Trainer Steve Asmussen put an early exclamation point on the year that will mark his Hall of Fame induction when Creator staged a dramatic rally to overtake Destin by a nose in the 148Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park. Lani improved each time, running ninth in the Derby and fifth in the Preakness.He was in very good condition, and the distance was good, Lanis jockey Yutaka Take said. He was voted into Racing’s Hall of Fame this April, two years after being subjected to allegations of mistreatment by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that were widely proven baseless.
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Meanwhile, his younger, Jose – like his brother a graduate of his country’s jockey school, Escuela Vocacional Hipica – followed in 2012, riding first at Parx Racing before moving his tack to NY, where he won with his first mount at Big Sandy, Corofin, on March 21.
“Darren Fleming, our assistant in Hot Springs who is a big part of what we do, (said) the difference in him between the Rebel and the Arkansas Derby, just from a focus (standpoint). the focus he showed for the pre-race Arkansas Derby under the pageantry of Oaklawn-you know, the crowds you get there, the saddling inside, the walk across-it unnerves quite a few horses”, Asmussen remembered. After a strong second to Nyquist in the Kentucky Derby and a dominant win in the Preakness, Exaggerator was a nonfactor in the Belmont.
Irad Ortiz Jr., riding Creator, celebrates after winning the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 11, 2016, in Elmont, N.Y.
Preakness victor Exaggerator, who came out of the gate as favorite, was the biggest disappointment of the day after finishing well down the field in 11th. As they turned into the stretch, Creator appeared to be caught behind a wall of horses, with nowhere to run.
“They slowed down in his face and I elected, instead of going any slower because I felt like I was crawling – for him it was crawling – so I hopped heels and let him set himself up on the outside”, the jockey said. “Irad gave him a dream trip, and the horse ran super”.
Creator, sent off 16-1, returned $34.80, $14.60 and $9.40.
As for Destin, trainer Todd Pletcher said, “He ran a great race”.
Lani paid $6.60 to show.
Ortiz patently waited and found an opening with about an eighth of a mile to go.
When Desormeaux asked him to run at the top of the stretch he was surprised at how little response he got. Destin took the lead as they entered the stretch and held it until the final stride to finish second, a nose behind the victor. In the end, it was Creator that had the stamina for the longest of the Triple Crown races, and Creator passed Destin for one of the closest finishes in Belmont history.
“I am surprisingly not as [disappointed] as you think”, said Exaggerator’s trainer Keith Desormeaux. When I picked him up at the quarter pole to go ahead and try to win the race, there was nothing there.
Speed horse Gettysburg set the pace before Destin overtook him on the turn for home.
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As the rain poured down during the trophy ceremony, celebrity chef Bobby Flay summed up the exuberant joy of Creator’s connections, having bought a minority interest in the colt on Wednesday from owner Kenny Troutt. Lani was a length and three-quarters away in third. Cavorting has won seven of her 12 starts.
