Going off as the fifth choice, Rombauer stormed past favorites Medina Spirit (Protonico) and Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) in the stretch to win by 3 1/2 lengths. It was the first Preakness victory for trainer Michael McCarthy and jockey Flavien Prat and the first Grade I win for his breeders and owners, the Fradkins.

“It was a glorious day,” John Fradkin said as he reflected on last year's achievement. “At the time I was not expecting to win, but I didn't think it was impossible. I knew the horse was doing really well and I knew he would run the race of his life, but I didn't think he would improve as much as he did.”

Since that unforgettable day, Fradkin has learned just what is meant when it is said that racing is a game of highs and lows. After another big-hearted effort to run third in the GI Belmont S., Rombauer enjoyed a 90-day layoff and returned to the racetrack last fall. He was preparing for bids in the G1 Dubai World Cup and GI Pacific Classic when he took a bad step during training and was officially retired early this year.

While the Fradkins were disappointed in how their stable star's racing career was put to a sudden end, they now have big plans for the Classic winner. This month, they launched a campaign for Rombauer's stud career and are hoping to send him to the big leagues in the Bluegrass.

“We would really like to see him stand in Kentucky,” Fradkin said. “He got hurt at a very inopportune time where it was too late to do anything for this year's breeding season. To give him the best chance, it made sense to do it right and wait until next year. Everyone likes first-crop stallions and I don't think it's impossible for him to get 150 mares in 2023.”

Rombauer won first time out as a juvenile, speeding home in :22.93 going a mile on the turf at Del Mar. Also at two, he ran second in his dirt debut in the GI American Pharoah S. and was fifth in the 2020 GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He was successful on the Tapeta at Golden Gate in his winning sophomore debut in the El Camino Real Derby and was third in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. ahead of his victory at Pimlico, which was the sixth-fastest running of the Preakness at its current distance.

Rombauer bests Medina Spirit and Midnight Bourbon in the 2021 Preakness S. | EquiSport Photos

“I always had high hopes for him,” Fradkin noted. “He seemed to always have the look of eagles and he was a good mover. He was also really intelligent, even from the times when I played with him in the field. Eddie Woods really liked him so I always had high hopes, but he obviously surpassed all our hopes.”

While Fradkin pointed to Rombauer's versatility and precocity as some of his best credentials as a future stallion, he said the 4-year-old's most attractive quality for breeders will be his pedigree. He explained how Rombauer is bred on a similar cross to hot sire Gun Runner, noting the success Candy Ride (Arg) and his sons have had with Storm Cat-line mares, and he also talked about the quality surrounding Rombauer's female family.

Rombauer's second dam, Ultrafleet (Afleet), was purchased by the Fradkins as a yearling for $10,500 in 1993. She never placed in a race, but went on to become a highly-successful broodmare. She produced five-time graded winner California Flag (Avenue of Flags) and MGSW Cambiocorsa (Avenue of Flags), the dam of four stakes winners including Grade II winners Moulin de Mougin (Curlin) and Schiaparelli (Ghostzapper). Cambiocorsa's GISP daughter Vionnet (Street Sense) produced European highweight and multiple Group 1 winner Roaring Lion (Kitten's Joy).

“Even if I didn't have anything to do with this horse, I would look at that pedigree and think, wow that's an amazing family,” Fradkin said. “It's done a lot of everything. Rombauer is a Classic winner on dirt. Roaring Lion is a Classic winner in Europe going a mile and a half. Then you have California Flag who won a Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Basically this family can do it all.”

Fradkin said he believes that Rombauer's dam, Cashmere (Cowboy Cal), has inherited her family's potent genetics. She has produced five winners from five to race. Three of those won as first-time starters. The mare's 3-year-old daughter Republique (Strong Mandate) just won on debut at Gulfstream in April and she also has a promising 2-year-old Cairo Prince colt named Alexander Helios in training with Michael McCarthy.

“There's a lot of precocity there and there's a good chance that Rombauer can pass that on,” Fradkin said. “I think if he gets a shot in Kentucky, he has a good chance to succeed. There's so much in that family that you know is going to come out eventually.”

Rombauer currently resides at WinStar Farm. There has already been interest in the stallion prospect, but Fradkin is biding his time and waiting for the right offer to come in.

“We're looking forward to supporting him and cheering on a whole crop of baby Rombauers in the future,” he said. “It's not all about the money. There is reason to believe that Japanese interests will come to look at him in September, but I would accept a lower offer from Kentucky because it would be more fun for us. If you look at history, almost every male Preakness winner who wasn't a gelding got a chance to stand in Kentucky, so why not Rombauer?”

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The 4-year-old son of Twirling Candy had not raced since a third-place effort in last year's Belmont Stakes, after which he'd developed some ankle issues. He'd returned to work in October with trainer Michael McCarthy, but following what owner John Fradkin called a “bad step” during morning training, it was decided to stop on the horse.

Fradkin told the TDN that Rombauer's projected 2022 campaign included the Dubai World Cup, the Grade 1 Pacific Classic, and perhaps a try on turf.

Rombauer retired with three wins in eight starts for earnings of $1,040,500. He won on debut as a 2-year-old at Del Mar, and he finished second in the G1 American Pharoah Stakes later in the year before ending his season with a sixth-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland.

He returned at three with a victory in the listed El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields, which earned him a guaranteed spot in that year's Preakness Stakes. Before that, he finished third in the G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, and his connections elected to skip the Kentucky Derby.

Rombauer came into the Preakness under the radar, with most of the attention going to Medina Spirit, Midnight Bourbon, and Concert Tour. However, his closing kick under jockey Flavien Prat engulfed the early speed of Medina Spirit and snuffed the stretch drive of Midnight Bourbon to win by 3 1/2 lengths at odds of 11-1.

The colt then finished third to Essential Quality in the Belmont Stakes in what would be his final start.

A homebred for John and Diane Fradkin, Rombauer is out of the unraced Cowboy Cal mare Cashmere, who is herself a Fradkin homebred.

Fradkin told DRF that stud plans were pending for the Preakness winner, acknowledging it was late in the commercial schedule to be making a deal on a new stallion and introducing him to the marketplace.

Read more at Daily Racing Form.

Read more at Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Trained by Michael McCarthy, Rombauer was an eye-catching maiden winner at first asking over the Del Mar turf course and finished runner-up when trying dirt for the first time in the GI American Pharoah S. before a creditable fifth behind champion Essential Quality (Tapit) in the 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He displayed further versatility in annexing the El Camino Real Derby on the Tapeta at Golden Gate in his sophomore debut last February and was third to Essential Quality in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. in April ahead of his fast-finishing, 3 1/2-length success at Old Hilltop. He was last seen reporting home a distant third in the GI Belmont S.

Rombauer emerged from the Belmont with some filling in his ankles and had lightened up, prompting a layoff. He returned to serious training this past October and recorded five workouts, but was beginning to carry pressure once again in his ankles. On Dec. 31, the first day of training at Santa Anita following three days of heavy rain, Rombauer “took a bad step” when galloping and connections elected to stop on him.

“We are very disappointed,” Fradkin said in an email. “We thought we were going to Dubai in March [for the G1 Dubai World Cup] and would make a good showing, and then we were hoping to run him in the [GI] Pacific Classic later in the year. We were also looking forward to trying him back on turf. I actually think turf was his best surface and he could have been one of the better turf horses in the country.

“That's the horseracing business for you,” he continued. “The highs are very high and the lows are very low, and both the good news and the bad news often come as surprises. Winning the Preakness was of course a very high high, as I did not expect to win that day. This is a pretty big low, but it's not a tragic one.”

One of seven Grade I winners for his sire, Rombauer is bred on the wildly successful cross of Candy Ride over Storm Cat-line mares responsible for the likes of Horse of the Year and top freshman sire Gun Runner, among others. A half-brother to SP Cono (Lucky Pulpit), Rombauer is out of a daughter of Ultrafleet (Afleet), purchased by Fradkin for $10,500 at Keeneland September in 1993 and who went on to produce MGSW Calfornia Flag (Avenue of Flags) as well as the tremendous MGSW producer Cambiocorsa (Avenue of Flags), dam of GSWs Moulin de Mougin (Curlin) and Schiaparelli (Ghostzapper); SW & GSP Bronson (Medaglia d'Oro); MSW Alexis Tangier (Tiznow); and GISP Vionnet (Street Sense), dam of the late MG1SW champion Roaring Lion (Kitten's Joy).

Rombauer retires with a record of 3-1-2 from eight starts and earnings of $1,040,500. No stud plans were immediately announced.

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Trainer Michael McCarthy said of the Twirling Candy colt: “He just hasn't been as sharp coming out of the Belmont. We didn't think the right thing to do was push it. He's done a lot for us. We'll do whatever he needs.”

Rombauer has raced four times this year, starting with a victory in the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California on Feb. 13. He shipped to Kentucky for the G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 3, finishing third, then returned to his base at Santa Anita to train up to the Triple Crown races.

The Fradkins opted to skip the G1 Kentucky Derby and instead point Rombauer for the Preakness, where he defeated Midnight Bourbon and Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit with a powerful stretch run.

He then finished third, beaten 12 1/2 lengths, by Essential Quality in the G1 Belmont Stakes on June 5.

Rombauer returned to the work tab June 25, going a half mile at Santa Anita, then recorded two additional five-furlong breezes on July 2 and 9.

McCarthy told Daily Racing Form that Rombauer will return to training in the fall and be pointed for a 4-year-old campaign, with the Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup early season goals for the Kentucky-bred colt.

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“I'm sure it's happened before,” says the farm's owner Ben Berger. “At Gainesway and Claiborne, Taylor Made and Lane's End, Darby Dan, all these farms. I'm sure they've had some really good horses come out of the same field. Stone Farm is supposed to have a magic field. But we probably have between 10 to 15 colts a year, and for two of them to end up in this race, one having placed in the [GI Kentucky] Derby and the other won the [GI] Preakness [S.], for a farm of our size it's awfully satisfying.”

None of us, even the most sensitive and devoted of their custodians, can get into the heads of these animals sufficiently to know whether some frisson of recognition might be renewed when Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) and Rombauer (Twirling Candy) stroll into the parade ring before the GI Belmont S. All we can do is marvel that the whole crop, conceived and foaled and raised for no greater purpose, should include among the elite sieved into the Classics these two former paddock buddies from a small Bluegrass nursery.

Rombauer was actually foaled and weaned at Machmer Hall but transferred to Woodstock, a 190-acre farm on the Old Frankfort Pike, by breeders John and Diane Fradkin after that operation went private; while Hot Rod Charlie was sent here after being astutely picked out by Bob and Sean Feld as a $17,000 short yearling.

Aside from coinciding in their trackwork over the coming mornings, the Belmont won't be actually the first time the two colts have met since Hot Rod Charlie went back down the road to Fasig-Tipton following an eight-month sojourn with Berger. Both lined up for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile a year later, finishing third and fifth respectively, but they have performed still better in the Classics. Hot Rod Charlie ran third in the Kentucky Derby; while Rombauer, having sat out that race, pounced as a fresh horse to win the Preakness. It now feels as though a couple of star pupils from the same provincial high school have ended up as opposing attorneys at the Supreme Court.

“They would have been in the same field, from February on,” Berger recalls. “We buddied them up because one was going to the racetrack and the other was going to October and didn't need to start at the same time as the September horses. So they'd have gone together from a large, 15- or 20-acre field down to a couple acre paddock.”

Hot Rod Charlie, of course, had soon been redeemed from virtual anonymity at the Fasig-Tipton February Sale by the blossoming of his half-brother Mitole (Eskendereya) into champion sprinter. As such, he was still very well bought at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale by Dennis O'Neill for $110,000. In the meantime, he had already shown a tendency to draw attention to himself.

“He was one of those that want to do things at his speed, as opposed to what we wanted him to do,” Berger recalls. “He was a nice, good-bodied horse, always very forward. But he was a high energy kind of colt, and wanted to do things his way. We could hardly ever get him just to let down and walk. He constantly wanted to jog on the shank. He wanted to be first in, and first out, and if he wasn't he got a little bit excitable. In sales prep it all came together a bit, we were taking more effort out of him every day, and he settled and showed himself nicely.”

Rombauer, in contrast, was a model pupil who obligingly followed a different program before heading down to Eddie Woods in Ocala.

“He was a more laidback horse,” Berger recalls. “Very straightforward, very easy to deal with. Maybe because he was that way, that's why they got along like they did. When Hot Rod Charlie went into prep, Rombauer kind of stayed with him. They stayed paddocked next to each other, once we separated them, and he was on the same routine.”

When you consider that Woodstock did something pretty similar at Keeneland's first Breeders' Cup, then they must be doing something right. In 2016, they could claim a share of the credit for both first and third in the GI Juvenile Fillies' Turf: winner Catch a Glimpse (City Zip) was bred by Branch Equine, then operated by Berger's late father Robert; while the third Nemoralia (More Than Ready) had been pinhooked by Berger with David Egan.

For good measure, that crop also included Suddenbreakingnews (Mineshaft), bred by Branch Equine and fifth in the Derby after winning the GIII Southwest S. He was duly fancied for the Belmont, but disappointed, so Berger knows not to get ahead of himself this time round. But then that's something that becomes second nature when you deal with young Thoroughbreds, whose only reliability is their capacity to surprise.

“There's some that you think will do well that go out and don't do a thing, and others you think are just nice horses, they go and surprise you and are really good horses,” Berger says. “Suddenbreakingnews was a nice, straightforward horse, but I never thought he would end up in a photo for third in the Derby. Catch a Glimpse was a nice filly, but we let her go for $75,000 because that's what we thought she was worth. But, while I can't look at a horse that I've raised and say, 'This is going to be a Grade I horse,' I think you can say, 'This horse has got a chance.' A better chance than others. But so many things after they leave us have to happen right.”

It's precisely because you can't ever be certain that you must give them all the same opportunity: if you believe in your regime, your system, then they will have a platform whatever their potential. For Berger, less is more: the less he interferes, the more Nature can draw on her own resources. And the relatively intimate scale of Woodstock enables him to back off without ever losing sight of the nuances.

“I think I tend to be a little bit less intensive, in terms of micromanaging their day,” he explains. “I bring them in, feed them, exercise them, groom them, turn them back out, and just try not to get in their way too much. I think horses are better in their natural element. I don't like to overthink it, don't want to reinvent the wheel. Keep them outside as long as you can. Take care of issues as they come up, and then get them back out there. Just let them be horses as much as possible, and become the best they can be. I can't make a horse be what it's not.”

Obviously, sales preparation entails a little more discipline, with dates pretty well carved in stone, but Berger retains due flexibility for the likes of Hot Rod Charlie.

“He couldn't just do the same thing every day, like some of them,” he explains. “We couldn't lunge him or put him on the walker every day. We had to take our time: exercise him harder for periods, and then when he started getting a little over the top, back up and hand walk for a while. I think sometimes we're able to do things like that, because we have less numbers. It's always easier if you try to work with a horse's personality and quirks rather than against them.”

Berger lost his father a couple of years ago but he had been present when Catch a Glimpse won at the Breeders' Cup.

“He bought her mother Halo River [Irish River {Fr}] as a weanling and raced her,” Berger says. “She won the Appalachian before it was graded, but probably the best race he ever won. And he was there the day Catch a Glimpse broke her dam's track record in the same race. That was the year my mother passed, and I think Catch a Glimpse helped a lot, she was a special horse to all of us.”

Berger Sr. had a long and colorful career before entering the Turf. He had grown up on a coal camp in Harlan County, Ky., but went away to Duke University where he played linebacker and defensive guard for the Blue Devils under Wallace Wade. He served in the Air Force as first lieutenant before returning to Duke for law school, and practiced for 20 years before buying an explosives plant to supply mining clients.

“All along, he loved animals,” Berger recalls. “He bred dogs at one point, imported a field trial dog from England or Ireland, and with horses he started with Morgans. He had some success showing, but soon found out that Morgan horse babies don't bring near as much as Thoroughbred babies do, so he kind of transitioned that way.”

Berger Sr. cut his teeth with syndicates, with Centennial Farms and Dogwood, and struck gold with a stake in 1990 Preakness winner Summer Squall (Storm Bird) before initiating his own program.

“My father always had fairly strong ideas, and liked to be able to test them without having to answer to someone else,” Berger says. “If it succeeded, great. If it didn't, then he would learn from it and do it different next time. So, he started buying mares and breeding some on his own. And then after about 15 or 20 years [in 1997] my mother bought the farm and he brought his horses there.”

Berger himself graduated from Amherst College, Ma., and spent a year in Manhattan as a paralegal. But his heart wasn't in city life and when he went up to Saratoga to see his father sell a Storm Bird filly, her disappointing price didn't prevent a game-changing weekend. Berger was introduced to the Taylor brothers, who were looking after some of his father's mares at the time (along with Mill Ridge and Darby Dan) and were suitably polite when he mentioned the idea of getting some experience on their farm someday. A couple of weeks later he showed up at the farm office.

One of the Taylor boys got onto the phone to Berger Sr.

“Your son's here. We kind of told him he could have a job. He wants to learn about horses. What do you think?”

“Well,” came the reply. “If he wants to learn about horses, put him where you think he's going to learn about horses.”

“So, they stuck me in a barn with 26 foaling mares,” recalls Berger. “He didn't ask them to coddle me or to treat me any differently than anybody else. I think he would probably have been happier if I'd gone to law school. But after a couple of years, I just found that I liked what I was doing, and thought I could make a living doing it.”

Even when the family acquired a farm, and Berger was given the chance to transfer the skills he had honed with stints in South Carolina and New York, besides one at Mill Ridge, he was left no doubt that he would have to earn his stripes. The manager Tom Wright was retained, and became something of a mentor. Berger spent a winter as nightwatchman, he mucked out, he did the accounts. On Wright's death, however, he was given his chance.

“Of course I made mistakes along the way, but we kept at it together,” Berger says. “I think in the end my father was fine about me working with the horses, it just wasn't something he had expected or pointed me towards. If anything, he may have tried to steer me away–but I was a little too hard-headed to listen.”

And thank goodness for that. Berger is meeting the exemplary standards to which he was raised and, while determinedly modest, can surely take pride in the niche he has created for Woodstock.

“My father liked to do a lot of different things, and liked to make his own way,” he says. “In almost everything he set out to do, he typically got pretty doggone close to what he wanted. He never tried to be real hands-on, raising foals, and didn't want to race an awful lot. What he really enjoyed was studying pedigrees and putting matings together. And whether they sold well or not, he enjoyed seeing those horses run well for other people as much as anything.

“The horses gave him great pleasure. And so did his children and grandchildren. He was a huge supporter of Duke football, and basketball, which didn't necessarily make him the most liked person in Lexington! He was a lucky guy. He lived his life the way he chose, and made it work out for himself. We were lucky to have him as a father, and as a boss. Wasn't always the easiest guy to work for, but I learned a lot of things from him that I probably don't want to admit now.”

Now Berger is likewise improvising his own path. He has just four mares of his own, and pinhooks four or five weanlings.

“We're a small farm, and I've been lucky to have good people here the whole time,” he says. “These two horses, I think we just tried to stay out of their way, and let them became what they could. Machmer Hall foaled and raised Rombauer, and we've had luck before with them. We all know each other, all work with each other. Every year there's a lot of really nice horses that go through sales, a lot that don't go through sales. But out of a 20,000-plus foal crop, for two to be in the same field and end up in the same Classic race two years down the line, well, we'd sure like to see them run one-two. This is a big business, but it's a small world.”

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Bred and raced by John and Diane Fradkin of Santa Ana, Calif., the son of Twirling Candy rallied from off the pace in the second turn and passed tiring pacesetters Medina Spirit and Midnight Bourbon to win the Preakness by 3 ½ lengths. His time of 1:53.62 was the eighth-fastest since the race distance was changed to 1 3/16 miles in 1925.

While McCarthy, 50, acquired plenty of experience in Triple Crown races during his long tour as an assistant to Hall of Fame-elect trainer Todd Pletcher, Rombauer was his first starter in the series since he opened his own stable in 2014. The well-respected, low-key, California-based horseman started receiving congratulatory calls and texts as soon as the race was over.

“It's been great,” McCarthy said. “It's nice to see this all kind of come together. The horse justified what I thought of him all along.”

The Fradkins and McCarthy have decided to ship Rombauer to Belmont Park Monday and are seriously considering running him in the 1 ½-mile Belmont June 5.

“We will go ahead and go to Belmont,” McCarthy said. “We will get there and see how he is and where he is at and go from there.”

Not counting 2020 when the Preakness was the last of the Triple Crown races to be run because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rombauer is the seventh horse since 1980 to win the Preakness after skipping the Kentucky Derby (G1). Three of the six – Codex (1980), Aloma's Ruler (1982), and Deputed Testamony (1983) – failed to win the Belmont Stakes. The other three – Red Bullet (2000), Rachel Alexandra (2009), Cloud Computing (2017) – did not enter the third leg of the Triple Crown. A total of 18 horses have completed the Preakness-Belmont double. Since the current Triple Crown schedule was adapted in 1932, no horse that skipped the Derby has won the Preakness and Belmont.

McCarthy was pushing to run Rombauer in the Kentucky Derby after he picked up enough qualifying points with his third-place finish in the Blue Grass (G2) April 3. However, the owners opted to bypass the Derby and wait for the Preakness. The colt, which the Fradkins had been unable to sell as planned as a 2-year-old, earned a fees-paid entry in the Preakness by winning the El Camino Real Derby, a 'Win & In' race Feb. 13 at Golden Gate Fields.

As he held Rombauer's lead shank Sunday morning outside the Preakness Stakes Barn, McCarthy did not second-guess the decision to skip the Derby but pointed to his consistency.

“It's right there on paper, the horse shows up every time,” McCarthy said. “The way the race shaped up at Churchill Downs, I'm not sure if he would've made any noise or not, but I think he would have been running late.”

The off-the-pace style that has worked on turf and Golden Gate's synthetic surface carried Rombauer to his first career dirt victory in the Preakness. Jockey Flavien Plat, riding the horse for the first time, sat sixth in the field of 10 about five lengths off the pace after a half-mile in 46.93 seconds. Medina Spirit, the Kentucky Derby winner, had a half-length lead at the time, but could not shake pressing Midnight Bourbon.

The race was developing as McCarthy had hoped and he watched from the stands as Prat and Rombauer accelerated entering the second turn and moved into contention.

“I thought it was fairly formful,” McCarthy said. “If anything, I thought we were maybe just a touch closer than what I expected. It always looked like Flavien was traveling well. He was never in a bad spot. It's only a 10-horse field but never at any time was the horse in a bad spot, finding any difficulty. The horse seemed to be responding to whatever Flavien was asking of him.”

In the stretch, Midnight Bourbon finally got his head in front of Medina Spirit. Rombauer had arrived, engaged Midnight Bourbon while racing about four wide and took command approaching the sixteenth pole.

“We got a good setup yesterday,” McCarthy said. “The way the track was playing, I was a bit concerned earlier in the day. The speed was good. The inside was good. I could see horses coming off the pace a little bit later on in the afternoon yesterday. So that sort of gave us a little sort of hope that the track was on the fairer side or getting to the fairer side.”

McCarthy and Prat discussed strategy for the Preakness and were in agreement on how Prat should ride the race.

“He said, 'I don't want to take the horse out of his style,'” McCarthy said.  “I said, 'that's the best thing to do. We've gotten here. We've come this far. It's the right move. Go ahead and do what you're comfortable with.'”

In the seven-plus seasons since he went home to the West Coast and launched a one-horse stable, McCarthy has emerged as one of the top trainers on the Southern California circuit. Among his big wins came with City of Light, who captured the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in 2018 and the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) in 2019.

Though Rombauer was 11-1 in the betting Saturday, McCarthy said he was confident going into the Preakness.

“It's one of those things where you like to say it would be pleasant surprise, but I thought the horse would run well,” he said. “I kept telling everyone that he would definitely run a mile and three-sixteenths. I just hoped he would do it as fast as everyone else. He did that and a little more.”

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The Twirling Candy colt was born and raised at Brogden's Paris, Ky. farm for owner/breeders John and Diane Fradkin, who boarded their modest broodmare band at Machmer Hall until the farm privatized in late 2018.

Rombauer caught the betting public somewhat flat-footed as a winner at odds of 11.80-to-one, but the colt's classic performance also took Brogden by surprise.

“We never expected what happened,” she said. “We just couldn't believe it. I am so happy for the Fradkins. They stuck through it all. They had a great mare with a great family, and they believed in her, and that's what owner-breeders need to do.”

Rombauer's dam, the fellow Fradkin homebred Cashmere, was hardly a mare slated for classic success on the surface. Her sire, Cowboy Cal, was exported to Korea with little fanfare as a sire of runners or broodmares, and she never made a start before entering production.

Looking at the bottom of her page, though, revealed why Cashmere was kept to extend her bloodline. She is a half-sister to a pair of Grade 3 winners in California Flag and Cambiocorsa, the latter of which is a multiple graded stakes producer and the second dam of the great Roaring Lion.

The part of Cashmere that kept her in the broodmare band – the strong record of production in the female family – is what ultimately rewarded the Fradkins. Her first two foals were stakes-placed runners, and when it came time to plan the mare's fourth mating, Brogden said John Fradkin paid attention to his surroundings.

“John picked out Twirling Candy himself to breed to Cashmere, and what I think he did was just watch all the 2-year-old sales, and picked what he felt was the best value-for-money sire, and he picked Twirling Candy,” Brogden said. “I don't want to take any credit for this mating. He already knew we were huge fans of Twirling Candy, and have been featured in all the ads for the stallion. We've had unbelievable success with Twirling Candy. We bred (Grade 1 winner) Gift Box, and we had an $825,000 2-year-old by him.”

Rombauer came about on April 17, 2018, and he spent the first eight months of his life at Machmer Hall.

“He was uncomplicated,” Brogden said. “He had no conformational issues, he had no birthing issues, he had no sickness issues. He was just what a lot of people say about top graded stakes winners; they were uncomplicated and they didn't get in their own way.”

A few months after Rombauer was weaned, the Fradkins moved their breeding interests to Ben Berger's Woodstock Farm in Lexington, Ky., after the Brogden family decided to privatize their operation and raise only their own foals.

Though they are no longer directly in business together, Brogden maintains a good relationship with the Fradkins, and followed the career of their colt closely.

As a juvenile, Rombauer picked up his first black type with a runner-up effort in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes, before running fifth in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He clinched an all-expenses-paid trip and more Kentucky Derby qualifying points with a win in the El Camino Real Derby, then ran third in the G2 Blue Grass Stakes.

Brogden, rarely one to mince words, let John know how disappointed she was when he decided to skip the Derby, even though he had enough points to make the field, but she couldn't argue with the reasoning.

“I felt like he belonged in the race,” Brogden said. “John, in all fairness, said he wanted to do the right thing by the horse, and he didn't think he was ready for the Derby, and wanted to target the Preakness.”

As it often proves out, doing right by the horse ended up being the right call.

Cashmere continues to reside at Woodstock Farm, where she followed Rombauer with a Strong Mandate filly named Republique who is an unraced 2-year-old of 2021, and a yearling Cairo Prince colt named Alexander Helios. The mare was bred to Kantharos for the 2021 foaling season.

For a horsewoman with so many banners in the rafters tied to Twirling Candy, Brogden said Rombauer's Preakness win was just the start of something big with the resident of Lane's End, who was also represented on this year's Triple Crown trail by G1 Santa Anita Derby third-place finisher Dream Shake.

“Twirling Candy – watch out,” she said. “He is going to blow the doors off. When these next few crops hit, watch out. They may be 'plain Janes,' but all of them are super walkers, and they are going to blow the doors off as they get older.”

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Midnight Bourbon held second, with 2-1 favorite Medina Spirit third, Keepmeinmind fourth and Crowded trade fifth in the field of 10 3-year-olds. Unbridled Honor, France Go de Ina, Risk Taking, Concert Tour and Ram completed the order of finish.

Rombauer paid $25.60 for the win, his third from seven  career starts. He ran the 1 3/16 miles in 1:53.62.

“I'm so proud of this horse, everybody involved,” said McCarthy, fighting back tears as he spoke to NBC's Kenny Rice. “It means a lot to be here and participate on a day like this. I'm happy for the Fradkins. It just goes to show you that small players in this game can be successful, as well. Hats off to everybody. I wish my family could be here. Fantastic.”

Rombauer was produced from the Cowboy Cal mare, Cashmere

With just two mares, the Fradkins typically sell their foals but they opted to race Rombauer after COVID-19 altered the 2020 auction schedule of 2-year-olds in training. On the advice of consignor Eddie Woods, they put him in training instead, sending him to McCarthy in California, and had hoped to sell him privately once he raced.

Rombauer won his debut on July 25, coming from off the pace to win a one-mile maiden race on turf by a half length. John Fradkin was hoping that would generate interest in the horse, but when the Beyer Speed Figure came up  a relatively low 55, there were no calls.

After Rombauer's Preakness victory, Fradkin said he later would learn that Del Mar's timing system was not working properly and the race was probably run much faster than the official time. If the real time was published, Fradkin said, the horse probably would have been sold.

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Rombauer is their first starter in a Triple Crown race.

“That's exciting,” John Fradkin said. “Generally speaking, we think of ourselves as small-time, commercial breeders. We aim to sell our progeny. This is a rarity. In the past we've pretty much only raced horses that we couldn't sell. This is kind of an exception, just the way it all transpired.”

Rombauer earned a fees-paid entry into the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown by winning the Feb. 13 El Camino Real Derby, a Preakness 'Win & In' event, at Golden Gate Fields. Most recently, he finished third in the Blue Grass (G2) on April 3 at Keeneland.

Under normal circumstances, the Fradkins would not be in Baltimore to watch their colt run in the Preakness. Because 2020 was anything but normal, the Fradkins did not sell the colt from their two-mare breeding operation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the April OBS sale of 2-year-olds was delayed a couple of months.

Since the dam, Cashmere by Cowboy Cal, typically produced precocious babies that win early in their careers, consigner Eddie Woods advised the Fradkins to sell him in a private sale after he had proven himself at the track. They sent Rombauer to their trainer, Michael McCarthy, at Santa Anita.  Rombauer promptly won his first career start at a mile on turf at Del Mar on July 25.

“He closed, he came home really well, and I honestly thought there would be some pretty big offers after that race,” Fradkin said. “But there weren't because the time was really bad and the initial Beyer number they gave him was 48. The time was 1:38 and change (1:38.30). It didn't really surprise me that there really weren't any solid offers.”

Rombauer landed in the keeper category and is writing an interesting story.

“It was sort of two lucky breaks on our part that caused us to still own the horse,” Fradkin said. “There's actually been substantial offers since that we've perhaps stupidly turned down.”

Rombauer had a troubled trip in his next start, the Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes on Sept. 6 and ended up sixth, but beaten only two lengths. McCarthy recommended that they try Rombauer on dirt and he ended up second, three-quarters of a length back, after a wide trip in the American Pharoah (G1) at Santa Anita. He completed his 2-year-old season with a fifth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Keeneland.

In late January, Fradkin told McCarthy that he wanted to opt out of the Robert B.  Lewis (G3) and wait for the El Camino Real Derby.

“I thought it was going to be a much easier race,” Fradkin said. “We scratched out of the Robert Lewis because I thought the field was really, really tough. We had a pretty heated discussion about that. I thought that even if we ran it really well, we were likely to finish fifth because that was probably the best field ever assembled for 3-year-old colts for only $100,000. Two weeks later, we had a race up north for the same amount of purse money and I knew the field was going to be a lot easier. So that was my thinking. That continues to be my thinking, that I want to pick easier spots for the horse.”

Fradkin, who spent a handful of years as a professional horseplayer, was right: Medina Spirit, who went on to prevail in the Kentucky Derby, won the Robert Lewis. Hot Rod Charlie was third in both races.

“And I think if a horse runs his best race ever, he should be earning money,” he said. “I felt that probably would not have happened in the Robert B. Lewis and it probably wouldn't have happened in the Kentucky Derby either. We could have run our best race ever and wouldn't have made any money. So that's why we've chosen the path we've chosen.”

The road to the Preakness began in the summer of 1993 when Fradkin claimed Ruff Hombre for $25,000 at Hollywood Park. He finished last in the race and was off for two months before winning what turned out to be his career finale at Del Mar. The Fradkins invested the earnings from Ruff Hombre's win at the Keeneland September Sale in a skinny New Jersey-bred Afleet filly they named Ultrafleet. She failed to hit the board in her four starts.

“We decided to retire her and make her a broodmare,” Fradkin said. “Pretty much everybody said that was stupid, but we did it anyway and it turned out pretty well.”

Ultrafleet became the foundation mare for the Fradkins. She dropped 14 foals before her death in 2012. Among them were California Flag, who won the 2009 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1), and graded stakes winner Cambiocorsa, who is the granddam of 2018 European Horse of the Year Roaring Lion. The Fradkins retained Cashmere, Ultrafleet's next-to-last foal. Cashmere also produced Treasure Trove, who runs in the Pimlico Special (G3) on Friday.

'Fresh and Happy' Medina Spirit, Concert Tour Set for Preakness
Medina Spirit and Concert Tour, the two highest-rated colts in the morning line for Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1), each galloped 1 ¼ miles Friday morning at Pimlico Race Course under the direction of Jimmy Barnes, trainer Bob Baffert's longtime assistant.

Medina Spirit, owned by Zedan Racing Stables, is rated as the 9-5 favorite in the field of 10 after leading the May 1 Kentucky Derby (G1) from start to finish. Gary and Mary West's Concert Tour is rated second at 5-2 in the morning line. In his most recent start he was third as the favorite in the Arkansas Derby (G1) on April 10.

“We had a little bit of a lighter day for them today because they have such a big day tomorrow,” Barnes said. “Both horses came off the track fresh and happy and looking awesome.”

Medina Spirit and Concert Tour are Baffert's hopes for a record-breaking eighth Preakness winner. He is a tied with Robert Wyndham Walden, who dominated the race during the final quarter of the 19th century.

Medina Spirit will break from Post No. 3 under his regular rider, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. Mike Smith, the 55-year-old Hall of Fame jockey, will ride Concert Tour for the first time from Post No. 10.  Velazquez will be riding in the Preakness for the 11th time. He has a record of 0-3-3. Concert Tour will be Smith's 19th starter. His two wins came with Prairie Bayou in 1993 and Triple Crown winner Justify in 2018. Smith also has finished second twice and third four times.

Asmussen 'Expecting a Very Good Run' from Midnight Bourbon
Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon galloped over the Pimlico surface the day before Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1). Irad Ortiz Jr. will be aboard for the first time. The defending three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey will seek his first Preakness victory after finishing off the board in two prior mounts.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen again will lead the massive, good-feeling colt from the barn over to the paddock for the Preakness. When Midnight Bourbon schooled in the paddock Thursday afternoon, Asmussen was on the left side of the horse with assistant trainer Darren Fleming on the right.

One sign to expect something big from Midnight Bourbon may be that Asmussen has been using words like “giddy” and “jazzed up” for his quest to saddle a third Preakness winner with the sixth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

“He's a fun horse to train,” Asmussen said. “The horse is obviously very strong-minded and willful. But he's exciting to be around. He's extremely physical. He's a gorgeous horse to watch. Like I said, we're very optimistic as horsemen. The giddy part, or the humorous part, was that less than two weeks after the disappointment of the Derby, here we are crazy enough to think we can do it again.”

Asmussen said it's a positive that they haven't noticed a change in Midnight Bourbon since before the Derby.

“We're expecting a very good run from him,” he said. “I thought he was in great physical shape going into the Derby…everything was going extremely well. Missing the break did not put him in the position necessary for him to have success. From where he was, he ran reasonably well but not good enough. Here we are with a lot of horse going into the Preakness and expecting a better outcome.”

Asmussen earned his first Triple Crown victory in the 2007 Preakness with two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, who nipped Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense in a photo finish. Two years later, in her first start for majority owner Jess Jackson and Asmussen after being sold, Kentucky Oaks winner (G1) Rachel Alexandra held off Derby winner Mine That Bird to become the first filly since 1924 to capture the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. Rachel Alexandra went on to be the 2009 Horse of the Year.

“Coming back to Pimlico is extremely special,” Asmussen said. “Curlin's Preakness win here over Street Sense was as exciting as it can get for us. Being a Classic, it being Curlin, being the first time to have success on that level, you can't duplicate that again. And then to have the amazing opportunity to run Rachel Alexandra here, with the queen that she was, you can't top those memories.”

 'Reward Outweighs Risk' for Brown Trainees in Middle Jewel
Klaravich Stables' Risk Taking and Crowded Trade repeated their routine on Friday.  The Preakness runners of trainer Chad Brown took turns galloping 1 ¼ miles at Pimlico – the same thing they did on Thursday while preparing for starts in Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1) – and Jose Hernandez, Brown's assistant who is caring for the horses here, said they are both ready to roll.

“They are doing good, and they are training good,” Hernandez said. “We will see what happens on Saturday. Everything they have done here, they have done well.”

Crowded Trade was the first to hit the track, going out at 6 a.m. with exercise rider Kelvin Perez on board. A half hour later, Perez was on Risk Taking's back for his gallop. Brown was expected to be in town Friday afternoon.

Hernandez said he would like to see Crowded Trade, who was third in the April 3 Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct, race closer to the pace. Risk Taking, he said, should be doing his best running late. He also ran in the Wood and was a disappointing seventh as the 2-1 favorite.

Both horses have trained well since the Wood and Brown was encouraged with their last works, five-furlong breezes last Sunday at Belmont Park. Working in company, both horses were timed in 1:01.76.

“A couple of their best workouts of the season,” said Brown, who won the 2017 Preakness with Cloud Computing. “This is a good opportunity to take a shot in a Classic race. Going into a race like this, you want to have a horse really thriving and doing well and I think we have two of them. The reward outweighs the risk to take a shot.”

Crowded Trade, who will be ridden by Javier Castellano, is 10-1 in the Preakness morning line. Risk Taking, who will team with jockey Jose Ortiz, is 15-1.

 Connections Hoping Keepmeinmind Will Show His Worth Saturday
Keepmeinmind marks the first Preakness appearance for both trainer Robertino Diodoro and jockey David Cohen.

Diodoro knows Keepmeinmind, a late-running seventh in the Kentucky Derby, probably will need a good setup to hit the board for the first time this year and to win for the first time since the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs Nov. 2. But he expects Keepmeinmind is sitting on a big performance.

“What needs to happen is what it looks like is going to happen on paper,” Diodoro said. “We just need it to happen on dirt now, where we need Midnight Bourbon, we need both of [trainer Bob] Baffert's horses (to go out to the lead) to get a little pace to run out. But definitely with his running style, we need a pace to run at.”

Before Keepmeinmind ran in the May 1 Kentucky Derby (G1), Ned Toffey said it was just a matter of time before the colt reaffirmed why Spendthrift Farm bought part-ownership following his victory in the Kentucky Jockey Club. Spendthrift is partners with Cypress Creek Equine and Arnold Bennewith.

Keepmeinmind heads out to the racetrack on Friday morning

“If you look at him, he doesn't look like a horse that would be a good 2-year-old and that would be it,” said Toffey, Spendthrift Farm's general manager. “We saw so much potential as a 2-year-old, he ran some nice races. He ran a very nice race at Churchill Downs and showed he could run with these horses [finishing third] in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile [G1; at Keeneland]. If you look at him, he's a big stretchy horse and really looks like he could do some more maturing. He's a long drink of water now. He's a beautiful animal, but I can see this horse the second half of the year being formidable.”

Diodoro took the blinkers off Keepmeinmind for the Derby. Toffey is among those extremely encouraged by that effort, when Keepmeinmind closed from last to come in seventh.

“I think he confirmed in the Derby that he's a horse that wants to come from well off the pace,” he said. “That was the approach Robertino wanted to take: let him come out of the gate, find his stride and make a run. He really did that well in the Derby. Of course, that's one of the problems when you're a come-from-behind horse in the Derby in a 20-horse field. You're probably going to be forced wide. Obviously, being wide didn't help his chances. It seems unlikely to think he was going to come away with a win there. But it looks like he could have been a touch in behind those first four horses, with a little luck on the turn.

“But I thought he ran a really good race,” he added. “He showed he belonged and that he can run with anybody. We're looking forward to a good race from him in the Preakness.”

With merely a length separating the Kentucky Derby's first and fourth-place finishers, Toffey said that victorious Medina Spirit, the Preakness' 9-5 morning-line favorite, “hasn't proven to be a dominant horse, but he's certainly proven to be a very consistently good horse.”

Saez Shooting for Initial Triple Crown Success in Preakness
Luis Saez, third in North America in both wins and purse earnings in 2020, has been a rising star the past couple of years. That includes earning his first Breeders' Cup victory last fall aboard champion Essential Quality in the Juvenile (G1), along with seconds in four other Cup races that weekend at Keeneland.

With Essential Quality skipping Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1) after his Kentucky Derby (G1) fourth-place finish, Saez landed on Whisper Hill Farm's Unbridled Honor for trainer Todd Pletcher. Unbridled Honor comes into the 1 3/16-mile Classic off a second in the Lexington (G3) at Keeneland that followed a fourth in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2). His lone victory was a maiden race at Tampa.

While Unbridled Honor is 15-1 in the morning line, consider that Saez's only prior Preakness mount was Bravazo, who in 2018 finished second by only a half-length behind eventual Triple Crown hero Justify. Bravazo also was 15-1.

Saez is still seeking his first official Triple Crown victory. He finished first aboard Maximum Security in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, only to be disqualified for interference.

Pletcher is seeking his first Preakness victory to go with his two Kentucky Derbys and three Belmonts. The newly-elected Hall of Famer knows Unbridled Honor likely needs some help from a fast pace to effectively set up his closing kick.

“Hopefully he can get away a little better, get in a little better stalking position and then have a good pace to run at,” Pletcher said. “In the Tampa Bay Derby, he left himself way too much to do. In the Lexington, he got a good pace setup. He dropped a little bit farther back than we'd like, but he got a really clean run at it. He was kind of making a move at the same time as (victorious) King Fury, and King Fury went inside and he went outside. King Fury was able to cut the corner and save ground, but I thought it was a good effort.”

Unbridled Honor galloped Friday morning at Pimlico.

Game Time for France Go de Ina and Trainer
Before he returns home to Japan following Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1) and a planned run in the June 5 Belmont Stakes (G1), trainer Hideyuki Mori wouldn't mind seeing some American baseball. He lives in the city of Osaka and is a fan of the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball back home.

When asked if he wanted to see the New York Yankees or Mets when he goes to New York, he smiled. He would be happy to stay right here and watch the hometown Orioles, who are playing the Yankees this weekend at Camden Yards.

“If anyone has tickets …” he said through an interpreter.

First things first. Mori will saddle Yuji Inaida's France Go de Ina for Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1). He went through his final preparations Friday morning, walking on the track with exercise rider Masaki Takano aboard. The son of Will Take Charge then did some schooling in the starting gate, which was an important priority.

In his last start, France Go de Ina broke poorly from the gate in the March 27 UAE Derby (G2) in Dubai and finishing a non-threatening sixth. Friday, the horse stood in the gate and it was hand opened for him to walk out.

“We wanted him to get used to people standing around him.” Mori said.

Mori said he will rely on jockey Joel Rosario to make the decision on where to put France Go de Ina in the race. He said he would like to have the colt close to the pace.

“I don't want the horse to get boxed in,” Mori said. “It depends on how he breaks. If he is traveling fast, he will go, if not, he will settle and wait for his opportunity.”

Mori said that France Go de Ina will not go to the track on Saturday morning, but will have his daily hour-long walking session around the barn.

Ram Conserves Energy for Stakes Debut in Preakness
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas sent Ram to the track for light training Friday morning at Pimlico Race Course in preparation for a start in Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1), later turning his attention to interviews with television and print reporters.

Lukas, 85, is aiming for his record-tying seventh Preakness victory with Ram, a son of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Ram, 30-1 in the morning line, drew the rail. Lukas made a splash in the 1980 Preakness, winning the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown with his first starter, Codex. His most recent victory was in 2013 with Oxbow.

Ram, co-owned by Christina Baker and William Mack, is trying stakes company for the first time.  He is running back in two weeks following a victory in an allowance race on the May 1 Kentucky Derby (G1) program.

“We tapered off a little today. We just went a mile,” Lukas said. “Tapered off and let him get his energy. He had a lot of energy, too. He was sharp today. He's gotten better every single day on his energy level since we're been here.”

Throughout the week leading up to the race Lukas has said his colt must improve in order to have a chance to finish in the top three. Handicapping the race, Lukas said he likes the chances of Midnight Bourbon, trained by Steve Asmussen for Winchell Thoroughbreds.

“That horse, I think, is really dangerous,” Lukas said. “He looks good to me. And Concert Tour looks good to me.”

Ricardo Santana Jr. will ride Ram for the first time in the Preakness. Santana has ridden twice in the race. His best finish was a third on Tenfold in 2018.

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Trainer Michael McCarthy said, “I couldn't be happier” with the breeze, which was the fourth-fastest of 56 recorded at the distance.

“He worked in company, settled in a length behind the other horse, passed him coming to the eighth pole and went on about his business,” McCarthy said.

Prat will ride the son of Twirling Candy for the first time in a race while making his Preakness debut. Prat entered Saturday tied with Luis Saez for third nationally in races-won at 99 and fourth in purse earnings.

Rombauer, who is scheduled to ship from California to Baltimore on Tuesday, most recently finished third in the April 3 Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland. The Kentucky-bred colt previously captured the El Camino Real Derby, a Preakness 'Win & In' stakes at Golden Gate Fields.

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