City of Light vaulted trainer Michael McCarthy to national attention in 2018 when the 4-year-old son of Quality Road won the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1). Less than three months later, the bay horse captured the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), retiring with more than $5.6 million in earnings to stand at Lane's End.
When McCarthy entered Rombauer in the May 15 Preakness Stakes (G1), he faced off against his mentor and former employer, Todd Pletcher, and Pletcher's mentor, D. Wayne Lukas. And while Rombauer was a nearly 12-1 longshot, McCarthy's starter was nonetheless shorter odds than both of theirs, the betting public proving astute when Rombauer (Twirling Candy ) closed to a decisive 3 1/2-length win.
McCarthy is bringing Rombauer back in the June 5 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), hoping to add a second classic win to the colt's résumé. He spoke with BloodHorse MarketWatch about his time working for trainer Todd Pletcher and what he is looking forward to this summer after his Preakness victory.
MarketWatch: How has winning the Preakness with Rombauer affected your business?
Michael McCarthy: It's been nice. There have been a lot of people reaching out, and in this business, you always want to keep growing and attracting clientele. I've got about 50 horses in training, most of them in California and about a dozen at Churchill Downs.
MW: How did you come to work for Todd Pletcher?
MM: In the summer of 2002, Ron Anderson told me if I wanted to get ahead and get to the next level, I had to work with someone like (Pletcher), to take the next step. I spent two winters with him at Palm Meadows and two summers at Saratoga. I was at Delaware Park for him for one meet and a winter in Payson Park. I spent a lot of time in Kentucky for him, six summers and falls, and multiple winters in California.
MW: While working for Pletcher in California, you had Rags to Riches in your string. What was it like working with her?
MM: I was lucky to have her there for the winter. They had laid down a synthetic track at Hollywood Park, and the ownership group (Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith) wanted to have a horse training over it. I can't take a whole lot of credit for her success, even though my name was in the program as her trainer when she won the Las Virgenes (G1). When you've got a horse that good, you just stay out of her way.
To me, she was one of the best—just amazing, remarkable. I think that if she would have stayed sound, we would have seen big things from her. I think that she was every bit as good as Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra.
MW: How do the challenges that California racing is facing affect your thoughts about being based there?
MM: I have concerns about the industry everywhere. We don't have enough time for us to talk about all my concerns.
I came back to California because it's home for me; I've got a great family unit here. It wouldn't take much for me to change, and you never know what might happen around here.
MW: Do your summer plans include Saratoga?
MM: Yes. Hopefully, we'll participate in the Travers (G1, Aug. 28), and I'm hoping there's a seat for me at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony (Aug. 6) when Todd gets inducted.
MW: What horses are you looking forward to running this summer?
MM: Rombauer, for sure. Smooth Like Strait . Crossfirehurricane. We've got a lot of nice 2-year-olds coming up, too.
MW: During the NBC broadcast of the Preakness, you were interviewed with Pletcher and with D. Wayne Lukas, for whom Pletcher had been an assistant. All three of you had horses in the Preakness, and at the end of the interview, asked who would the win the race, you said, "I don't say much, but I've got a surprise for both of them." What was going through your mind when you said that?
MM: I didn't think much about it. I thought that Rombauer would run very well, and I didn't think that the Preakness distance would be an issue for him. I had a tremendous amount of faith in the horse, and he'd gotten over the track at Pimlico very well.
MW: Is there a rivalry among the three of you?
MM: Absolutely not. One of them set all the records, and the other is rewriting them.
MW: What will your Belmont week be like?
MM: I'll get to New York on Tuesday afternoon, and I hope the week is quiet, uneventful, and most of all, healthy.
