When I picked him up at the quarter-pole to try and win the race, there was nothing there.Exaggerator and Lani were the only horses who ran in all three Triple Crown races. Among Brown’s major victories over the three-day span were Flintshire’s win in the Grade 1, $1 million Woodford Reserve Manhattan, Economic Model’s win in the $150,000 Easy Goer, Zindaya’s triumph in the $150,000 Intercontinental and a 1-2-3 finish in the Grade 2, $500,000 NY with Dacita, Sea Calisi and Guapaza.
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Creator and Lani loomed a closing danger and Destin looked a victor in every stride but the last, as Creator got his head down where it mattered most, completing the 1 ½ mile trip in 2m 28.51s to deny Destin by a nose.
“Today was ideal for us by inches”, said Steve Asmussen, Creator’s trainer who will be inducted into horse racing’s Hall of Fame this summer.
Creator wins the 2016 Belmont Stakes in a photo finish over Destin.
Creator, a closer who finished 13th in the Derby and didn’t run in the Preakness, broke near the back of the pack and still was sixth after 1¼ miles before finally catching Destin in the stretch.
Creator, sent off with 16-1 odds, returned $34.80, $14.60 and $9.40 for a $2 bet.
“I couldn’t believe we were going so slow for such an animal, such a talent, such a horse with expeditious speed”, Desormeaux said. Ortiz is the No. 1 jockey on the New York Racing Association circuit this year.
WinStar and Asmussen are to be credited for keeping the faith that Creator could rebound five weeks after he endured an extremely hard trip in the Kentucky Derby under Ricardo Santana Jr. and was a thoroughly-beaten 13. “He did not quicken, and he has a turn of foot… when I turn this guy loose, he pops a wheelie, he takes off so fast, and there was nothing there”. After the race, however, he noted Gettysburg took the field though a satisfyingly quick half mile in 48 seconds. Starting with Spectacular Bid in 1979, 13 horses won the Derby and the Preakness but didn’t get it done in the Belmont.
Dale Romans counts himself “lucky” that he and three passengers did not suffer life-threatening injuries in a vehicle crash while leaving Churchill Downs following the Kentucky Derby. An early Derby favorite, the colt was injured and missed the Triple Crown. “I don’t think it has a good look to it. I think it would be better if they take a different path”. Destin overtook Gettysburg after the mile mark and built a substantial lead before Creator came from behind. Creator won for the third time in 10 career races. But I think we need to do the responsible thing and let him let down a little bit, and then see how he responds.
It was the second graded stakes win for Creator who also won the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby back in March. “When he got clear, he started rolling and I knew he’d get to the other horse”.
“He was calm, and I just waited for somewhere to go”, Ortiz said.
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“Obviously I want to say thanks for the opportunity with a horse like [Creator] that can prove he’s good enough to win the Belmont Stakes”. Mott won the $196,000 Belmont Coronation Invitational with Suffused on Thursday, the first day of the festival, and on Saturday won the Grade 1, $700,000 Acorn with Carina Mia and the Grade 1, $700,000 Just a Game with Celestine. The last horse to go from last to first in the Belmont was Jazil in 2006.
