The silver-haired conditioner reported the Tapit colt came out of the Belmont well-“I was kinda surprised by his energy level”-and will depart from New York June 13 for some time off at WinStar near Versailles, Ky”.
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When they entered, they named NYRA riding champion Irad Ortiz, Jr.to handle the reins on Creator. But after skipping the Preakness Stakes, Creator won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, running down Destin in the stretch to capture the 1.5-mile race by a nose.
Horses charge out of the starting gate at the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race at Belmont Park, Saturday, June 11, 2016, in Elmont, N.Y. Creator won the race. When they did, he shot past them like a bullet train and trained Destin’s gaze on the finish line.
“He was calm, and I just waited for somewhere to go”, Ortiz said. Curlin finished second in the Belmont after his Preakness win in 2007, and Nehro finished fourth in 2011.
Ortiz would also top all North American riders in wins for the week, capturing 11 from his 36 mounts.
AFTER his Dubai World Cup flop, last year’s Belmont Stakes runner-up Frosted (Kiaran McLaughlin/Joel Rosario) had plenty of questions to answer – and the Godolphin four-year-old answered them in no uncertain terms when he annihilated a good field in the $1.25million event better known as the Met Mile.
– Odd week at Belmont Park.
Trainer Josie Carroll sends out Gamble’s Ghost, the 8-5 favourite in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks. Gettysburg broke well and led the field through an opening quarter-mile in 24.09 seconds, a half in 48.48 and six furlongs in 1:13.38.
“He’s good”, Desormeaux said of the GI Preakness S. victor. He will be favoured to return to form in the $150,000 Plate Trial. “It was a helluva accomplishment to win the Preakness, to win a Classic race”.
Ami’s Gizmo will also be looking for a form reversal.
Third place on Saturday went to Lani, a Kentucky bred that has raced predominately in Japan. The colt was a first Belmont victor for his prolific trainer Asmussen, whose only previous Triple Crown successes had come in the Preakness via Rachel Alexandra (2007) and Curlin (2009), who suffered an agonising defeat after a pitched battle down the stretch with the filly Rags To Riches in that year’s Belmont. He won one, too – with Summer Bird in 2009. The track was a fast one all day, and the rain held off until after the finish when a downpour soaked the track and a crowd much smaller than the 90,000 that showed up for American Pharoahs Triple Crown.Earlier in the week, celebrity chef Bobby Flay became a co-owner of Creator along with WinStar. The novelty debuted on Friday to an enthusiastic reception from both fans and jockey Luis Contreras, who won that race aboard Fireball Merlin.
“But there was really nothing he could have done differently”, Berkelhammer said. “But it’s fun at the same time”.
A year ago, the joint was jumpin’. And there will be cake to mark the occasion on the second-floor grandstand.
But according to Kent, the track couldn’t have been better.
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The trainer credited his young jockey, who regularly rides on the NY circuit, for the win. Stahlbaum will receive the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award between races on Sunday.
