Creme Fraiche (USA)
April 7, 1982 – October 9, 2003
Rich Cream (USA) x Likely Exchange (USA), by Terrible Tiger (USA)
Family 9-f
April 7, 1982 – October 9, 2003
Rich Cream (USA) x Likely Exchange (USA), by Terrible Tiger (USA)
Family 9-f
The best stayer of his crop in the United States, Creme Fraiche continued an American tradition of durable geldings as fan favorites. In spite of his prowess over routes, he had enough foot to be a Grade 1 winner over a mile. Never more than a “nice little horse” in the estimation of trainer Woody Stephens, he won seven Grade 1 races over the course of his career, including the 1985 Belmont Stakes and two editions of the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
64 starts, 17 wins, 12 seconds, 13 thirds, US$4,024,727
1984:
1985:
1986:
1987:
1988:
1989:
Assessments
Rated at 109 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1984, 17 pounds below champion Chief's Crown.
Rated at 125 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1985, 2 pounds below champion Spend a Buck but tied with Chief's Crown for third.
Rated at 123 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1986, 3 pounds below champion Precisionist.
Rated at 123 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1987, 4 pounds below Horse of the Year and divisional champion Ferdinand.
As an individual
A bay, Creme Fraiche had a rambunctious disposition and was gelded before beginning his racing career. He sometimes had problems with maintaining his mental focus during a race, an issue that improved as he matured, but was always honest and willing to give his best whenever he raced. He handled both dirt and turf with aplomb and raced well over both fast and off tracks. He loved mints as treats.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Creme Fraiche was bred by Pamela Firman and G. Watts Humphrey. He was owned by Elizabeth Moran's Brushwood Stable, which purchased Creme Fraiche for US$160,000 from the 1983 Keeneland July yearling sale. He was trained by Woody Stephens and was ridden to his Classic score by Eddie Maple. Following his racing career, he was pensioned at Brushwood Farm, Pennsylvania, where he was euthanized due to severe laminitis on October 9, 2003. He was buried in the farm's memorial garden.
Pedigree notes
Sired by 1980 Triple Bend Handicap winner Rich Cream (at one time a co-holder of the world record for 7 furlongs), Creme Fraiche is inbred 4x4 to two-time American champion sire Heliopolis. He is also inbred 5x5x5 to 1933 English dual Classic winner and six-time English champion sire Hyperion (sire of Heliopolis) and 5x5 to the important sires Beau Pere and Stimulus. He is a half brother to 1989 Monmouth Oaks (USA-G1) winner Dream Deal (by Sharpen Up), dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Clear Mandate (by Deputy Minister), 1998 Churchill Downs Distaff Handicap (USA-G2) winner Dream Scheme (by Danzig) and multiple listed stakes winner A Diehl (by Aldebaran). Dream Deal is also the second dam of 2001 Japanese champion older female To the Victory, 2013 Hopeful Stakes (USA-G1) winner Strong Mandate and Grade/Group 3 winners Silent Deal and Newfoundland and is the third dam of Japanese Group 2 winners To the Glory, Denim and Ruby, and To the World and Japanese Group 3 winners Tosen Victory and Fairy Polka.
Also a half brother to Hebba (by Nureyev; dam of Japanese Group 3 winner Headliner, by Sakura Bakushin O, and third dam of Japanese Group 2 winner Tagano Espresso and Japanese Group 3 winner Tagano Tonnere), Creme Fraiche is out of 1979 Delaware Handicap (USA-G1) winner Likely Exchange, a daughter of the stakes-winning Amerigo horse Terrible Tiger. A hardy mare who raced for six seasons and won 23 of 72 starts, Likely Exchange is out of multiple stakes winner Likely Swap (by Swaps), whose dam Most Likely (by Heliopolis) is a winning half sister to multiple stakes winner Abstract (by Isolater) and juvenile stakes winner Metal Mike (by Pilate).
Books and media
Fun facts
Last updated: March 3, 2021
64 starts, 17 wins, 12 seconds, 13 thirds, US$4,024,727
1984:
- Won What a Pleasure Stakes (first division) (USA, 8F+70yD, Calder)
1985:
- Won Belmont Stakes (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont)
- Won Super Derby Invitational Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, Louisiana Downs)
- Won American Derby (USA-G1, 10FD, Arlington Park)
- Won Jerome Handicap (USA-G1, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Derby Trial Stakes (USA-G3, 8FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Everglades Stakes (USA-G2, 9FD, Hialeah)
- 2nd Hutcheson Stakes (USA-G3, 7FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 2nd Louisiana Derby (USA-G3, 9FD, Fair Grounds)
- 2nd Jersey Derby (USA-G3, 10FD, Garden State)
- 2nd Swale Stakes (USA-L, 7FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 3rd Haskell Invitational Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Monmouth)
- 3rd Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Lashkari Stakes (USA-L, 9FT, Aqueduct)
1986:
- Won Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont)
- Won Paterson Handicap (USA-G2, 9FD, The Meadowlands)
- Won Donn Handicap (USA-G2, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 2nd Massachusetts Handicap (USA-G2, 9FD, Suffolk Downs)
- 2nd W. L. McKnight Invitational Handicap (USA-G2, 12FT, Calder)
- 2nd Jaipur Stakes (first division) (USA-G3, 7FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Suburban Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Brooklyn Handicap (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Bernard Baruch Handicap (USA-G2, 9FD, Saratoga)
1987:
- Won Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont)
- Won Meadowlands Cup Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, The Meadowlands)
- Won W. L. McKnight Invitational Handicap (USA-G2, 12FT, Calder)
- 2nd Gulfstream Park Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 2nd Widener Handicap (Feb) (USA-G1, 10FD, Hialeah)
- 2nd Bold Reason Handicap (USA-L, 9FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Woodward Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Hialeah Turf Cup Handicap (USA-G1, 12FT, Hialeah)
1988:
- Won Tropical Park Handicap (USA-L, 9FD, Calder)
- 2nd Richard Stockton Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, The Meadowlands)
- 3rd Brooklyn Handicap (USA-G1, 12FT, Belmont)
- 3rd Gulfstream Park Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 3rd W. L. McKnight Invitational Handicap (USA-G2, 12FT, Calder)
- 3rd Dominion Day Handicap (CAN-G3, 10FD, Woodbine)
1989:
- 3rd W. L. McKnight Invitational Handicap (USA-G2, 12FT, Calder)
Assessments
Rated at 109 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1984, 17 pounds below champion Chief's Crown.
Rated at 125 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1985, 2 pounds below champion Spend a Buck but tied with Chief's Crown for third.
Rated at 123 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1986, 3 pounds below champion Precisionist.
Rated at 123 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1987, 4 pounds below Horse of the Year and divisional champion Ferdinand.
As an individual
A bay, Creme Fraiche had a rambunctious disposition and was gelded before beginning his racing career. He sometimes had problems with maintaining his mental focus during a race, an issue that improved as he matured, but was always honest and willing to give his best whenever he raced. He handled both dirt and turf with aplomb and raced well over both fast and off tracks. He loved mints as treats.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Creme Fraiche was bred by Pamela Firman and G. Watts Humphrey. He was owned by Elizabeth Moran's Brushwood Stable, which purchased Creme Fraiche for US$160,000 from the 1983 Keeneland July yearling sale. He was trained by Woody Stephens and was ridden to his Classic score by Eddie Maple. Following his racing career, he was pensioned at Brushwood Farm, Pennsylvania, where he was euthanized due to severe laminitis on October 9, 2003. He was buried in the farm's memorial garden.
Pedigree notes
Sired by 1980 Triple Bend Handicap winner Rich Cream (at one time a co-holder of the world record for 7 furlongs), Creme Fraiche is inbred 4x4 to two-time American champion sire Heliopolis. He is also inbred 5x5x5 to 1933 English dual Classic winner and six-time English champion sire Hyperion (sire of Heliopolis) and 5x5 to the important sires Beau Pere and Stimulus. He is a half brother to 1989 Monmouth Oaks (USA-G1) winner Dream Deal (by Sharpen Up), dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Clear Mandate (by Deputy Minister), 1998 Churchill Downs Distaff Handicap (USA-G2) winner Dream Scheme (by Danzig) and multiple listed stakes winner A Diehl (by Aldebaran). Dream Deal is also the second dam of 2001 Japanese champion older female To the Victory, 2013 Hopeful Stakes (USA-G1) winner Strong Mandate and Grade/Group 3 winners Silent Deal and Newfoundland and is the third dam of Japanese Group 2 winners To the Glory, Denim and Ruby, and To the World and Japanese Group 3 winners Tosen Victory and Fairy Polka.
Also a half brother to Hebba (by Nureyev; dam of Japanese Group 3 winner Headliner, by Sakura Bakushin O, and third dam of Japanese Group 2 winner Tagano Espresso and Japanese Group 3 winner Tagano Tonnere), Creme Fraiche is out of 1979 Delaware Handicap (USA-G1) winner Likely Exchange, a daughter of the stakes-winning Amerigo horse Terrible Tiger. A hardy mare who raced for six seasons and won 23 of 72 starts, Likely Exchange is out of multiple stakes winner Likely Swap (by Swaps), whose dam Most Likely (by Heliopolis) is a winning half sister to multiple stakes winner Abstract (by Isolater) and juvenile stakes winner Metal Mike (by Pilate).
Books and media
- Creme Fraiche is profiled in Chapter 11 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
- Creme Fraiche is one of the older Thoroughbreds profiled in essays and photos in Barbara Livingston's Old Friends: Visits With My Favorite Thoroughbreds (2002, The Blood-Horse, Inc.).
Fun facts
- Crème fraîche is the French term for a soured cream containing a high butterfat content and soured by use of a bacterial culture; no other ingredients are permitted according to European labeling regulations. It is served over fruit and baked goods and can also be used as an ingredient in soups and sauces.
- Creme Fraiche was the first gelding to win the Belmont Stakes. (Geldings were barred from the Belmont in 1918-1957; prior to that ban, the best finish by a gelding was a second by Monitor, who was beaten by Spendthrift in the 1879 Belmont.)
- Creme Fraiche was the fourth of five consecutive Belmont Stakes winners trained by National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame trainer Woody Stephens. The others were Conquistador Cielo (1982), Caveat (1983), Swale (1984) and Danzig Connection (1986). Stephens was 1-2 in the 1985 Belmont as he also sent out second-place Stephan's Odyssey.
- In his old age, Creme Fraiche's pasture buddies were the former steeplechaser Tostadero and multiple stakes winner Glenbarra.
- The Creme Fraiche Handicap was run at Gulfstream Park in 1985-2002. It was renamed for the popular Florida-bred multiple Grade 1 winner Hal's Hope in 2003.
Last updated: March 3, 2021