Tappan Street
CHC Inc., WinStar Farm and Cold Press Racing’s GI Florida Derby hero Tappan Street (Into Mischief) makes his highly anticipated return to the races Dec. 20 in the GIII Harlan’s Holiday S. at Gulfstream Park.
Winning on debut at Gulfstream Dec. 28, the $1-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga purchase followed suit with a good second in that venue’s GIII Holy Bull S. in February, after which jockey Luis Saez declared he was going to win the GI Kentucky Derby. Tappan Street stamped himself as a major contender for the Run for the Roses with a good-looking victory in the GI Florida Derby in late March. He beat next-out Derby winner Sovereignty in that race, making him the only horse to cross the wire ahead of that likely champion all year.
Sadly, Tappan Street exited his final work at Churchill Downs, just one week before the Derby, with a condylar fracture and was sent to the sidelines. After a successful surgery and smooth recovery at WinStar, the hulking bay spent the month of October at Keeneland before shipping to trainer Brad Cox’s winter base at Payson Park in Florida. He has been pleasing Cox in his breezes at that venue leading up to this return, most recently covering five furlongs in 1:02.20.
“He’s doing very well and we’re very excited about where he is at right now,” Cox said in a recent DRF article. “He is a very talented, classy horse and physically he looks amazing.”
Tappan Street’s major early season goal is the $5-million GI Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Jan. 24.
“Tappan Street has matured into an absolute beast of a horse during this time off,” said CHC’s Christie DeBernardis. “He is truly incredible both physically and mentally and we could not be more excited to have him back training. We are very much looking forward to his return to the races in less than 10 days and hope it will set him up well for his main target, the Pegasus.”
“While it was an absolute gut punch to miss the Derby, we are big believers in this horse and think he is a big future ahead of him,” DeBernardis added. “We believe he will be one of the top older horses in 2026.”