Derby pedigrees: Sandman is dreaming of victory

After a pair of thrilling runner-up finishes in earlier Kentucky Derby preps, Sandman woke up in the Arkansas Derby (G1) galloping unevenly to a 2 1/2-length victory.

Sandman (Tapit - Distorted Music, by Distorted Humor) completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.08, with a solid 12.97-second final furlong. He earned 100 qualifying points and after a second-place finish in the Southwest (G3) and third in the Rebel (G3), has a total of 129 points.

Lothenbach Stables bred Sandman, and the colt sold for $1.2 million at last year’s OBS March 2-year-olds in training sale to D. J. Stable LLC, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables. Conditioned by Mark Casse, Sandman has an 8: 3-1-2 record with  $1,254,595 in earnings.

Sire

At 24 years old and with 19 crops of foals and 10 champions, Tapit (Pulpit - Tap Your Heels, by Unbridled) needs no introduction. The old man’s career is winding down. According to Equineline, he has 70 current 2-year-olds, 61 yearlings and no weanlings.

But his offspring continue to win at the highest levels. 

Since 2014, four of his sons have won the Belmont Stakes, equaling the legendary Lexington, the most dominant sire in North America.

Despite his leading sire status and classic-winning offspring, Tapit’s resume lacks a Kentucky Derby winner, although Essential Quality (2021) finished third and Tacitus (2019) was moved up to third via disqualification. The Tappit-Distorted Humor cross has produced 19 winners, two of them stakes winners.

Female family

Sandman has a classic distance pedigree filled with plenty of black-type earners. His fourth and fifth dams, It’s in the Air and A Wind is Rising, are reine-de-course, or superior mares.

The pretty gray colt is the fourth foal and second stakes winner out of Distorted Music (Distorted Humor – Music Room, by Unbridled’s Song), an optional-claiming allowance type who won or placed in six of eight attempts. She never tested was beyond 1 1/16 miles but captured her sole start at the distance by five lengths at Churchill Downs.

Sandman’s half-sister She Can’t Sing (Bernardini) won the Chilukki Stakes (G3) at Churchill at a mile plus an additional three black-type races from a mile to 1 1/16 miles. Another half-sister, Blameitonthemusic (Blame), bore stakes-placed turf miler Curahee (War of Will).

There are a trio of black-type earners in the second generation, led by Moon Over Miami, who set a stakes record of 2:06.16 for 1 5/16 miles on the lawn in the Duling Grounds Derby.

There is considerable class in Sandman’s third generation, anchored by half-sisters Music Note (A.P. Indy) and Musical Chimes (In Excess).

Music Note was a five-time Grade 1 winner from seven furlongs to 1 1/4 miles. Her highlights include the Ballerina, Mother Goose, and Coaching Club American Oaks. She was second by a head in the 1 1/4 mile Alabama to champion 3-year-old filly Proud Spell. Music Note foaled two black-type winners, and the most accomplished was 2021 Dubai World Cup (G1) hero Mystic Guide.

Two-time Grade 1 winner Musical Chimes (In Excess) won from a mile to 1 1/8 miles on the lawn. She beat the boys in the 2004 Oak Tree Breeders’ Cup Mile (G2), not to be confused with the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) held at LoneStar that year. Musical Chimes also set a stakes record of 1:47.09 for 1 1/8 miles in the John C. Mabee Handicap (G1).

Damsire

An anchor stallion at WinStar Farm, Distorted Humor sired 173 stakes winners. His offspring were capable from sprints to classic distances over all surfaces. He produced two classic winners, 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness hero FunnyCide, 2011 Belmont Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Drosselmeyer, plus Travers (G1) winner Flower Alley.

Distorted Humor’s daughters are pure gold. According to Equibase, they have yielded 161 stakes winners, ranging from sprinters to classic winners, including champion 3-year-old colt Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song), last year’s champion 2-year-old, Citizen Bull, and multiple Grade 1 winners Art Collector, Elate, Guarana and Constitution.

This year,  Distorted Humor is the damsire of two other top Kentucky prospects: Florida Derby hero Tappan Street and Citizen Bull.

Kentucky Derby contender or pretender?

A trio of colts pulled off the Arkansas and Kentucky Derby victories. The last was American Pharoah in 2015.

Sandman is a one-run closer, although he isn’t pace-dependent like many closers. Like many Tapit offspring, he has quirks. He is always wide around the far turn and can’t keep a straight path down the lane, either lugging in or out.

Sandman’s Brisnet Speed Ratings improved in his last three starts, cumulating in a 101 for the Arkansas Derby.

But Tapit’s offspring are noted for not doing well at Churchill in routes because they often have trouble cornering. Race Lens shows that in the last five years, Tapit’s progeny have a 5: 0-0-2 record at Churchill for 1 1/4 miles. Fourteen of his babies have competed in the Derby since 2012. Essential Quality (2021) and Tacitus (2019) finished fourth but were upgraded to third on disqualification of the winners. Normandy Invasion (2013), Frosted (2015) and Mohaymen (2016) also placed fourth.

There’s no doubt Sandman is waking up at the right time and should love classic distances. But he is unfocused and his erratic behavior in the stretch could cause trouble. His behavior is reminiscent of Tapit Trice, who placed seventh in the 2023 Kentucky Derby. But Sandman is certainly worth consideration. Could he break his sire’s pesky 0-for-13 record in the Derby?