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WALLY HALL: Creator shows quality of WinStar program

When Gettysburg broke alertly from the No. 12 post and moved down to the rail, on the lead, it was obvious the strategy was to not let odds-on favorite Cupid repeat his performance in the Rebel Stakes, when he took the lead and went wire-to-wire for the victory.

It is highly unlikely the strategy included running the opening quarter of the Arkansas Derby in 22.81, 46.33 for a half, and three quarters in 1:10.61.

Those are numbers for sprinters, usually at 6 furlongs, and the Arkansas Derby is a route race at 1 1/8 mile.

Maybe it was ego or just a lack of judgment, but Cupid jockey Martin Garcia fell in behind Gettysburg and John Velazquez and matched him almost stride for stride.

They say great jockeys learn to judge pace and know when they are going too fast or too slow. Pat Day was a master at it. It wasn't evident last Saturday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs.

When Garcia asked Cupid to make a move on the turn home, the winner of the Rebel Stakes moved quickly, the wrong way, fading from second to eventually 10th.

Creator -- more on this horse later -- and Suddenbreakingnews are horses that come from off the pace, and Gettysburg's pace was something they loved. Whitmore, too.

Gettysburg and Creator are both owned by Kenny Troutt, who owns WinStar Farms, but the idea of burning Cupid out so Creator could come running late was never considered.

Creator is trained by Steven Asmussen and Gettysburg by Todd Pletcher. Saying Asmussen and Pletcher are competitors would be like saying Bob Baffert trains some nice horses.

Troutt didn't get where he is by compromising. The son of a bartender who grew up in a housing project in Illinois, he founded Excel Communications, a Texas-based communications company that specialized in long-distance calls. He sold it in 1998 for $3.5 billion and in 2000 bought Prestonwood Farm and renamed it WinStar.

Five years later, he hired a brilliant young trainer, Elliott Walden, who earlier in his career saddled Victory Gallop to a victory in the 1998 Arkansas Derby and a few weeks later he broke up Real Quiet's Triple Crown bid in the Belmont Stakes.

Walden, a man who wears his spiritual beliefs proudly, moved into administration in 2005, and in 2010 was named president and CEO of WinStar.

Many in the press avoided Walden, even as he began winning immediately after getting his training license at Churchill Downs, because he was never lucky, always blessed.

Walden named Creator, a name which needs no explanation if you know of Walden's faith.

If you read Bloodhorse magazine, it seems every few months some new horse is being added to their breeding operation, horses such as Super Saver, Speightstown, Pioneerof the Nile, Carpe Diem and Bodemeister, to name just a few of the Grade I winners standing stud.

Oh, American Pharoah, last year's Triple Crown winner, was bred at WinStar Farms.

Walden sent Creator, a $440,000 purchase as a yearling, to Asmussen because he has a reputation for working with high-strung horses.

Creator started the year at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, but after a couple of second-place finishes, Creator shipped to Oaklawn and broke his maiden Feb. 27 by 7¼ lengths in Hot Springs.

Creator ran third in the Rebel Stakes, in his first race against winners, and was one of the few closing ground on Cupid.

Then came last Saturday, and he was one of three gray sons of Tapit in the race -- Cupid and Gray Sky being the others. But unlike the others, Creator was still running strong at the finish.

Gettysburg held on for fifth and will be aimed for the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., while Creator, Suddenbreakingnews and Whitmore are all eligible for the Run for the Roses on the first Saturday in May, where most strategies need a heavy dose of luck.

Sports on 04/19/2016

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