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Rombauer Snares Preakness Despite Strong Turf Pedigree

Porter on Pedigrees

Rombauer before his win in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course

Rombauer before his win in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course

Anne M. Eberhardt

Although upset Preakness Stakes (G1) scorer Rombauer  has "KY" suffix after his name, his background both human and equine has a distinctly Californian flavor.

Named for a Napa Valley vineyard, as far as the human connections are concerned, he is trained by California-based Michael McCarthy, and bred by California's John and Diane Fradkin. As far as the pedigree is concerned, the California connections run two generations deep on both sides of his pedigree. He is by Twirling Candy , whose own sire, the Argentine import Candy Ride , really made his name in North America with a devastating victory in the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) at Del Mar, and primarily made his initial impact as a sire with his runners on the West Coast. Twirling Candy himself campaigned exclusively at California tracks. There he won seven of 11 starts from 2 to 4, proving himself a notably versatile performer with regard to both distance and surface. A winner of his only start as a juvenile, at 3 Twirling Candy took the seven-furlong Malibu Stakes (G1) on dirt in a new track record, and on turf took the eight-furlong Oceanside Stakes and nine-furlong Del Mar Derby (G2T). The following year, over nine furlongs, on dirt he captured the Strub Stakes (G2) by 4 1/2 lengths and on the all-weather he won the Californian Stakes (G2). Over a furlong further that same year he missed by a head to Acclamation —champion older horse that year—in the TVG Pacific Classic and was also third in the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1).

Twirling Candy has proved equally versatile as a sire. He's now responsible for 26 stakes winners in his first six crops, and prior to Rombauer, he had been represented by four other grade 1 winners: the dirt sprint mare Finley'sluckycharm (Madison Stakes, G1), middle-distance turf filly Concrete Rose (Belmont Oaks, Invitational Stakes, G1T), the dirt sprinter Collusion Illusion  (Bing Crosby Stakes, G1), and middle-distance dirt older horse Gift Box  (Santa Anita Handicap Presented by San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, G1).

Rombauer has also shown himself to be a versatile horse, at least as far as surface. He broke his maiden on his debut at 2, going a mile on the grass at Del Mar. Unplaced in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes after a rough start, Rombauer switch to the dirt for his next start, the American Pharoah Stakes (G1), and closed strongly to take second, beaten three-quarters of a length by Get Her Number. Given his shot in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1), Rombauer stayed on stoutly from the rear to finish a creditable fifth, beaten just over six lengths to the winner, Essential Quality . In 2021, Rombauer started just twice prior to the Preakness. Switching to the all-weather, he opened the campaign with a neck victory in the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields. Finally back on the dirt, in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1), he finished third to Essential Quality, beaten 5 3/4 lengths, after receiving a fairly hefty bump at the start. One interesting aspect of Rombauer's career to date is that irrespective of distance or surface, he has improved his Beyer Speed Figure in every single start, his Preakness victory marking a jump from a previous top of 88 to a new figure of 102. That's a number surpassed by only Life Is Good  and Flightline  among this current crop, and equal to Medina Spirit's figure from the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

Rombauer's immediate family has also made much of its name in California. His granddam, Ultrafleet, was actually foaled in New Jersey, but was purchased by the Fradkins for $10,500 at the 1993 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Ultrafleet proved to have minimal ability as a runner, and after double digit defeats on her first three outings, reached a career high by finishing sixth beaten 8 3/4 lengths in a maiden claiming event at Santa Anita Park.

Despite her shortcomings as a runner, the Fradkins decided to keep Ultrafleet as a broodmare, and against all odds, in that role she became a surprise success story. Seven of her foals were winners, including the Avenue of Flags siblings California Flag and Cambiocorsa. A millionaire, California Flag won the Morvich Handicap (G3T) three times, once in a new track record; the Hollywood Turf Express Handicap (G3T); the San Simeon Handicap (G3T); and in the days before it became a graded event the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Cambiocorsa won nine of 18 starts, four of them black-type events, including the Las Cienegas Handicap (G3T) and Senator Ken Maddy Handicap (G3T). She has turned out to be an exceptional producer as dam of the John C. Mabee Stakes (G2T) winner Moulin de Mougin; Schiaparelli, successful in the Royal Heroine Mile Stakes (G2T); and stakes winners Bronson and Alexis Tangier. Through her grade 1-placed daughter Vionnet, she is also granddam of the ill-fated European high-weighted 3-year-old Roaring Lion, whose victories included the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes (G1), Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1), Juddmonte International Stakes (G1), and Coral Eclipse Stakes (G1).

Rombauer's dam, Cashmere, by the Giant's Causeway horse, Cowboy Cal, was Ultrafleet's penultimate foal. She was unraced, but is dam of four winners from her first four foals, which include the stakes-placed Lucky Pulpit gelding Cono. Behind Ultrafleet, the female line had been rather quiet in recent generations. Cashmere's granddam, Social Conduct—by another West Coast star, Vigors—was stakes-placed several times while racing on the New Jersey circuit, and is otherwise granddam of Louisiana-bred stakes winner Princess Deelite. Social Conduct is half sister to another New Jersey black-type scorer, Brief Remarks. Rombauer's fifth dam, Day O, produced Inquire, successful in the Pageant City Handicap at Atlantic City and later dam of the Ak-Sar-Ben Omaha Gold Cup (G3) scorer Ask de Naskra.  

Day O's dam, Albany Isle, who was imported from England in 1954 as a 7-year-old mare, won three of 15 starts in England and Ireland, and had an Irish National Hunt (jump racing) pedigree, and her granddam was closely related to Gregalach, winner of the Grand National in 1929. Despite this relatively humble immediate background as far as flat racing was concerned and despite never visiting a top-class sire, Albany Isle would become an extremely important foundation mare. The dam of three stakes winners, including Like a Charm, who took the Sorority Stakes at a time that it would be considered a grade 1-level event, she is ancestress of a total of 136 stakes winners, also including the another recent classic scorer in 2019 Kentucky Derby winner Country House ; Rock Your World , who took this year's Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1); and the 2021 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) scorer, Crazy Beautiful; as well other grade/group 1 winners Zazu, Jolie Olimpica, Perfect Soul, Flashy Bull, Zipessa, and Perfect Reflection.

Albany Isle comes from a female line which represents the only commonly fond source of the G2a Achilli mitochondrial haplotype (the Bruce Lowe #9 family), and goes back to one of that female line's most famous tap-roots, Maid Of Masham. Matings between the 1867 Epsom Derby winner, Hermit, and daughters and granddaughters of Maid Of Masham produced a group of mares from whom stem an astonishing array of stallions, including Cyllene (twice leading sire in England, and through Phalaris, the male line ancestor of better than 90% of the world's current Thoroughbreds), Fair Play (sire of Man o' War), Star Shoot (five times leading sire in North America), Bull Lea (five times leading sire in North America), Asterus (leading sire in France), Prince Chevalier (leading sire in France), Tom Rolfe, Alydar (leading sire in North America), Alzao, and more recently Distorted Humor, Galileo, Sea The Stars, and Dubawi.

This branch of the family which led to Albany Isle has the doldrums for several generations, until she so dramatically revived it. Looking at potential reasons for this turnaround, we can note that Albany Isle's third dam, St Germanie, had the Hermit/Maid Of Masham relatives Single Barrel and The Apple as granddam of both her sire and dam. Albany Isle's broodmare sire, Knight of the Garter, is by a son of Dark Ronald (also from the G2a haplotype) out of a mare by Cyllene, whose granddam is another Hermit/Maid Of Masham source, and Albany Isle's sire, Jamaica Inn, gives her a 5x4 cross of Cyllene. Given that the relationship between nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA is believed to be an important one, this crossing of successful runners from the G2a haplotype back on the family may well have played a significant part in the success of Albany Isle as a tap-root mare and producer.

Returning to modern times, we'll note that Rombauer is one of no less than 11 stakes winners sired by Twirling Candy out of mares by sons or grandsons of Storm Cat (8.5% to starters), and he's bred on a broadly similar Candy Ride/Giant's Causeway cross to Horse of the Year, Gun Runner . We'll close by observing that while Candy Ride is out of a mare by Candy Stripes, a Blushing Groom/Northern Dancer cross, Giant's Causeway is a Northern Dancer/Blushing Groom cross.