Gulfstream: Tappan Street wins first start since Florida Derby

Tappan Street, last seen upsetting Sovereignty in the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park on March 29, returned to the Gulfstream winner’s circle Friday after a “workmanlike” triumph in the one-mile optional-claiming allowance feature race.

“It’s good to get that one behind us. It’s really good to get him back,” said Elliott Walden, president, ceo and racing manager for co-owner WinStar Farm. “He’s a big, strong horse and he needed it. It worked out well.”

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Tappan Street, who captured the Race 7 feature by a length, took a giant step toward a possible start in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 24.

“We’ll get him back to the top level. We’ll look at the Pegasus and see how he comes out,” Walden said. “The timing of this was to take a look at that and see what it looks like.”       

The Brad Cox-trained 3-year-old son of Into Mischief had been on the sidelines since sustaining a condylar fracture in his right front leg while training at Churchill Downs for the May 3 Kentucky Derby, which was won by Sovereignty. Tappan Street breezed seven times at Cox’s winter base at Payson Park since Nov. 1 after working twice at Keeneland in preparation for his return in his fourth career race.

“Good effort, workmanlike, but kind of what we expected based on what we saw of him in his first three runs. It’s not as if he always gallops up to the top of the lane and wins under a hammerlock or anything,” Cox said. “He’s a good horse, and I thought it was a good comeback race. It’s a two-other-than, that’s what he’s eligible for, and off that long layoff, I felt like it was the right move for him at this stage in his career. Happy with his performance.”

Tappan Street, the 1-9 favorite, broke alertly under Irad Ortiz Jr. to closely stalk pacesetter Steppe along the backstretch past fractions of 23.56 and 46.55 seconds during the first half-mile of his one-turn mile comeback race. Steppe continued to show the way around the turn and into the stretch with Tappan Street looming over his shoulder. The Florida Derby hero responded to Ortiz’s urging through the stretch to prevail edge past Steppe, whose jockey Miguel Vasquez dropped his whip in mid-stretch. Flying Liam finished third under Junior Alvarado 1 1/4 lengths farther back. Bobby Dibona-trained Steppe was pulled up while galloping out and was loaded onto a van and returned to the barn area.

Tappan Street ran the mile distance in 1:36.22 while defeating five rivals.

“He broke well. After that, he made everything more easy. After that, I just let him be him,” Ortiz said after riding Tappan Street for the first time. “Once I started working on him, he kept coming at the end, so that was nice.”

Tappan Street ran at Gulfstream three times during the 2024-25 championship meet. He won his Dec. 28 debut while rallying from just off the pace in a seven-furlong maiden special weight race to win by 1 3/4 lengths. The $1 million purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga select yearling sale went on to make his stakes debut in his next outing, finishing second in the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull (G2), in which he made a three-wide sweep to take the lead in the stretch before being overtaken by Burnham Square by 1 3/4 lengths. Tappan Street got all the money in the Florida Derby while upsetting favored Sovereignty by 1 1/4 lengths in the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Derby prep.

“He was definitely ready to go today,” Cox said. “He was on it walking over from the barn area to the paddock but controlled. You definitely could tell he had his game face on today.”