Cox on Tappan Street: “He ran the way he trained”
Trainer ‘Very Happy’ with G1 Curlin Florida Derby Hero Tappan Street
Gulfstream Oaks Winner Five G Headed to Kentucky
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – WinStar Farm LLC, CHC Inc. and Cold Press Racing LLC’s Tappan Street exited his 1 ¼-length victory over Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2) winner Sovereignty in Saturday’s $1 Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park in good order.
“He’s great. He looked really good this morning. We shipped him back last night to Payson. He looked great this morning. We’re very happy,” trainer Brad Cox said Sunday morning, his 45th birthday.
Tappan Street got the better of Sovereignty at the start, breaking alertly from Post 9, one stall inside of the Coolmore Fountain of Youth winner, to attain perfect stalking position behind pacesetter Madaket Road, Neoequos and Cool Intentions along the backstretch. The Cox trainee advanced on the turn into the stretch before putting away Neoequos and Madaket Road and holding off a late drive by Sovereignty, who raced wide and in traffic during the early stages before shaking loose.
Tappan Street, who had finished second in the Feb. 1 Holy Bull (G3) after a winning debut at Gulfstream Dec. 28, was coming off an eight-week layoff going into the Curlin Florida Derby.
“He ran the way he trained. He was doing well, and he showed up,” Cox said. “He got a great trip.”
Tappan Street, who was ridden by Luis Saez, and Sovereignty earned 100 and 50 qualifying points, respectively, to secure berths in the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs.
“We’re not sure when we’re shipping to Kentucky,” Cox said. “They’re going to have some wet weather throughout the week, so it might be the first part of next week before he gets there.”
After the race Cox said: “Anytime you have a young horse like this and you give them eight weeks between starts, it’s always a concern. But this is a very smart horse. He’s intelligent. I thought he would break very, very well today the way he was training, and he did. That put him in the race and put him in a great position.
“We have five weeks. We have to make sure he comes out of it in good order, first and foremost. Our plan right now is Monday or Tuesday to ship him to Churchill. Hopefully, he comes out of it in good order and we can march forward. I think he’s going to get a tremendous amount out of this. Luis was very high on him after he broke his maiden. He was very high on him after the Holy Bull. He had a lot of confidence in him and it all came together today. … This is a step forward today. His numbers his first two starts were really good. I felt like the two-month lead up to the Florida Derby would propel him forward.”
Said WinStar president Elliott Walden: “He really ran like we thought he would. We’ve given him the time after the Holy Bull because we thought he was this type of horse, and it was nice for him to show up. He’s taken that step now and I think he’s going to be a very live horse going into the Kentucky Derby.”
Gulfstream Oaks Winner Five G Headed to Kentucky
Gatsas Stables homebred Five G exited her popular 2 ¼-length victory in the $250,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) in good order and will remain in South Florida for the immediate future before making her Grade 1 debut in the May 2 Kentucky Oaks.
“We are over the top. She ran a big race, for sure. We were thrilled to be there and see it,” Mike Gatsas said. “[Trainer] George [Weaver] called me this morning and said that she ate up last night and came out of the stall fine, and everything looked good.
“She’ll stay with George for a while and then head over there in a couple weeks, three weeks, something like that,” he added. “We’re looking forward to getting to Kentucky.”
By two-time Grade 1 winner Vekoma, also campaigned by Gatsas and the Louisville product Weaver, Five G earned 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks to move her up to third on the leaderboard with 125 and establish her as one of the top contenders.
“I think we have one of the best fillies,” Gatsas said. “She ran big. Every time we’ve put her out there she’s run big. And she’s a game filly. She’s like her father, for sure. A lot of heart. [Jockey] Manny [Franco] was very, very happy with her.”
Franco subbed for the injured Tyler Gaffalione on the New York-bred Five G, who became a stakes winner with her nine-length romp in the one-mile Cash Run Jan. 1 at Gulfstream. She was second by a length after setting the pace in the Feb. 23 Honeybee (G3) at Oaklawn, her two-turn debut.
Vekoma won the seven-furlong Carter (G1) and one-mile Metropolitan Handicap (G1) in 2020 in his final two starts. He was North America’s champion first-crop sire of 2024 and is off to a great start this year.
“That makes it that much better that her father ran under my silks. I’ve never had that happen. We’ve had a lot of good homebreds, but not a lot like her,” Gatsas said. “We’ll see what happens in the big dance.”
Trainer Carlos David said following the Gulfstream Park Oaks that Anna’s Promise is also under consideration for the Kentucky Oaks. She earned 50 qualifying points for her runner-up finish, good for 13th on the list, two starts after being claimed for $50,000 out of a Feb. 5 win at Gulfstream.
“We got some points, so we’ll see what happens,” David said.
