If he tells us at this point in time that he's happy with his accomplishments, being a Grade I winner and making $1.5 million, then he owes us nothing. But if there is a way for us to figure out his mindset and he shows us that he does want to continue to race, hopefully Mark Casse will unlock whatever is concerning him.”

Ewing (Knicks Go) was off for more than six months after winning the GII Saratoga Special Stakes. He returned Feb. 21 and also turned in a flat performance, running sixth in the Ozark Stakes at Oaklawn as the 3-5 favorite.

“With Ewing, we're doing the same thing,” Green said. “He came out of his race and he was sound. The light just didn't go on. So, we sent him back to Ocala. They're both going to be on kind of the same journey in a sense, and that is to figure out how to get the light to turn back on. There will be an ongoing evaluation of both horses.”

The Greens are hoping for better things from Nitrogen on Saturday. A versatile 4-year-old, she finished off her year with a win in the GI Alabama Stakes before finishing second behind older horses in both the GI Spinster Stakes and the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. But Green was quick to acknowledge that the Azeri does not look like an easy spot.

“Any time you're in a Grade I or Grade II-caliber race, there are always horses in there that you are concerned about,” he said. “The Azeri is no different. Of the six horses she will be facing, the lowest money-earner in the race is Perfect Shot, and she's made more than a half-million dollars. There are a couple of Grade I winners in there. You should always be recognizing who else is in the race and what they can do. There are some legitimate fillies in there. There are some tremendous fillies in there, and there's a reason why they are still racing–it's because they do have talent.”

Before the Bayakoa, Casse had stated that Nitrogen wasn't fully cranked up for that race. For that reason, Green believes she can run a better race Saturday.

“Going into her last race, she was about 80 percent fit,” Green said. “She's close to 100 percent fit now and doing really well. We have high expectations for her, but they still have to run the race in the afternoon.”

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