Tappan Street gives Brad Cox first Florida Derby win; Sandman takes Arkansas Derby

• Tappan Street, a son of Into Mischief, clinched 100 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby
• Sandman, a son of Tapit, got his first graded-stakes win in the Arkansas Derby

Louisville trainer Brad Cox picked up his first Florida Derby victory and found another contender for the Kentucky Derby.

Tappan Street made a five-wide move off the final turn and raced to a 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s $1 million, Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

Ridden by Luis Saez, Tappan Street covered the 1 ⅛ miles in 1:49.27 and paid $6.80 to win on a $2 wager.

“Hopefully this is a big step forward for this colt,” Cox said. “I’m proud of the performance. … He’s got a great mind, knows how to turn it on and off. I think the best is yet to come. Obviously, the Kentucky Derby is the main goal.”

Tappan Street earned 100 qualifying points for the May 3 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, virtually assuring himself in a field limited to 20 runners.

Sovereignty, the 8-5 favorite, finished second and was followed by Neoequos and Madaket Road.

Madaket Road, the Bob Baffert trainee ridden by Mike Smith, set fractions of 23.37 seconds for the quarter-mile, 47.22 seconds for the half-mile and 1:11.61 for three-quarters before fading.

"We knew the speed was inside, and we followed the speed," Saez said. "Everything came out perfect. He was travelling professionally today. ... I think it's (Kentucky Derby) going to be a perfect race for him because he can sit anywhere."

A son of Into Mischief, Tappan Street improved to 2-1-0 in three career starts. He entered off a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes on Feb. 1.

A $1 million purchase at the 2023 New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, Tappan Street is co-owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and Cold Press Racing.

Sandman wins Arkansas Derby

Sandman sat behind a blistering early pace and rallied to win the $1.5 million, Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park and earn 100 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz and trained by Mark Casse, Sandman covered the 1 ⅛ miles in 1:50.08 and paid $9.40 to win on a $2 wager.

Publisher was second and was followed by Coal Battle and Cornucopian.

Cornucopian, trained by Baffert, and Speed King hooked up in an early speed dual, setting fractions of 22.46 seconds for the quarter-mile, 45.21 seconds for the half-mile and 1:10.37 for three-quarters before fading.

Coal Battle was the first to pass the front-runners before Sandman rallied past, drifting a bit along the way.

A $1.2 million son of Tapit, Sandman improved to 3-1-2 in eight career starts. He had been 0 for 4 in graded stakes, most recently finishing third in the Grade 2 Rebel on Feb. 23 at Oaklawn.

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.