Rombauer made his sophomore seasonal debut a winning one in the feature race at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Saturday, the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles. With the victory, Rombauer earned 10 Kentucky Derby points and an all-expenses paid, free berth into the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, on Saturday, May 15. Jockey Kyle Frey guided the son of Twirling Candy to victory for trainer Michael McCarthy.
Sent off as the 6-5 favorite in the field of eight, Rombauer sat last for the first three quarters of a mile before making an outside move on the far turn. Swinging for home while still in the clear, Rombauer quickly picked off six rivals in midstretch before digging down deep to collar runner-up finisher Javanica in the final 50 yards.
Javanica, a filly racing against boys for Godolphin, finished a neck off of Rombauer at the finish. 99-1 shot Govenor's Party completed the trifecta and It's My House, who set the pace before fading in the final furlong, held on for fourth place. Waspirant, Petruchio, Tesoro and Play Chicken completed the order of finish. Rombauer covered nine furlongs on Tapeta in 1:51.64 seconds.
With the El Camino Real Derby victory in the bag, Rombauer improved his overall record to two wins and one second-place finish from five lifetime starts, with career earnings of $210,500. Rombauer is a homebred colt bred by owners John and Diane Fradkin. McCarthy picked up his second El Camino Real Derby victory with the score, having finished first with Paved in 2018.
This is the second El Camino Real Derby win for Jockey Kyle Frey, who won the race in 2017 aboard Zakaroff.
Live racing at Golden Gate Fields resumes Sunday afternoon, with first post set at 12:45 PM. PT.
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