Updated: 9:21 PM EDT May 15, 2021 Rombauer romped to an 11-1 upset victory in the Preakness on Saturday, denying Bob Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit the chance at a Triple Crown that would have come with a giant asterisk.Medina Spirit finished third in the 1 3/16-mile race and was passed for the first time in his career after going off as the 2-1 favorite. All eyes were on Medina Spirit after he failed a post-Derby drug test for the presence of the steroid betamethasone. I had to come out running to get my position, Medina Spirit jockey John Velazquez said. I knew that he was going to be pressed today. I was hoping that he wouldn t overdo it, and we did. Midnight Bourbon, who was 3-1, was second. Keepmeinmind was fourth and Baffert-trained Concert Tour ninth in the 10-horse field.Rombauer busted the bias of horses hugging the rail on the dirt at Pimlico Race Course all day, going past Midnight Bourbon and Medina Spirit down the stretch and winning by
Rombauer rallies to Preakness glory May 16, 2021 by James Scully/TwinSpires.com Rombauer wins the 146th Preakness Stakes (Bill Denver/Maryland Jockey Club)
Rombauer collared Midnight Bourbon in midstretch and drove
to a 3 1/4-length victory in the $1 million Preakness S. (G1) at Pimlico. Last
seen finishing third in the April 3 Blue Grass S. (G2) at Keeneland, the
Michael McCarthy-trained colt joined the Triple Crown mix with a smashing win
in the middle jewel.
Flavien Prat picked up the mount on the John and Diane
Fradkin homebred Twirling Candy colt, and Rombauer left the starting gate as
the 11-1 fifth choice in the 10-horse field.
Instead, he fell flat.
Concert Tour finished an inexplicable ninth in the 10-horse field, ahead of only D. Wayne Lukas’ long shot, Ram. A horse who once looked like Baffert’s best 3-year-old this year was never in contention in the second leg of the Triple Crown.
“I am at a loss for words,” said jockey Mike Smith, who rode Midnight Bourbon in the Kentucky Derby and switched to Concert Tour for the Preakness. “He didn’t seem to participate at all down the backside. He just wasn’t going anywhere, and when I put my hands down, he just backed off. It was very strange.”
Rombauer Upsets 146th Preakness With Powerful Stretch Run Sponsored by:
Rombauer and Flavien Prat win the 146th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico
Trainer Michael McCarthy made his first start in a Triple Crown race a big one at Pimlico race course in Baltimore, Md., winning Saturday s 146th running of the Grade 1, $1-million Preakness Stakes with John and Diane Fradkin s homebred Twirling Candy colt Rombauer. Ridden to perfection by Flavien Prat, Rombauer came from off the pace to win the Triple Crown s middle jewel, racing past dueling leaders Midnight Bourbon and Medina Spirit in midstretch to win by 3 1/2 lengths.
3 hours ago in National, Sports
Flavien Prat atop Rombauer crosses the finish line to win the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 15, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Photo: Associated Press
By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Sports Writer
BALTIMORE (AP) Preakness champion Rombauer’s trainer, Michael McCarthy, lobbied hard to get the bay colt entered into the Kentucky Derby.
The horse’s owners, Diane and John Fradkin, just didn’t think that was the right move. Instead, they wanted to point to the second leg of the Triple Crown. No one will ever know what might have happened if Rombauer had been allowed to go to Churchill Downs.