In his first start as a 3-year-old and first effort in a race not contested on turf, Endlessly proved up to the challenge in the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby Feb. 10 at Golden Gate Fields.
After rating second-last in the field of eight sophomores early in the 1 1/8-mile test on the all-weather surface, Endlessly unleashed a sustained rally on the far turn, splitting horses under Umberto Rispoli. In the stretch the Oscar Performance colt steadily closed the gap on Tapalo, and took command near the sixteenth pole to post a clear victory.
An Amerman Racing homebred, Endlessly completed the 1 1/8-mile test in 1:50.68 in what may be the final edition of Golden Gate's top prep race for the spring classics as the track is not scheduled to offer race dates in 2025. Odds-on favorite Endlessly was followed home by Tapalo and Guy Named Joe.
Racing exclusively on turf in Southern California last season, Endlessly won the first first three starts of his career, including a pair of grade 3 stakes, and closed out the season with an off-the-board finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T).
While the El Camino Real Derby does not offer qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby (G1) this year, it does reward the winner automatic entry into the Preakness Stakes (G1). But winning trainer Mike McCarthy, who captured the 2021 El Camino Real Derby and Preakness with Rombauer , said Endlessly likely will soon return to turf racing. He said that while Rombauer impressed him in morning works on the dirt, Endlessly only looks steady on that surface and seems to prefer the grass.
Sean Collins contributed to this story. The stakes result for this story was running late and will appear in the Feb. 12 edition of BH Daily.
