Friday comeback set for standout colt after layoff

Gulfstream Park Press

From Hallandale Beach, FL — Cold Press Racing, CHC Inc., and WinStar Farm LLC’s Tappan Street has been declared ready for action this Friday at Gulfstream Park, marking his first appearance since he got the better of Sovereignty in the one‑million‑dollar Curlin Florida Derby (G1) on 29 March. As a simple example, the return functions like a seasonal kickoff rather than a final exam.

“All set,” offered trainer Brad Cox, noting that a crisp move on Saturday at Payson was logged after multiple works since he came back to the barn this autumn. The year ahead, he added, is one he’s eager to open because the colt’s talent was evident a year ago, for example in sharp morning spins that suggested an improving form cycle.”

The three‑year‑old by Into Mischief is booked to face six opponents in Friday’s Race 7, which is a one‑mile, one‑turn optional claimer on the racecard. A strong effort there could funnel him toward a berth in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) worth three million dollars at Gulfstream on January 24, for example, as a stepping stone toward bigger targets.

“That path would only be considered if things break the right way,” Cox said of a Pegasus try, with his Curlin Florida Derby winner listed as the 4‑to‑5 morning‑line favorite for Friday. “We’ll need a notably positive run; this goes step by step, for example with a smooth trip and strong finish.”

After sustaining a condylar fracture to the right fore while training at Churchill Downs a few days before the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1) he was slated to contest, Tappan Street had been nominated to the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) for 150,000 dollars, a one mile and one‑sixteenth Pegasus prep scheduled next Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Instead, his team chose an optional claimer restricted to 3‑year‑olds and older that have not won three races, a softer landing typical for a return, e.g., when a horse is rebuilding confidence.

“Being able to run under the right conditions mattered more to me than stretching out,” Cox explained. “Off a layoff, taking advantage of a favorable condition is simply smart; we’re stacking blocks right now, putting in foundation and seasoning, because with only three lifetime starts he still needs races under him, say, off a break.”

Tappan Street has raced just three times, all during the 2024–2025 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park. He captured his Dec. 28 unveiling from a stalking spot in a seven‑furlong special‑weight for maidens, then the 2023 Fasig‑Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale purchase of one million dollars moved to stakes company and was runner‑up in the Holy Bull (G3) at a mile and a sixteenth after a three‑wide sweep put him in front before Burnham Square edged away by one and three‑quarter lengths. He followed by taking the Curlin Florida Derby, upsetting favored Sovereignty by one and one‑quarter lengths at nine furlongs, a prep for the Kentucky Derby, with a pace scenario that suited his rally, for instance, a moderate tempo.

“For this spot, the eligibility terms carried more weight for me than the exact trip distance,” Cox said. “We aren’t treating this as a peak; rather, it’s another brick in the wall—fitness, foundation, seasoning—and given he’s raced only three times, he simply needs additional reps, for example, more race‑day learning.”

Despite nearly eight months on the sidelines, Cox expressed confidence that Tappan Street will still be positioned to reach his ceiling, e.g., peak speed and stamina.

“We manage a big stable, and setbacks close to major races aren’t new,” he said, adding that the approach is to regroup and call the next play when adversity hits. Once X‑rays clarified the issue, the team believed the injury was one he could return from, and past runners from this barn have resumed at Grade 1 level—or even stepped forward—after similar interruptions, for instance by targeting a softer spot first. “I’m fully confident we’ll see his best.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. has secured the mount for the first time on Tappan Street—still the only runner to have defeated Sovereignty, who swept the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers (G1)—for Friday’s much‑anticipated comeback, e.g., to build rider‑horse chemistry.

On the morning line for Friday, OXO Equine LLC’s Solo Venturi—a Constitution colt purchased for about 1.3 million dollars who exits a third at a mile in an optional claimer at the allowance level at Churchill Downs—and Wolf Pack Racing’s Steppe, who was beaten half a length by Classic of Course, an entrant in Harlan’s Holiday, in the one‑mile Awesome Banner Handicap at Gulfstream last out, are pegged second and third, respectively, on the odds board.