SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – At one time this year, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse thought Silent Tactic (Tacitus) was going to be a player in the Triple Crown.Then came the dreaded foot bruise.The Wednesday before the GI Kentucky Derby, Casse had to scratch Silent Tactic because of the bruise on the left front foot. The next step would be the GI Preakness Stakes, but Casse had to pull the plug on that as well because the foot still just wasn't right.Fast forward to now and Silent Tactic, owned by John Oxley, may get his chance with the heavyweights of the 3-year-old colt division.Under exercise rider Edwin Soto, Silent Tactic worked five furlongs on the Saratoga main track in 1:00.65 (6/10) Sunday morning. He worked in company with 3-year-old filly Measure (Essential Quality), who is getting ready to run in the $500,000 GI Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga on July 25.If all goes according to plan, Silent Tactic will make his first start since Mar. 28 when he was second to Renegade (Into Mischief)–beaten by four lengths–in the GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.Silent Tactic had a promising winter at Oaklawn as he was second in the Smarty Jones on Jan. 3, won the GIII Southwest Stakes on Feb. 6, was second in the GII Rebel Stakes on Mar. 1 and then the Arkansas Derby.Casse spent a frustrating few months dealing with the foot bruise. Now, everything seems to be OK.“It's good, knock on wood,” Casse said outside his barn on the Saratoga backstretch Sunday morning.As he prepares to send his colt back into the 3-year-old competition, he said he honestly doesn't know what to expect.“I really don't,” he said. “If you look at Renegade, I thought going into the [Kentucky] Derby, that he was the horse to beat. We ran second to win and then he ran well in the Derby, but not so well in the Bemont [Renegade was third]. If you look at [Silent Tactic's] numbers, he is right there. Anytime you miss the Derby, it is disappointing and the way the race set up, it was even more disappointing because we have a strong closer.”Nitrogen | Sarah AndrewCasse also worked 4-year-old filly Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), who is getting ready for the $1-million GI Whitney Stakes on Aug. 8, and 3-year-old filly Counting Stars (Honor A. P.), who is being prepared for the Coaching Club American Oaks.D J. Stable LLC's Nitrogen, the runaway winner of the GI Ogden Phipps Stakes at Saratoga last month, went four furlongs under Soto in :48.06 (18/141) and West Point Thoroughbreds' Counting Stars, winner of the GI Acorn Stakes in her last start, worked five furlongs in 1:00.50 (5/10) with exercise rider Reynaldo Dumont on board.“Everyone worked really well,” Casse said. “I wanted a little more out of Counting Stars; she would have gone :58 if I asked her to. With Nitrogen, we are a ways away from her next race. I will let her do a little more as we get closer.”Casse had another horse work on Sunday, but it was at his training center in Ocala, Florida. Sandman (Tapit), who hasn't raced since Feb. 28 and had not had a published work since Jan. 20, went three furlongs in :36.80 (1/1).Casse said Sandman, winner of last year's Arkansas Derby, has been sidelined with pulled muscles in his rear end.Casse is just going to wait and see how his 4-year-old progresses.“I'm not making any promises,” he said. “We don't have any race on the horizon. We're just going to take it one day at a time.”Rodriguez in no Hurry to Make Plans for Phileas Fogg's Next RaceTrainer Gus Rodriguez is sure of one thing: he is never going to have another horse like Phileas Fogg (Astern {Aus}). The day after the 6-year-old gelding won the GII Suburban Stakes for the second straight year, Rodriguez, who readily admits he is more of a claiming trainer, stood outside Phileas Fogg's stall.The horse, wide eyed and bright, looked like he could have run again on Sunday.Phileas Fogg became the fourth horse in the history of the Suburban–it was first run in 1884–to win the race in back-to-back years. The last horse to do it was Effinex, who did it in 2015-16.“You never know, but I don't think we are ever going to have another horse like this…ever,” an emotional Rodriguez, who has been in the game for over 30 years, said. “We thought he was going to run good because he was training good and coming into the race beautiful. But the way he ran…I was impressed.”Gus Rodriguez and Kendrick Carmouche | Sarah AndrewRidden by Kendrick Carmouche, Phileas Fogg went gate-to-wire in the 1 1/4-mile Suburban and won by 10 lengths. He was dismissed at odds of nearly 9-1.Phileas Fogg, owned by Steve Shapiro's Jupiter Stable LLC, gave the 55-year-old Rodriguez his second career graded stakes training win after giving him his first last year.Rodriguez spent 10 years working as an assistant for his brother, Rudy, before going out on his own. Phileas Fogg has given him his two greatest moments as a trainer.Rodriguez is in no hurry to announce what might be next for his stable star. It will be either the GI Whitney Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 8 or the $1-million GI Jockey Club Gold Cup on opening day at the new Belmont Park on Sept. 18.The Gold Cup is 1 1/4 miles–the distance Phileas Fogg is best at–and the Whitney, which is shaping up as one loaded field, is 1 1/8 miles. But the Whitney is at Saratoga, a place at which Phileas Fogg thrives.Since coming to Rodriguez–he was claimed for $62,500 by Shapiro and Rodriguez in 2024–Phileas Fogg has run four times at Saratoga. He has won three.“I'm not sure yet,” Rodriguez said about the next start, “but he loves Saratoga. He loves this race track.”Commandment's Next Stop Will be Jim DandyFollowing a courageous second-place finish in the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga last month, trainer Brad Cox has deemed that Commandment (Into Mischief) has earned a return trip back to the Spa City.It's not breaking news, but Cox confirmed that his horse will be back to run in the $500,000 GII Jim Dandy Stakes on Aug. 1.“The goal for the summer is the [Aug. 29 GI] Travers,” Cox said from his home base at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. “The Jim Dandy is the best prep for that.”Commandment | Sarah AndrewSince finishing second behind Golden Tempo (Curlin) in the Belmont, Commandment has had two works at Churchill. The latest came on Saturday when he went four furlongs in :47.80 (8/94).Commandment came out of the winter as one of the stronger players on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby. He gutted out wins in the GII Fountain of Youth (by a neck over Chief Wallabee (Constitution) and GI Florida Derby (by a nose over The Puma (Essential Quality).He did not show the same fight and tenacity in the Kentucky Derby, finishing seventh, well behind Golden Tempo.“Maybe. It's possible,” Cox said when asked if the Florida races may have taken some of the starch out of Commandment. “With the Florida Derby leading up to the Kentucky Derby, I thought his works were OK. His works leading up to the Belmont were better.”And his effort in the final leg of the Triple Crown was better. He engaged Golden Tempo down the Saratoga stretch only to see his rival pull ahead and win by 1 1/4 lengths.“I thought he had a shot,” Cox said. “For a few seconds, I thought he had a big shot to win it. The other horse just had a little more left.”The post Saratoga Notebook, presented by NYRA Bets: Busy Sunday for Casse as Silent Tactic, Nitrogen and Counting Stars All Work appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.