Tappan Street flies under radar for Cox in Pegasus 2026

Like so many trainers, two-time Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox said he does not pay much attention when one of his horses flies under the radar into a big race.

“It makes no difference to me how he’s perceived,” he said. “My job is just to get him ready, keep him happy, healthy, fit, and I feel like he’s in a good spot.”

That mindset applies this week to Tappan Street. The $1 million yearling has grown up to make his 4-year-old debut Saturday in the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational over familiar ground at Gulfstream Park.

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Largely because he has raced only four times with three wins and a second, Tappan Street is the 6-1 third choice on the morning line. For now the son of Into Mischief operates in the shadow of his undefeated stablemate Disco Time, the 8-5 favorite Saturday. Not that Cox was paying close attention to the program odds.

“I don’t know who the favorite is,” he said this week in a telephone interview with Horse Racing Nation. “But look, they’ve both run good numbers, they both deserve shots, and we’ll see what happens.”

Aside from graded-stakes type, one glaring difference between Tappan Street and Disco Time shows up on the left side of their past performances. Disco Time never has raced at Gulfstream Park. Tappan Street has raced only at Gulfstream Park, winning his December 2024 debut, placing second in the Holy Bull (G3), winning the Florida Derby (G1) and then coming back from a long break to win an allowance race last month.

Asked if that meant Tappan Street will enjoy a home-track advantage, Cox laughed and said, “It’s not a disadvantage, I can tell you that.”

Tappan Street, who is owned by WinStar, CHC, Cold Press and Qatar Racing, has been there and done that over the very 1 1/8-mile course where the Pegasus will be run. He beat likely horse of the year Sovereignty by 1 1/4 lengths March 29 in the Florida Derby. That was from post 9, one of those outside posts that has a statistical reputation for being difficult in nine-furlong races on Gulfstream’s main track. This weekend Tappan Street makes the short dash to the first turn from post 7 with Luis Sáez, who rode to that Florida Derby triumph.

“That was definitely his best race so far,” Cox said. “Obviously he beat a very good horse in the Florida Derby.”

Carrying 12-1 futures odds in Nevada, tied for third shortest, Tappan Street loomed a big threat in Kentucky Derby 2025. Everything came to a screeching halt after a final breeze the week before the race when he was diagnosed with a small condylar crack in his right front cannon bone. Successful surgery followed, and so did a long pause.

After 8 1/2 months between races, Tappan Street came back Dec. 19 with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. riding to victory in a $62,500 allowance mile going one turn at Gulfstream Park. He delivered a 90 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form, second only to his 94 from the Florida Derby.

“I know that he’s not a one-turn horse,” Cox said. “I thought it was a workmanlike effort. I will say this, I feel like he got a good bit out of it based off what he showed us in his three works (since).”

On consecutive Saturdays this month at Payson Park in Florida, Tappan Street was clocked at 49.6 seconds for four furlongs and then 1:02.4 and a bullet 1:01.6 breezing five furlongs.

“His first two works back were solo moves, really good breezes,” Cox said. “Then I put him in company (with fellow Grade 1 winner Saudi Crown) this past weekend, and he really turned it on. He came out of it in great shape. He’s enjoying the full mornings here at Payson, and he’s set up for a big run.”

As it is with Disco Time, there should be a lot of early speed for Tappan Street to pursue up the backstretch Saturday. Full Serrano in post 3, Madaket Road in 6 and Mika in 10 are the most likely candidates to set the pace. Disco Time is more of a stalker than Tappan Street, who came from 3 1/2 lengths off the pace to win the Florida Derby. On the other hand, Tappan Street was no more than a length off the lead en route to his allowance win against five open-company rivals last month.

“He’s going to have some speed to run at,” Cox said. “He’s a very good gate horse, so I expect him to break well. He’ll be somewhat involved, but he’ll probably be tracking a few.”

With only four races to his name, Tappan Street offers the hope that good health will let him have the successful season he might have enjoyed if not for what literally was a bad break last spring.

“Yeah, for sure,” Cox said. “He’s a 4-year-old, he’s run four times, he’s a Grade 1 winner, and he was on the Derby trail. I don’t know if he was going to be the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, but he was definitely going to be one of the top two or three choices. He’s a big, strong colt that’s moving well that I think is going to have a big 2026.”

Cox left it to ownership to set that calendar. For now he is optimistic about the short term for Tappan Street. And for Disco Time. And about how the Pegasus will go this weekend.

“If all goes well, I expect them both to run big races,” Cox said. “I expect them to run big. I see them both being in the mix. I feel like we’ve got a big shot to be one-two, to be honest.”