Welcome to Kentucky Derby Prospect Profiles, where we take a look each week at a recent winner on the Road to the Derby schedule from that offers qualifying points good for a starting-gate spot in the 1 ¼-mile classic race May 3, 2025, at Churchill Downs.

This week, we take a closer look at Sandman, a 2 ½-length winner of the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby March 29 at Oaklawn Park. The gray or roan Tapit colt earned 100 points toward qualifying for the 2025 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and ranks first on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 129 points in total.

Racing Résumé: The potential has always been there for Sandman, a $1.2 million purchase as a 2-year-old at auction, and he showed plenty of flashes in his first seven races. In his eighth start in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, the Tapit colt put it all together for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.

There is no doubt a lightning-fast pace – opening half-mile in :45.21 – aided a dedicated closer like Sandman in the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby, but he made a sustained bid that began on the backstretch and extended through the finish line to post a dominant win. He cut his deficit from 13 ½ lengths after a half-mile to six lengths back after three-quarters of a mile, a powerful middle move that he continued into deep stretch.

Immaturity has been an issue for Sandman – he got off to a brutal start in the Southwest Stakes before rallying for second – and it cropped up a bit in the Oaklawn Park stretch when he ducked out before jockey Jose Ortiz straightened him.

“I think that just shows how good he is,” Casse said of winning despite the greenness. “He wasn’t focusing and he was still able to draw away. As Jose said, he wants to get into a rhythm. And if you can get him into that rhythm, he’ll just go. Jose said he didn’t take a deep breath when he pulled up.”

After an unplaced finish in his stakes debut in September 2024 at Churchill Downs, Sandman has strung together five straight quality starts. He finished in the top three in the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs as well as the Southwest Stakes and Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn in addition to a pair of off-the-pace victories at Oaklawn by open lengths. He is now a Grade 1 winner with $1,254,595 in purse earnings and a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby.

Speed Figures: Sandman has boosted his Equibase Speed Figure in each of his last five starts, earning a career-top 104 for the Arkansas Derby. That steady progression is a terrific sign. His Beyer Speed Figures had hovered between 89 and 92 for his three previous starts, and Sandman improved seven points to a new best Beyer of 99 for the Arkansas Derby. With another improvement in five weeks, Sandman is a win candidate in the Kentucky Derby.

Sandman and Ortiz before the race. (Coady Media)

Running Style: A deep closer, Sandman got hung wide Saturday entering the first turn. That’s a good reminder that his running style does require some racing luck. He benefitted from a fast pace in the Arkansas Derby to set up his closing rally, but closers rely on others to dictate tempo. On the bright side, Sandman has shown the ability to rally into slower fractions this year. I don’t think he is dependent upon pace to win but traffic could be an issue in a 20-horse field for a big racehorse who can’t afford to get his momentum stopped behind traffic.

Pedigree Notes: It’s pretty rare to have almost no stamina concerns for a 3-year-old about to try 1 ¼ miles for the first time, but Sandman’s pedigree is ideal for longer distances and he looks like a racehorse who can run all day. Much of that probably comes from his sire, Tapit, a leading sire with Belmont Stakes winners Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), Tapwrit (2017), and Essential Quality (2021) to his credit plus five other top-three finishers in the 1 ½-mile “Test of the Champion.” Tapit also is the sire of 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline.

The bottom half of Sandman’s pedigree is anchored by his fourth dam (maternal great-grandmother), champion It’s in the Air, by Mr. Prospector. Sandman’s dam (mother), Distorted Music, was a winner at 1 1/16 miles, and his unraced grandam (maternal grandmother), Music Room, is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Music Note and French classic winner Musical Chimes. This half of his pedigree also is why Sandman was named after a beloved song by Metallica.

Derby Potential: I’ve long been a fan of Sandman as a Kentucky Derby contender but I was starting to wonder if he might not have enough late speed to get the job done against elite competition. He proved that notion wrong in the Arkansas Derby and what most impressed me is what I pointed out above: Sandman can sustain his rally for a long way. Most racehorses have about a three-eighth-of-a-mile burst, but Sandman started his bid in the Arkansas Derby on the backstretch and had plenty left for the stretch. He should be surging in the final quarter-mile at Churchill Downs on May 3, and with a clean stretch run Sandman can win the Kentucky Derby.