Rombauer Upsets Preakness at 11-1; Medina Spirit Fades to Third
Sunday, May 16, 2021
    BALTIMORE - John and Diane Fradkin’s Rombauer staged a powerful rally through the stretch of Pimlico Race Course to register an 11-1 upset victory in Saturday’s 146th Preakness Stakes.

    The $1 million Preakness, renewed under sunny skies and temperatures in the 70's, highlighted a 14-race program with 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.25 million.


     Zedan Racing Stables’ Medina Spirit, who led throughout the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, faded to third after setting the pace in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

     Rombauer ($25.60), who was withheld from the Derby by his owners in favor of waiting for the Preakness, provided trainer Michael McCarthy with his first success in the Triple Crown series with his first starter.


     Rombauer scored a 3 ½-length decision over Midnight Bourbon while racing the 1 3/16-mile distance in 1:53.62. He had earned a fees-paid berth into the Preakness by winning the Feb 13 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields, a ‘Win & In’ event.

     Ridden by Flavien Prat, Rombauer raced between horses in sixth place in the 10-horse field, led by Medina Spirit around the first turn. The pace-setting 2-1 favorite set fractions of :23.77 and :46.93 for the first half-mile, closely shadowed to his outside by Midnight Bourbon along the backstretch and into the far turn.  Medina Spirit and Midnight Bourbon showed the way into the stretch as Rombauer began to launch a strong bid. Midnight Bourbon edged past the pace-setter in mid-stretch, but Rombauer loomed boldly on the far outside and continued on to register a decisive victory.

    Rombauer, who finished third in the April 3 Blue Grass at Keeneland in his previous start, claimed his third victory in six career starts, which include a close second-place finish in the American Pharoah at Santa Anita last year. Midnight Bourbon, the 3-1 second choice ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., finished two lengths ahead of tiring Medina Spirit, who was ridden by John Velazquez. Keepmeinmind closed well to finish fourth, four more lengths back, followed by Crowded Trade, Unbridled Honor, France Go de Ina, Risk Taking, Concert Tour and Ram.

    McCarthy, a former long-time assistant to Todd Pletcher, was enthusiastically congratulated by his former boss, the Hall of Fame trainer-elect who saddled Unbridled Honor in a quest to saddle his first Preakness winner.

    Although they bypassed the Derby, the Fradkins, who bred the Preakness winner, and McCarthy indicated their intentions to run Rombauer in the June 5 Belmont Stakes, the 1 ½-mile third jewel of the Triple Crown.
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