ALBANY – Jockey Julien Leparoux made his first visit to Golden Gate Fields pay off in style.

In his debut at the Bayside track, Leparoux won Saturday's $200,000 El Camino Real Derby on Daddy Nose Best, who nipped Lucky Chappy by – what else? – a nose after a thrilling stretch battle.

"It was very tight," Leparoux said. "I didn't know if I won or not. It was too close to call."

Daddy Nose Best, a Kentucky-bred son of Scat Daddy, gave trainer Steve Asmussen back-to-back victories in his only two starts at Golden Gate – both in Northern California's steppingstone to the Triple Crown.

Based in the Midwest, Asmussen won the 2011 El Camino Real with Silver Medallion. Golden Gate's synthetic Tapeta track lured Asmussen to try for the repeat.

"(Daddy Nose Best) just seems to get better with time," said Darren Fleming, Asmussen's assistant. "He's versatile. He likes synthetic, and he loves turf. … We came here because of the added distance and his experience on turf, which carries over to synthetic (tracks).

"Winning last year with Silver Medallion helped our decision."

Leparoux, a Frenchman based in Florida this winter, had ridden Daddy Nose Best, owned by Bob and Cathy Zollars of Dallas, in six previous starts – all on turf – in New York, Canada, Kentucky and Southern California.

Leparoux opted to fly cross-country for the bay colt's 3-year-old debut. "It was very good," he said of his trip. "People are very nice. They welcomed me here, and this track is beautiful. To win the race makes it even better."

The one-two finish added to the El Camino Real's reputation as a valuable stop on the Kentucky Derby trail.

Lucky Chappy, ridden by New York-based jockey Alan Garcia, actually had a slight advantage over Daddy Nose Best in the last 200 yards of the 11/8-mile race. An Irish-bred horse based in Florida, Lucky Chappy had rallied from last in the 10-horse field to take the brief lead.

But under steady urging by Leparoux, Daddy Nose Best ($10.20) prevailed at the wire. The final time was 1 minute, 50.46 seconds.

"The longer the distance, he's going to get better," Leparoux said of Daddy Nose Best. "He's a very big horse. … He traveled beautifully; he broke (well) from the gate and was in the right position at the right time. And when (challenged), he fought back; that's what I like to see."

Second choice at 2-1, Lucky Chappy, trained by Graham Motion and owned by Team Valor, finished 3 1/2 lengths ahead of favored Handsome Mike, who set the early pace.

Local hopeful Russian Greek failed to show the same kick he used in two previous stakes wins at Golden Gate. He finished fifth, eight lengths behind the winner.

"He ran all right," jockey Aaron Gryder said of Russian Greek. "My horse closed the gap but not on the same terms as the first two."

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