Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Creative Minister
STRENGTHS: He has run well in all three starts to date and overcame a poor start to defeat a solid field of allowance rivals on Derby Day at Churchill Downs while improving to a 92 Beyer Speed Figure. Save the career debut sprinting at Gulfstream Park, where he looked green early and was left with too much to do in the stretch, he has proven to be quite handy in his races while managing to get into the spots in which his rider needs him to be. He is lightly raced with plenty of upside, and this Preakness is coming up relatively light with several Kentucky Derby also-rans electing to pass the race.
WEAKNESSES: He is going to be the lone Preakness entrant without any stakes experience. While five of the new faces in this race are coming in fresh, and many of the Derby also-rans are passing in order to avoid running back two weeks later, Creative Minister does not fit either of those categories. He was not in the Derby field, but he did run at Churchill two weeks ago and will be stepping up in class on short rest. He also will be stretching out beyond 1 1/16 miles for the first time.
BETTING VALUE: This Preakness field is not going to be crowded enough for a horse like Creative Minister to truly get lost in the shuffle. Still, he comes in with a rather light résumé and is not going to be the most fancied new face in the race. He will likely be double-digit odds and has shown enough in his first three starts, and has enough upside, to be considered an interesting horse to use somewhere in the mix.
– Mike Beer
SIRE: Creative Cause, already a player this spring as the broodmare sire of Blue Grass winner Zandon, is responsible for some of the best American Triple Crown finishes for his own sire, the late European Horse of the Year Giant’s Causeway, who is generally regarded as a source of stamina. After finishing fifth in the Kentucky Derby, the multiple graded stakes winner was third in the 2012 Preakness.
Creative Cause is a full brother to Destin, who was second by a nose in the 2016 Belmont and then confirmed his long-winded nature by winning the Grade 2 Marathon Stakes at 1 3/4 miles. Creative Cause is the sire of Pavel, winner of the Grade 1 Stephen Foster at 1 1/8 miles and multiple Grade 1-placed at 1 1/4 miles. He also is the sire of graded stakes winners My Boy Jack and Significant Form.
DAM: Tamboz, a full sister to 2012 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Tapizar, is the dam of Wood Memorial runner-up Battalion Runner, as well as Grade 1-placed Dolder Grand, graded stakes-placed Oceanwave, and stakes-placed Late Nite Mischief and Tiznoble. From the line of Winchell Thoroughbreds foundation mare Carols Christmas, Tamboz is from the extended family of Eclipse Award champion Untapable, Grade 1 winners Cuvee, Olympio, Paddy O’Prado, and Pyro, and others.
OUTLOOK: There is plenty of stamina on both sides of this family, but there’s also an intriguing dose of middle distance-type speed with the likes of Tapizar and Pyro present. Ideally, the untested Creative Minister will have inherited both stamina and some tactical ability.
– Nicole Russo