HALLANDALE BEACH Fla. – With only two starts, and none since a strong second-place finish in the Grade 3 Holy Bull here nearly two months ago, Tappan Street might be flying a bit under the radar when he attempts to earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby. Tappan Street, a $1 million yearling purchase, did not start his career until the final week of his 2-year-old season, registering a game 1 1/4-length victory in what has turned out to be a key maiden race at seven furlongs on Dec. 26. The son of Into Mischief was backed to 8-5 favorite in the Holy Bull off that effort and was seemingly on his way to victory when getting clear at midstretch before being run down late by the more experienced Burnham Square. “He ran a good race in the Holy Bull, we didn’t want to wheel him back in four weeks, and decided to train him up to the Florida Derby,” trainer Brad Cox said Monday. “Everything has gone well. We’re happy with his works leading up to the race. His gallop-outs have been very strong, and we have a lot of confidence he’s going to show up and run a big race. “He’s a talented horse. I think he’ll get the distance. It’s all about getting the trip.” Cox has had success shipping around the country after having wintered at Payson Park. And he’s hopeful he’ll be seeing even more of that in the weeks ahead as he slowly begins to turn his focus to the Kentucky circuit during the spring. :: Get Gulfstream Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. “It’s been a great winter,” Cox said. “Obviously, we’ve used Payson as a training center to ship horses out to run at Oaklawn Park, the Fair Grounds, Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs, and Turfway Park, as well as Gulfstream, and we’ve had winners at all those locations. And I’m looking forward to seeing how these horses respond when we begin going north, where a lot of the ones who’ve wintered down here will be competing at Keeneland. Right now, the plan is to stay at Payson for a good bit of April, with several more horses to start here at Gulfstream as well in the coming month.” D’Angelo has weekend sweep Trainer Jose D’Angelo had himself a banner weekend, sweeping both turf sprint stakes for 3-year-olds, the Texas Glitter with Incanto on Saturday and its filly counterpart, the Melody of Colors, the following afternoon with Cloe. Incanto rallied from off a lightning-fast pace set by his stablemate Gabaldon, who was making his first start since finishing second in the Windsor Castle nine months earlier at Royal Ascot. Incanto ultimately ran down the leaders to register a neck decision while making his stakes debut in the Texas Glitter. The outing was just the third for the Irish-bred since being transferred to D’Angelo prior to the start of his 3-year-old campaign. Cloe, likewise, began her career elsewhere before joining D’Angelo’s large and potent stable just a few weeks before her impressive wire-to-wire decision over the 2-1 favorite Me Governor in the Melody of Colors in her turf debut. The daughter of Tiz the Law earned a career-best 86 Beyer Speed Figure for her 1 3/4-length victory. “I really liked this filly since she arrived at the barn. I think she’s special,” D’Angelo said. “I spoke with the owner, and we had plenty of options. I worked her two times, one time on the dirt and one time on the grass, and I said she’s definitely grass. That’s why we decided to go into this race, and she responded very well.” D’Angelo had mixed emotions about the outcome of the Texas Glitter. He was elated with Incanto’s performance but disappointed for Gabaldon, a horse who is responsible for one of the highlights of his training career. “Gabaldon brought me to Ascot for the first time and gave me a magic moment over there. But I knew it would be tough for him coming off the layoff and [Emisael Jaramillo] had to push him too much early to get the lead from the 6 [post-time favorite No Evidence],” D’Angelo said after the race. “Incanto, he got the perfect pace setup for him.” D’Angelo is hoping his stakes success will carry over to this Saturday’s Florida Derby card when he sends out Spirited Boss in the Sanibel Island Stakes on the turf off two straight one-sided victories on Tapeta and Enterdadragon, runner-up in the Colonel Liam Stakes on turf earlier this month, as an outsider on dirt in the Florida Derby. ◗ Wednesday is the start of the final week of the 2024-25 Championship meet, which began on Thanksgiving Day for the first time this season. Unfortunately, there will be little drama when it comes to the jockey or trainer races, with perennial leaders Irad Ortiz Jr. and Saffie Joseph Jr. having long ago sewn up the title in their respective divisions. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. ◗ The Rainbow 6 jackpot narrowly survived again on Sunday, with six horses alive for the entire pool going into the finale. The race was ultimately won by 6-5 favorite Beach Gold, resulting in multiple winning tickets returning a generous $10,305 payoff for a 20-cent wager. The same situation unfolded the previous afternoon with a final payout of $13,647 for each winning ticket after 5-2 choice A. P. Kid won the nightcap. There will be a mandatory payout of the entire Rainbow 6 jackpot this Sunday, closing day of the meet. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.