“He never danced like that”, she said of the races’ effect on her horse.
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“Today was flawless for us, by inches”, said Steve Asmussen, who will be inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame this summer at Saratoga.
On the third day, WinStar Farm created an opportunity for celebrity chef Bobby Flay.
“It’s an incredible feeling – it’s very important for me, I’m very happy”. It didn’t last very long, and moisture in the track probably would not have made a difference for Exaggerator, who “was empty”, according to jockey Kent Desormeaux, when he asked the horse to run. “I feel fortunate for his effort”. “I’m very proud of Creator; he stayed focused through the traffic and did all he could to get up and win a great race”. Creator won in 2:28.51 minutes. Talented, but mentally immature, Creator required a yeoman-like effort from Asmussen’s staff to get him to blossom as he took six tries to break his maiden. With Ortiz urging him on, Creator stormed into contention after running near the back of the pack and won in the final stride. Gettysburg dropped back and Destin took charge well into the stretch on a hot, sticky day at Belmont Park.
“I was glad to see them put his number up as they came to the wire together”, Asmussen told At The Races. “The only thing I did was I certainly was cheering the loudest in the entire racetrack, and maybe I gave him the last bit of head-bob, but that’s about it”. “That might have given me a sign, I don’t know”.
Both Creator and his pacesetting stablemate Gettysburg (Pioneerof the Nile), who finished eighth, will now get some down time at WinStar Farm, but Asmussen is looking ahead to a possible tilt at the August 27 GI Travers S. this summer.
Destin, who’s co-owner is Whitey Richardson, was leading down the stretch, but was caught at just the last second.
“Nobody’s going to tower over the field because the mile-and-a-half is the question”, Romans said, “It’s something no one’s done yet. Gettysburg did his job”. That finish gave many hope that a better horse would show up in the Belmont. I wanted to purchase a horse to run, not necessarily in the Belmont Stakes – and there were a couple of other horses that we were looking at.
Stradivari, who took fourth at the Preakness, was a darkhorse and finished fifth.
Pletcher, however, said Sunday morning that he would not take Gettysburg back. “I mean, from our stable’s perspective, I did not feel like running Gettysburg was in my two horses’ best interests and I had an obligation to those owners”. But Walden made the call that won the race for WinStar. “He should do it with his pedigree, but I don’t think he towers over the field”.
Both the first two had run in the Kentucky Derby – where Destin was sixth and Creator a troubled 13before skipping the Preakness, whereas UAE Derby victor Lani can take great credit after running in all three Triple Crown races.
Frosted was completing a memorable Grade 1 double on the Belmont undercard for his trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who also won the Ogden Phipps with Cavorting.
The 24 year-old began the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival on Friday by winning the Jersey Girl Stakes followed by the Grade 2 New York Stakes aboard Dacita (CHI).
“I know Kent felt that he was okay and I’ll respect that”. “I walked him myself at about 6:30 this morning. He just wasn’t the smooth horse that he normally is”.
Then, on top of the audit news, trainer Brian Lynch had his license suspended for failing a drug test, meaning the favorite in one of Friday’s big stakes races, Private Zone, had to scratch out.
“All in all what an experience”.
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“I set him down at the quarter pole and there was nothing there”, jockey Kent Desormeaux said. “Having a chance to be involved with a horse like that, with a farm like that, and the people that are involved in it, it just was a no-brainer for me”.
