In his first begin as a 3-year-old and first effort in a race not contested on turf, Endlessly proved as much as the problem within the $100,000 El Camino Actual Derby Feb. 10 at Golden Gate Fields.
After score second-last within the discipline of eight sophomores early within the 1 1/8-mile take a look at on the all-weather floor, Endlessly unleashed a sustained rally on the far flip, splitting horses below Umberto Rispoli. Within the stretch, Endlessly steadily closed the hole on Tapalo and took command close to the sixteenth pole to publish a transparent victory.
Endlessly, an Amerman Racing homebred, accomplished the 1 1/8-mile take a look at in 1:50.68 in what often is the last version of Golden Gate’s high prep race for the spring classics. The monitor will not be scheduled to supply race dates in 2025.
Odds-on favourite Endlessly was adopted residence by Tapalo in second and Man Named Joe in third.
Till now racing completely on turf in Southern California final season, Endlessly gained the primary three begins of his profession in 2023, together with a pair of Grade 3 stakes, and closed out his 2-year-old season with an off-the-board end within the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Whereas the El Camino Actual Derby doesn’t provide qualifying factors towards the Kentucky Derby offered by Woodford Reserve this yr, it does reward the winner computerized entry into the Preakness Stakes.
Successful coach Mike McCarthy, who captured the 2021 El Camino Actual Derby with Rombauer who then went on to win the 2021 Preakness Stakes, stated Endlessly probably will quickly return to turf racing. McCarthy stated that whereas Rombauer impressed him in morning works on the filth, Endlessly solely appears regular on that floor and appears to want the grass. — Sean Collins contributed to this story.
