In all, 18 horses have swept the final two-thirds of the Triple Crown, including seven that did not run in the Derby. Next came Stradivari, Brody’s Cause, Cherry Wine, Gettysburg, Suddenbreakingnews, Trojan Nation, Exaggerator, Seeking the Soul, and Forever d’Oro.
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“This is a culmination of a lifetime of applying myself to horsemanship and finding value”, he said, “and to not only get there but to win one in my first evolution in the Triple Crown series is pretty gratifying”.
“You would love for Creator to be at his best in the Travers”, Asmussen said. “He really ran a big race today, probably the best race of his life”. They don’t put you behind the gates. I thought Irad gave him a ideal trip. “I don’t think he gave a tremendous amount of effort in his first four or five races”. If Destin was allowed to set fractions on his own in:49 and change or:50 and 1:14 1/5 instead of chasing a pretty good horse in:48 2/5, 1:13 1/5, and a solid 1:37 4/5, it would be hard for anyone to claim that it wouldn’t have made up that nose difference. Going to the rail and saving ground was the strategy, but the pace was not torrid like at Oaklawn.
Pletcher added that Gettysburg, who he trained up to a week ago, will remain in the Asmussen barn. He came off the bridle at the 4 1/2. I thought quite a bit of traffic around the quarter pole; Irad was beautifully patient.
Creator, a Tapit colt, needed six tries to score his first win. Despite the tight naturs of the photo finish, he celebrated as soon as they crossed the wire.
After DiNapoli shot arrows at NYRA with his audit of their finances on Friday, Saturday’s card got off to a fitting start when a heavy favorite named Cupid finished last to a horse named Economic Model.
While there’s no Triple Crown to be won this year, on Saturday, June 11, the third of the American thoroughbred horse races, the Belmont Stakes, is set to take place.
Steve Asmussen was born in Gettysburg before his family moved to Laredo, Texas.
Southern California horse handicapper Scott Shapiro (@ScottShap34 on Twitter) said he will bet to beat Exaggerator in the Belmont’s longer 1½-mile race. “I was praying to God that the reins were lying to me”. “I’m proud of my horse. I’m kind of surprised by his energy”, said Asmussen, who admitted he didn’t get much sleep.
Exaggerator, on the other hand, never got his act together and finished 11th in the 13 horse field.
Thus, Exaggerator’s Triple Crown odyssey ended with a thud. When he pulled up, he didn’t look winded. “I know he’s going to WinStar for a freshening and it will be Elliott’s decision what he does after that”. Maybe he was just struggling with the surface.
I should’ve known something was brewing when I stood next to Flay in the paddock before the Belmont and overheard him describing to a friend a tomato sauce-based dish he had whipped up. Exaggerator loomed a threat with open track in front of him on the outside, while Creator was bottled up behind horses waiting for room.
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.
“So I wanted to make sure my guests had a very enjoyable experience”. Savoring a Belmont Stakes triumph the morning after was a taste of paradise. When he won, the grandstand shook as a packed house of 90,000 cheered him on.
“There are just a couple chances to prove you are a classic victor”, said Asmussen, praising the ride by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.: “He saved yards and won by inches”. It was Creator’s sixth victory in 12 career starts.
At the end of the cavalry charge down the stretch, it was Creator by a nose at odds of 16 to 1.
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Exaggerator won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in the slop, ran a good second in the Kentucky Derby over a track that had some moisture in it, and then romped to a 3& #189;-length victory in the Preakness in the slop.
