Silent Tactic to Target $1.5 Million Arkansas Derby After Narrow Rebel Runner-Up

Mark Casse confirmed March 4 that Silent Tactic will be pointed to the $1.5 million GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on March 28 after the Tacitus colt finished a nose behind Class President in the $1 million G2 Rebel Stakes on March 1. The runner-up check in the Rebel earned Silent Tactic 25 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, bringing his total to 50 and placing him second on the official Churchill Downs leaderboard.

The Arkansas Derby will award 200 points to the top five finishers - 100-50-25-15-10 - meaning Silent Tactic would add 100 points with a victory and sit on 150 points after Oaklawn’s 1 1/8-mile classic. The March 28 prize is a Grade I event with a $1.5 million purse and the points structure makes it the single biggest path to the Kentucky Derby starting gate in late March.

Silent Tactic’s recent form explains Casse’s decision. The colt won the Feb. 6 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn by 3 1/4 lengths, rallying to pass nine horses in the final three-sixteenths of a mile to win going away. Cristian Torres rode Silent Tactic in the Southwest, a race for which the Daily Racing Form issued a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 88, a career high. Silent Tactic also closed to finish second in the Jan. 3 Smarty Jones Stakes, the race won by stablemate Strategic Risk.

Casse’s Oaklawn résumé adds context to the move. He trained Classic Empire to the 2017 Arkansas Derby and Sandman to the 2025 Arkansas Derby. A win in the Rebel would have continued a remarkable run at Oaklawn; as noted after the photo finish, "A nose separated dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse from a record-extending fourth consecutive victory in a Kentucky Derby qualifying race at Oaklawn." On the possibility Silent Tactic will run all four Oaklawn series races, Casse said simply, "Leave it to me."

Ownership ties bind the stable’s strategy. John Oxley campaigns both Strategic Risk and Silent Tactic. Strategic Risk won the Smarty Jones on Jan. 3 but ran 10th in the Southwest and finished sixth in the Rebel, beaten 17 1/2 lengths. After those results, Casse indicated a change of course for Strategic Risk, saying, "We’ll aim a little lower with him."

Casse’s barn is active beyond the 3-year-olds. Nitrogen, the Medaglia d’Oro mare campaigned by Jon and Leonard Green, won the G3 Bayakoa on Feb. 7 by 2 3/4 lengths under Jose Ortiz and is being aimed to the G2 Azeri on March 7. Casse noted Nitrogen returned from Florida on Jan. 11, worked a five-furlong bullet in 1:00 on Jan. 17, weather then closed the track from Jan. 24 to Feb. 1, and he judged her effort in the Bayakoa as a peak performance: "I almost think yesterday was the best race she's ever run." Multiple Grade I winner La Cara is also planned for the Azeri.

There are a few items remaining to be finalized before March 28. Silent Tactic was purchased as a 2-year-old in training, but the sale price is not provided in available records, and the jockey to be named for the Arkansas Derby has not been confirmed. Casse’s March 4 confirmation sets the course: Silent Tactic will go to Oaklawn on March 28 with 100 points available to the winner and a real shot to move further up the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.