Creator rallies to win Belmont Stakes by a nose

16-1 shot edges Destin in final stride

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Notwithstanding the absence of a Triple Crown hopeful, the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes featured a dramatic finish with Creator inching past Destin in the final stride to win by a nose before a crowd of 60,114 last Saturday.

Creator, who broke from the extreme outside in a field of 13 with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, ran near the back of the pack most of the 1 ½ miles, saving ground along the rail, before storming into contention down the stretch as Destin put away frontrunner Gettysburg and led by a length-and-a-half. Destin, ridden by Javier Castellano, settled for second, while Lani finished third to complete an all-gray trifecta.

“He was calm, and I just waited for somewhere to go,” said Ortiz Jr., one of the nation’s leading jockeys who won his first Triple Crown race. “When he got clear, he started running.”

Preakness winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up Exaggerator, sent off as the 7-5 favorite, sat a length behind the pace for more than a mile but never seriously threatened and finished 11th, ahead of only longshots Seeking the Soul and Forever d’Oro. When jockey Kent Desormeaux asked Exaggerator to make a move, the horse trained by his brother Keith didn’t respond.

“When I picked him up at the quarter pole to try and win the race, there was nothing there,” Kent Desormeaux said. “He did not quicken and he has a turn of foot, and my brother and I call it, we say when I turn this guy loose he pops a wheelie he gets up so fast. And there was nothing there.”

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Creator, making his first start since a troubled-trip 13th in the Derby, went off at the same odds, 16-1, and paid $34.80 to win. The winning time was 2:28.51. “Today was perfect for us by inches,” Asmussen said. “That’s how you have to be on race day. I thought Irad gave him a perfect trip. I thought he saved yards and won by inches. He made the difference.”

Owned by WinStar Farm and celebrity chef Bobby Flay, Creator became the 17th non-favorite to win the Belmont in the last 20 years. During that span, only Point Given (2001), Afleet Alex (2005) and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah a year ago, finished first as the chalk.

“I was glad to see them put our number up,” said Asmussen, who ranks second on the all-time trainer win list with 7,317.  

The margin of victory matched the smallest in Belmont history reached three times previously, most recently in 1998 when Victory Gallop spoiled Real Quiet's bid at the Triple Crown. Victory Gallop was trained by Elliott Walden, who’s now the CEO and president of WinStar.

In a strategic move, Walden switched the speedy Gettysburg, also owned by WinStar, to Asmussen's barn last week to ensure a fast pace to aid Creator’s closing style. 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.

“Gettysburg did his job,” Asmussen said. “Great call by Elliott.”

Behind the three grays and ahead of Exaggerator came Governor Malibu, Stradivari, Brody’s Cause, Cherry Wine, Gettysburg, Suddenbreakingnews, and Trojan Nation. The 13-horse field was the second-largest in the last 20 years of the Belmont, topped only by 14 in 2013.

Creator’s third win in 10 lifetime starts earned him $800,000 of the $1.5 million purse. His career earnings skyrocketed to $1,568,320. “Steve told me a week after the Derby that he didn’t want to come to Belmont unless he felt like Creator could win,” Walden said.

“The confidence we had going into the Derby, we wanted to be sure we had that going again,” Asmussen noted. It's the best feeling right now. The great thing about racing; you can have a bad day, a bad week, a bad month. They don't put you behind the gates; they line you up even and give you a chance to prove yourself.

“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.”