HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - When the two leaders, Commandment and The Puma, hit the finish line as one in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby, even the most discerning eye had trouble separating them at the wire.  That included Brad Cox, Commandment's trainer, who admitted while awaiting the results of the photo finish that even he was unsure whether his horse had won or lost. “When they first hit the wire, I thought he (Commandment) had a shot,” Cox said in the winner’s circle after the race. “Although, to be honest, I really, really couldn’t tell.” In the end, it was Commandment who prevailed by the slimmest of margins over The Puma, with Chief Wallabee finishing just another half-length farther back in third, in one of the most exciting races in the 75-year Florida Derby history. Cox also won the Florida Derby a year ago with Tappan Street, a horse who never made it to the Kentucky Derby after suffering a season-ending injury just a week before the race. Cox also admitted that he wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence as he watched the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby unfold late Saturday afternoon at Gulfstream Park. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports are available now.  “I’m really glad we came out on the right end, but based on what I was seeing early on, up the backside and even into the far turn, I wasn’t really loving it,” Cox said. “There wasn’t a tremendous amount of pace, it looked like the top flight was traveling well and he was coming under a ride a little bit.” With Flavien Prat aboard for the first time, Commandment dropped back to the rear of the scratch-reduced field of just six 3-year-olds during the race's early stages. Commandant fell about five lengths behind Wayne’s Law, who recovered to set the pace despite stumbling immediately after the start. Commandment was last and under some pressure while moving closer to the leaders around the second turn.  He swung widest of all while continuing his rally into the stretch, finishing resolutely down the center of the course to stick his nose in front in the final stride. The Puma came into the race off a wide-running victory in the Tampa Bay Derby just three weeks ago, and jockey Javier Castellano employed a similar strategy on Saturday, The Puma made a decisive run outside horses on the second turn to gain the lead from Nearly entering the stretch. The Puma edged clear of the tiring Nearly through midstretch and appeared on his way to victory at that point, only to suffer a heartbreaking defeat when nailed by Commandment right on the wire. Chief Wallabee, who came out second-best while beaten just a neck by Commandment in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth here four weeks ago, was not much farther back again in their second meeting. Well placed from the outset just behind the early leaders, Chief Wallabee was shuffled back briefly midway through the second turn, eased out for clearance while within easy striking distance near midstretch, only to come up just short between the top two at the end. Nearly, sent postward as the somewhat surprising 7-5 favorite off his easy win in the Grade 3 Holy Bull eight weeks earlier, prompted the pace and maintained a short advantage after six furlongs before gradually weakening through the final furlong to finish fourth. He was followed by the tiring Wayne’s Law and Timeless Victory, who was being eased up at the end. :: DRF Road to the Derby Package Available Now! Save 37% on key handicapping essentials through Kentucky Derby day. Commandment added an additional 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points on Saturday to the 50 he had already earned for winning the Fountain of Youth. The Puma is also safely in the Derby field, with 106 points, while Chief Wallabee could be on the fence with 50 points and Nearly, with just 35 points, likely on the outside looking in when it comes to this year’s Kentucky Derby field. Commandment, a son of Into Mischief owned by Wathnan Racing, completed the distance over a fast track in 1:49.99 (100 Beyer Speed Figure) and paid $5.80 as the second choice. “When Flavien started to call on him inside the three-eighths pole, my mindset was this was a good race and it’s going to set him up well for the Derby, win or lose,” Coxed said. “But I think the way he responded, it put to bed the question of how far he wants to go. I think he showed he can get the mile and an eighth and, with the right trip, a mile and one quarter."  Cox also said he’s happy Commandment will have five weeks to recuperate from this effort and the equally grueling Fountain of Youth before the Kentucky Derby. “I’m glad we’ve got five weeks. Actually six might even be better,” Cox said with a laugh. “But he’s a big, sturdy horse and he takes his races really well.”  As for his jockey situation moving forward, Cox said that will be determined with three more Derby preps still to come next week. Irad Ortiz Jr., who had ridden Commandment to victory in the Fountain of Youth, won the Arkansas Derby in impressive fashion aboard Renegade on Saturday. And while Prat lost one potential Derby mount, Palladin, who was injured in a workout earlier on Saturday, he is also the regular rider for his stablemate Emerging Market, winner of the Louisiana Derby one week ago. “We still have to see how things play out as far as a rider goes, although he’s a pretty straightforward horse, easy to ride,” Cox said. “He’s full of class and with a great mind that I think should also take him a long ways.” Cox’s elation when the final result of the Florida Derby photo finish was posted was matched by the frustration felt by the connections of runner-up The Puma. “Honestly, I thought he won. I never do that, but I started celebrating after they crossed the wire,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant to his father, trainer Gustavo Delgado Sr. “He couldn’t have run any better and the race should set him up well for the Derby.” Chief Wallabee’s trainer Bill Mott said he thought the difference between winning and again finishing just behind Commandment in the Florida Derby was experience. Chief Wallabee came into the race with only two previous starts. “I thought he had a good enough trip, he turned for home, he tipped out, had the whole length of the stretch to run them down,” Mott said. “The horse that beat him, the same horse that beat him last time, he’s got more experience.”   Trainer Todd Pletcher said he felt Nearly did not handle the track as well as he had in each of his three previous local victories. “I thought we got a good trip,” Pletcher said. “Obviously the track’s a little bit on the slower side and Johnny (Velazquez) felt, when he asked him to go, he was spinning his wheels.” - Additional reporting by David Grening          :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.