Sand Devil gets one more Triple Crown tune-up in Damon Runyon

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Before he attempts to jump on the Triple Crown trail, Sand Devil will get one more tune-up against New York-bred competition in Saturday’s $125,000 Damon Runyon Stakes at Aqueduct.

Sand Devil, a son of Violence owned by Chester Broman and trained by Linda Rice, figures to be around 1-5 against four rivals in the seven-furlong Damon Runyon. That explains why the race is carded as the second (1:10 p.m. post) on a nine-race card.

Sand Devil won his maiden by four lengths going six furlongs on Dec. 8. He then came back 25 days later to win a one-mile allowance by 12 1/2 lengths, earning a 90 Beyer Speed Figure. Rice flirted with the idea of running Sand Devil in last Saturday’s $250,000 Withers Stakes at 1 1/8 miles, but inclement weather caused an interruption in his training schedule.

“If we had better weather and I could have trained him more aggressively into the Withers, I might have done it,” Rice said. “We couldn’t find a track to breeze on. The one-turn mile to the two-turn mile and an eighth, there’s a significant difference between the two, but it looks like he’ll stretch out. We’re going to take a step back to seven-eighths, but it’s just a timing thing.”

:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2025: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more

If all goes well, Rice will look to run Sand Devil in the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham going a mile on March 1, followed by the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial at 1 1/8 miles on April 5. Both of those races offer qualifying points toward the May 3 Kentucky Derby.

Sand Devil will break from post 2 under Jose Lezcano on Saturday.

Soontobeking bounced back from a troubled fourth-place finish in the $500,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Series on Dec. 14 to win a first-level statebred allowance race by a nose on Jan. 12.

“In my mind, the horse’s claim to fame will always be he probably should have won the stallion race and got screwed by his own stablemate,” said trainer George Weaver, referring to how a horse with common ownership got in Soontobeking’s way in the stretch.

Referring to the Damon Runyon, Weaver said, “It’s a short field. Seven furlongs is within his capabilities. The horse is doing well.”

National Identity, second in the Great White Way, drew nicely on the outside.

Just Licorice, also trained by Rice, and Fireballin, third to Soontobeking in the Jan. 12 allowance, complete the field. Fireballin, who has broken poorly in both of his starts, will get blinkers for the first time.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.