Relaxed Debuts Helped Brody's Cause, Creator

Trainer Dale Romans, with Brody's Cause, and owner WinStar Farm, with Creator, didn't think the spotlight of 2-year-old racing at Saratoga Race Course was best for their young horses.

Both connections opted for a more relaxed plan for those initial starts. With both horses entered in the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum!  Brands (gr. I) at Churchill Downs, both connections are pleased with their decisions on the horses' debuts.

Brody's Cause enters the Derby off a win in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) and Creator enters the classic off an Arkansas Derby (gr. I) score.

Last year, Romans opted to enter Albaugh Family Stable's Brody's Cause in a maiden race at Ellis Park going one mile on the turf for the debut of the son of Giant's Causeway. Brody's Cause struggled that day, finishing eighth, but Romans believes easing into racing prepared him for his second start, when he rallied from ninth to win a maiden race going the one-turn mile on the Churchill main track.

In his third start Brody's Cause won the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (gr. I) at Keeneland before finishing third in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) there.

Brody's Cause would be the third straight Derby starter for Romans to have made his career debut at Ellis, following Keen Ice and Medal Count  . 

"If you go up (to Saratoga) and run as hard as you can early, I think it has an adverse effect on these young horses," Romans said. "We can give them a nice easy race at Ellis and I tell my clients, 'If they're as good as we think they are, no one's going to care where they broke their maiden. And if they aren't as good as we think they are, they're not going to win at Saratoga anyway. So let's just start out there, give them a nice easy comfortable race to start in, and build a career out of it."

WinStar Farm teamed with Todd Pletcher to win the 2010 Derby with Super Saver  . The son of Maria's Mon made his debut at 2, running second in an August maiden race at Saratoga. Owner and trainer teamed again in the 2013 Derby, when Revolutionary   ran third. Revolutionary, by War Pass, also started his racing career at 2 at Saratoga, running third in a September maiden race there.

But a similar path was not in the cards for Creator. WinStar president Elliott Walden said Creator showed talent from the start but lacked focus. WinStar wanted to give Creator some time to develop and opted to send him to trainer Steve Asmussen, who sent the Tapit   colt out in two-turn turf races, at Churchill in September and Keeneland in October, for his first two starts.

"I didn't feel like he should go to New York and get into the Saratoga thing, where the pressure is applied early," Walden said. "Steve did a great job, having him at Keeneland, letting him come into his own. He even ran him on the grass a couple of times, so he wouldn't be discouraged. 

"Just mentally he was trying to make him come along and progress, just like a team that opens its season and you hope develops and makes the playoffs. Steve did a wonderful job."

Creator took six starts to win a maiden race—in February at Oaklawn Park. He followed with a third in the Rebel Stakes (gr. II) before ralling from 12th to win the Arkansas Derby.