Just over one minute and 26 sloppy seconds was all it took. As I watched Currency Swap wear down 68-1 shot Trinniberg through the final yards of yesterday’s Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes, my belief that the West is the coast with the most when it comes to the juvenile colts was strengthened. While I have yet to find a single juvenile colt on the East Coast that truly excites me for the future, things out here in beautiful Del Mar are quite different. While the Hopeful came up lacking, the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity looks like a race that could well produce a champion. The biggest reason I say that is a young gray/roan colt named Creative Cause.
The unbeaten youngster started his career in most impressive fashion on July 16 with a visually impressive maiden win at Hollywood Park. Creative Cause won his career debut for trainer Mike Harrington at five furlongs that day by nearly five lengths and earned a huge Beyer of 98 for his effort.
He followed that up by jumping right into graded stakes company on August 7, and again proving too good for his competition. This time taking the 6 1/2-furlong, Grade 2 Best Pal with a powerful stretch run that saw him effortlessly hit the wire 1 ¾ lengths better than his nearest competition. The final time of 1:15.62 was the fastest Best Pal since Del Mar switched to a Polytrack surface in 2007, despite being not asked late by rider Rafael Bejarano.
Well regarded for a long time, the unbeaten two-year-old colt is bred to be a good one. By one of the world’s top sires, Giant's Causeway, Creative Cause is a son of a grade 1 winning Siberian Summer mare named Dream of Summer, who earned more than $1.1 million during her racing career. A $130,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland last September, Creative Cause was bought privately this spring by owner Heinz Steinmann.
Displaying his continued development and his readiness for tomorrow’s $250,000 Futurity, Creative Cause dazzled onlookers with a strong six furlong workout on Friday. Under Bejarano, the 1:12.20 move should serve notice to his competition that he is strictly the one to beat on Wednesday, although there are several in here who may be capable of giving the morning line favorite a run for his money.
The clear second choice in the field is Majestic City who is undefeated in three starts, including two stakes wins at Hollywood Park in June and July. Others in the strong field that I have my eye on include a pair coming out of a key maiden race from earlier in the meet. First time starter Gun Boat was the narrow winner over Basmati that day, with Norm’s Passion finishing third. The latter came back to win a maiden impressively on Sunday, while the top two are both interesting contenders in the Futurity.
We will learn more tomorrow, but there is no doubt in my mind that Creative Cause is the most impressive juvenile colt I have seen so far in 2011. He is fast, but he has already proven he can rate. He’s bred to be any kind, and it looks like the 1 1/16 distance of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile should be well within his scope. I look forward to seeing him in person tomorrow at Del Mar, when I expect him to become a grade 1 winner. And as far as comparing the two marquee events for two-year-olds at Saratoga and Del Mar his year. The Futurity is a better race than the Hopeful, at least in 2011, and I expect Creative Cause will prove that it in fact, it is no comparison at all.