“Lani has been brilliant, running in all three Triple Crown races in America, which is a tough thing to do”.
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Finally, what are the odds of the first three finishers of the Belmont Stakes all being grays? He was taken off the Hall of Fame ballot a year ago because of allegations made by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals about the way he treated his horses. He was later cleared by racing authorities in Kentucky and NY.
Trainer Steve Asmussen won his first Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes with Creator on June 12th in his third try for the third jewel in the Triple Crown. As we all know, he came down with a temperature and high white blood count the following day, which knocked him out of the Belmont, leaving the third jewel of the crown without the Kentucky Derby victor.
Another person had a winning day at Lone Star Park during the Belmont Stakes as well.
Highlighting the ten stakes, was the much anticipated 148th Running of the Belmont Stakes (GR I), as Preakness Stakes victor and favorite, Exaggerator with Kent Desormeaux took on twelve rivals in the one and a half mile test over a fast track. The Japan-based Lani, one of only two in the 13-horse field to run in all three Triple Crown races, finished 1 3/4 lengths behind in third. “I very much think that right now, with all of the pressure we’ve put on him, and the amount of racing that he’s had this year, he needs a little mental freshening to get away from it for a bit”, said the trainer.
This time, however, Asmussen turned the tables: runner-up Destin represented Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Rags To Riches.
Was the 2016 Triple Crown Season Memorable? by Reinier Macatangay: WinStar Farm’s Creator won the Belmont Stakes (GI) last weekend after a determined stretch run to defeat Destin. Destin would grudgingly give that lead up in the final feet of the 1 ½ mile classic when Creator nailed him on the wire in a perfectly timed finish.
Not only was Saturday a big win for Creator, it was a big win for Ortiz, Jr., one of the nation’s leading riders.
“He was coming – I just had to wait for somewhere to go”, Ortiz Jr said. In the Kentucky Derby, he was in traffic trouble early and never got a chance to run.
Pletcher, however, said Sunday morning that he would not take Gettysburg back. It was also a tactical masterpiece, as longshot Gettysburg, a late entry into the race, made all the running at a decent pace to set things up for his stable companion. But Walden made the call that won the race for WinStar. Instead it had one of the closest finishes at the Belmont.
Speaking after the race, jockey Luis Saez Jr said: ‘It is an fantastic feeling, it is very important for me, I’m very happy.
The Travers was also on the mind of trainer Keith Desormeaux after Exaggerator (Curlin)’s 11th-place effort Saturday.
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And how appropriate for Asmussen to be inducted into the Hall of Fame the same year he wins the Belmont and finishes third in the Kentucky Derby. 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. Caren, who fought gamely in the Selene and held second, is best known as a sprinter but she did win the Princess Elizabeth going two turns and will be closer to the pace.
