Belmont Stakes 2021: Velazquez will ride Rombauer, trainer McCarthy says
John Velazquez has been chosen by trainer Michael McCarthy and owners John and Diane Fradkin to ride Preakness winner Rombauer in the Belmont Stakes on June 5, McCarthy said Saturday night.
Flavien Prat rode Rombauer to his upset victory in the Preakness on May 15, but he is sticking with Hot Rod Charlie - whom Prat rode to a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby in his last start - in the Belmont.
Velazquez came open when his two potential Belmont candidates, Medina Spirit and the filly Malathaat, were taken out of consideration for the race. Medina Spirit was taken off the Triple Crown trail after finishing third in the Preakness after finishing first, under Velazquez, in the Kentucky Derby.
Velazquez rode Malathaat to victory in the Kentucky Oaks the day before the Derby, but she is awaiting races against fellow 3-year-old fillies this summer at Saratoga.
Velazquez has won the Belmont twice previously, with Union Rags in 2012 and the filly Rags to Riches in 2007. McCarthy was working as an assistant to Todd Pletcher when Rags to Riches won the Belmont, and on Saturday McCarthy referenced his long relationship with Velazquez as one of the reasons Velazquez was chosen.
Rombauer is currently at Belmont Park, in the barn of Jonathan Thomas, another former Pletcher assistant. McCarthy said Rombauer would have one work between the Preakness and Belmont, at some point next weekend, the day not yet firm owing to an uncertain weather forecast at the moment, he said. McCarthy has been in California since the evening following the Preakness, but will be heading to New York this coming week to oversee Rombauer's preparation for the final leg of the Triple Crown.