Woodbine's leading trainer will have another shot at a Kentucky Derby with Sandman, the stretch-running grey by Tapit.
Oaklawn Park
American Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna is back for another season of racing and racing fans are loving it.
The Rebel Stakes went to 11-to-1 longshot Coal Battle, but it was the Mark Casse-trained Sandman who raised eyebrows with a big finish.
The Canadian-bred was one of three colts from the north to win the Rebel Stakes, a rich Grade 2 dirt race at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.
The Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn is on Sunday and Woodbine's leading trainer Mark Casse will saddle Sandman.
Ontario-bred Copperelle didn't do much on the track, but she's making up for it in the breeding shed; three offspring compete Feb. 7.
Woodbine's leading trainer Mark Casse won a pile of races in the last two weeks, but it was Sandman's second-place finish that was exciting.
Just Steel, trained by legendary conditioner D. Wayne Lukas, finishes second, picking up 50 Kentucky Derby points.
There is a big field set to go in Oaklawn Park's flagship race that offers Kentucky Derby points to all starters except Baffert-trained Muth.
Son of Into Mischief was odds-on in the 12-horse field and was well polished for trainer Brad Cox and jockey Cristian Torres.
Muddy tracks played a role in Derby prep upsets, while the most impressive winner in California is not Derby eligible.
A litany of stakes races throughout the US on Feb. 3 include four major early stepping-stone races to the 150th Kentucky Derby.
Son of Candy Ride (Arg) zooms to the top of the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with his upset win in the slop.
Trainer Brad Cox holds a hot hand in the Oaklawn Park feature race for Kentucky Derby hopefuls on Saturday.
The Calgary-born horseman won his first race at Northlands Park in 1995 and became the 37th North American trainer to hit the 3,000 win mark.
