Creator (horse)
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Creator (foaled March 30, 2013, in
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
) is a retired American
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
racehorse, best known as the winner of the
2016 Belmont Stakes The 2016 Belmont Stakes was the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes. The race, known as the "test of the champion", is the final jewel in Thoroughbred horse racing's American Triple Crown series, and was held on June 11, 2016, three weeks after ...
and Arkansas Derby.


Background

Creator is a dapple gray colt, a color he inherited from leading sire
Tapit Tapit (foaled February 27, 2001, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Graded stakes race, Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, ...
, whose other offspring include the
2014 Belmont Stakes The 2014 Belmont Stakes was the 146th running of the Belmont Stakes. It was run on June 7, 2014, and was televised on NBC. California Chrome had a chance to complete the third leg of the Triple Crown after his victories in the 2014 Kentucky Derby ...
winner
Tonalist Tonalist (foaled February 11, 2011) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2014 Belmont Stakes, beating the favored California Chrome, who was attempting to win the Triple Crown. Tonalist won the Peter Pan Stakes in ...
and
2015 Belmont Stakes The 2015 Belmont Stakes (known as the 147th Belmont Stakes presented by DraftKings for sponsorship reasons) was the 147th in the Belmont Stakes series. The race, known as the "test of the champion" and sometimes called the "final jewel" in tho ...
runner-up Frosted. His
dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...
, Morena, was a champion filly in Peru at both age 2 and 3 before being sent to the United States, where she finished third in the Personal Ensign Stakes. Creator was bred by Mt. Brilliant Broodmares and sold at the Keeneland September Sale for $440,000 to
WinStar Farm WinStar Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding and horse racing, racing farm near Versailles, Kentucky, owned by Kenny Troutt. It won the 2010 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner and 2016 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder, Outstandi ...
. His consignor, Michael Hernon, said later, "He was a correct, good mover, with a touch of class, and he seemed real genuine. He had size and scope and was well made. He was our number one choice, and it is very gratifying to see he is a grade I winner and a horse who is coming into his own of late." Creator was trained by Steve Asmussen, whose numerous stakes winners included champion filly
Untapable Untapable (foaled 13 February 2011) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 2013 when she won two of her four races including the Pocahontas Stakes and was placed in the Starlet Stakes. In 2014 she emerge ...
, also by Tapit. It was the first time WinStar had sent a horse to Asmussen. WinStar's CEO Elliot Walden explained, " reators been a very high-strung horse in the beginning. I liked what Steve had done with some of the Tapits he's had in the past, so that's why we sent Creator to him. ... I love his style." Just before the Belmont Stakes, celebrity chef
Bobby Flay Robert William Flay (born December 10, 1964), is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality. Flay is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's ...
purchased a minority interest in the colt. Creator is a closer who likes to sit back and make a strong late move.


Racing career

In 2015 at the age of two, Creator ran four times, finishing second three times and fifth once. His first race on September 19 was typical: the chart says that he was outrun for the first half mile, went wide around the turn and closed fast, finishing second to Samicean (GER). In 2016, now age three, he started out on the same foot, finishing second in a maiden special weight race at the Fair Grounds. He then shipped to Oaklawn Park and, on February 27, finally broke his maiden. Although he again raced wide, this time he was "full of run" to win by over seven lengths. He was next entered on March 19 in the Rebel Stakes, also at Oaklawn Park, a qualifying race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The chart for the race shows that he broke last, raced 4-wide into the far turn, and closed powerfully to finish third. Most eyes though were on the Bob Baffert-trained winner, Cupid. On April 16, he entered the last major Kentucky Derby prep, the Arkansas Derby, at odds of 11–1. He again faced Cupid plus ten other colts, all of whom he trailed coming out of the gate. At one point, he was over 15 lengths behind Cupid on the lead. But Cupid eventually tired just as Creator hit his best stride. His jockey, Ricardo Santana, took him through traffic and though the colt was lightly bumped, Creator powered clear and drew off to win by lengths. Santana explained, "(Trainer) Steve smussentold me to be patient, be patient, because you're going to have a lot of horse. It worked out — worked out really good. I hope I have the same trip in the Kentucky Derby." Instead, Creator would have the worst race of his career. On May 7, he was sent off at odds of 16–1 in the
2016 Kentucky Derby The 2016 Kentucky Derby was the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby. The race was run at 6:51 pm Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United State ...
. He broke slowly and settled near the rail at the back of the pack with a few other horses who shared his running style. He started his run on the far turn and angled to the outside but was bumped heavily at the head of the stretch. Losing his momentum, Creator could not make up enough ground and finished thirteenth. Asmussen gave the colt a few days off and skipped the Preakness Stakes. For the
2016 Belmont Stakes The 2016 Belmont Stakes was the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes. The race, known as the "test of the champion", is the final jewel in Thoroughbred horse racing's American Triple Crown series, and was held on June 11, 2016, three weeks after ...
on June 11, he engaged
Irad Ortiz, Jr Irad Ortiz Jr. (born August 11, 1992) is a Puerto Rican jockey who has been a leading rider in the New York Thoroughbred horse racing circuit since 2012. He won his first Breeders' Cup race on Lady Eli in 2014, and his first American Classic on ...
, one of the leading jockeys on the New York circuit. After racing at the back of the field around the first turn, Ortiz moved the colt up to sixth place down the backstretch, continuing to save ground on the rail. As they entered the stretch, Creator was full of run but had nowhere to go, surrounded by other horses. Ortiz waited patiently until a hole opened, then burst through, rapidly closing on the leader, Destin, to win by a nose. "I thought Irad gave him a perfect trip," Asmussen said. "I thought he saved yards and won by inches. He made the difference." Creator came out of the race well and was turned out at WinStar Farms for some "mental freshening." He returned to racing in the Jim Dandy Stakes on July 30, finishing sixth. In the
Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internation ...
on a fast track at Saratoga on 27 August Creator finished seventh of the thirteen runners behind Arrogate.


Stud career

Creator retired in October 2016. He was sold to the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders’ Association and stands at the Shizunai Stallion Station in Hokkaido, Japan for the 2017 breeding season. His first foals will be of racing age in 2020.


Pedigree

Creator is inbred 4 × 5 to Mr. Prospector, meaning Mr. Prospector appears once in the fifth generation of Creator's pedigree and once in the fourth generation. Creator is also inbred 5 × 5 to
Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...
.


References

{{Belmont Stakes Winners 2013 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Belmont Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 2-o