On August 1, Mystik Dan worked five furlongs in 1:02 over the turf at Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track. By this move, he surprised horse racing fans by working out to participate in his first grass turf race in Arlington. The former Kentucky Derby winner’s trainer decided to take a new road in Mystik Dan’s horse racing journey. But while he has tried a grass route after a successful career in the dirt, Sandman is also set to follow his path.
The Thoroughbred Daily News reported the update on X by attaching a video of Sandman taking charge of his grass turf dream. In that update, Sandman, the Grade 1-winning colt by Tapit, took an important step in his training on Sunday, August 10. In a video, he was heading to Saratoga’s Oklahoma Training Track for his first-ever workout on grass turf.
Up until now, he’s been campaigning exclusively on dirt, most notably winning the Arkansas Derby earlier this year on March 29. Under the guidance of top jockey José Ortiz, the breeze allowed his connections to gauge how he handles the grass surface, both in terms of stride and comfort. The Oklahoma Training Track, located just across the street from the main Saratoga oval, is often used for these kinds of surface experiments and race preparations.
This move is significant because it hints at a possible shift in Sandman’s racing plans. This marked his first workout since placing fifth behind Sovereignty and Baeza in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 26. Trainer Mark Casse, encouraged by Sandman’s performance, now eyes the $3.5 million Nashville Derby Invitational (Grade 3 turf) at Kentucky Downs on August 30 as the next target.
GI winner SANDMAN (Tapit) ventured over to the Oklahoma training track this morning for his first-ever breeze on the turf, @jose93_ortiz in the irons, with connections saying he could make his next start in the Aug. 30 GIII Nashville Derby at @KYDownsRacing. pic.twitter.com/8YYaXVvsq1
— TDN (@theTDN) August 10, 2025
Trying him on turf could unlock lucrative grass races later in the season, especially at prestigious meets that feature top-level turf events. The workout is not just about speed. But it’s also about adaptability and testing whether his talent translates from dirt to grass. With Ortiz in the irons and his team closely monitoring the results, this breeze could be the first step toward diversifying his career and expanding his opportunities on the track.
But there is another reason behind trainer Mark Casse making decisions to try out Sandman on grass- fierce competitors like Journalism and Sovereignty. Surprised? Actually, talking about the same, Sandman’s trainer, Casse, revealed, “I think Jim Dandy just showed, right now, that those horses are better than us.” He also added, “I think it’s a good time to do it. … (Jockey) Jose (Ortiz) and I talked about it many times. We felt like he would like the turf just by the way he runs, and I think he did.” In the July 26 Jim Dandy race, Sovereignty- trained by Bill Mont and ridden by Junior Alvarado- won the race by running 9 furlongs in 1:49:52.
Stay tuned, this is a developing story!
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