Creator was the first of three Belmont Stakes winners sired by Tapit. Also the winner of the 2016 Arkansas Derby, he failed to win again following the Triple Crown series. He was exported to Japan following the 2016 racing season.
Race record
12 starts, 3 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third, US$1,610,320
2016:
Assessments
Rated at 116 pounds for his Belmont Stakes performance on the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2016, 22 pounds below overall highweight Arrogate, who was also the top 3-year-old male and top dirt horse.
As an individual
A handsome, well-balanced, correctly made gray (he was officially registered as gray or roan), Creator was a good mover on the track. He typically came from well off the pace when racing. He was a high-strung animal.
As a stallion
According to the Japanese Bloodstock Information System, Creator was 12th in the Japanese freshman sire list in 2020.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Creator was bred by Mt. Brilliant Broodmares. A US$440,000 yearling at the 2014 Keeneland September sale, he was owned by WinStar Farm; celebrity chef Bobby Flay purchased a minority interest in the colt just prior to the Belmont Stakes. Creator was trained by Steve Asmussen and was ridden to his Belmont win by Irad Ortiz Jr. He was sold to the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders Association following an unplaced run in the 2016 Travers Stakes (USA-G1; his last start) and began his stud career in 2017 at Shizunai Stallion Station, Japan. In December 2024, he was sold for export to Saudi Arabia.
Pedigree notes
Creator is inbred 5x5 to the great international sire Northern Dancer, who was Horse of the Year in Canada and champion 3-year-old male in the United States in 1964. He is the second foal of three-time Peruvian champion Morena (by seven-time Peruvian champion sire Privately Held, a son of Private Account), whose half sister La Querella (by Apprentice) is a Group 1-placed Group 3 winner in Peru. La Querella, in turn, is the dam of Peruvian Group 3 winner La Consulta (by Privately Held).
Morena is out of Charytin (by Summing), a half sister to Peruvian Group 3 winner Nain (by Devil’s Moon). Charytin is also a half sister to Rosa Nevada (by Perfect Parade), dam of Peruvian Group 2 winner Con Nieve (by Combsway) and listed stakes winner Nieve Perpetua (by Devil’s Moon) and second dam of two-time Peruvian champion Maitena. The sisters are out of French-bred Crownit, a non-winning daughter of 1979 French co-champion sprinter King of Macedon and the winning Tudor Minstrel mare Queens Up.
Books and media
The New York Racing Association’s footage of Creator’s win in the Belmont Stakes can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKxmvnqkXE4.
Fun facts
Last updated: December 31, 2024
Race record
12 starts, 3 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third, US$1,610,320
2016:
- Won Arkansas Derby (USA-G1, 9FD, Oaklawn Park)
- Won Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Rebel Stakes (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Oaklawn Park)
Assessments
Rated at 116 pounds for his Belmont Stakes performance on the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2016, 22 pounds below overall highweight Arrogate, who was also the top 3-year-old male and top dirt horse.
As an individual
A handsome, well-balanced, correctly made gray (he was officially registered as gray or roan), Creator was a good mover on the track. He typically came from well off the pace when racing. He was a high-strung animal.
As a stallion
According to the Japanese Bloodstock Information System, Creator was 12th in the Japanese freshman sire list in 2020.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Creator was bred by Mt. Brilliant Broodmares. A US$440,000 yearling at the 2014 Keeneland September sale, he was owned by WinStar Farm; celebrity chef Bobby Flay purchased a minority interest in the colt just prior to the Belmont Stakes. Creator was trained by Steve Asmussen and was ridden to his Belmont win by Irad Ortiz Jr. He was sold to the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders Association following an unplaced run in the 2016 Travers Stakes (USA-G1; his last start) and began his stud career in 2017 at Shizunai Stallion Station, Japan. In December 2024, he was sold for export to Saudi Arabia.
Pedigree notes
Creator is inbred 5x5 to the great international sire Northern Dancer, who was Horse of the Year in Canada and champion 3-year-old male in the United States in 1964. He is the second foal of three-time Peruvian champion Morena (by seven-time Peruvian champion sire Privately Held, a son of Private Account), whose half sister La Querella (by Apprentice) is a Group 1-placed Group 3 winner in Peru. La Querella, in turn, is the dam of Peruvian Group 3 winner La Consulta (by Privately Held).
Morena is out of Charytin (by Summing), a half sister to Peruvian Group 3 winner Nain (by Devil’s Moon). Charytin is also a half sister to Rosa Nevada (by Perfect Parade), dam of Peruvian Group 2 winner Con Nieve (by Combsway) and listed stakes winner Nieve Perpetua (by Devil’s Moon) and second dam of two-time Peruvian champion Maitena. The sisters are out of French-bred Crownit, a non-winning daughter of 1979 French co-champion sprinter King of Macedon and the winning Tudor Minstrel mare Queens Up.
Books and media
The New York Racing Association’s footage of Creator’s win in the Belmont Stakes can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKxmvnqkXE4.
Fun facts
- The name Creator has been used for a number of other Thoroughbreds beside the 2016 Belmont winner, including two other top-level winners. One was a 1986 English-bred son of Mill Reef; this horse was a multiple Group 1 winner in France in 1990 and was eventually pensioned at the Old Friends retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, where he was euthanized due to a ruptured intestine on February 28, 2015. The other was a 1979 horse by Buffo, bred in South Africa and a Group 1 winner in that country.
- Creator’s Belmont victory was facilitated by the entry of Gettysburg, another WinStar horse who had been trained by Todd Pletcher but was sent to Steve Asmussen’s barn right before the Belmont. Entered in the Belmont at the direction of WinStar Farm owner Kenny Troutt, who wanted the colt to serve as a rabbit for Creator, Gettysburg did his job and carved out an honest pace for a mile and a quarter, just ahead of Todd Pletcher’s best hope, Destin. Destin took over the lead with a quarter-mile to run, but Creator’s closing drive was just enough to deny Destin victory by a nose.
- Creator led an unprecedented all-gray trifecta across the line in the Belmont. Destin, a gray by Giant’s Causeway x Dream of Summer, and Lani, a gray by Tapit out of Heavenly Romance, were second and third, respectively.
Last updated: December 31, 2024