Asmussen Basks in Belmont Afterglow

Nine years later, Steve Asmussen can walk past that wall at Belmont Park once again without cringing.

Since 2007, when the Asmussen-trained Curlin   came up a head short to Rags to Riches in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), the wall loaded with the photos of winners from the final leg of the Triple Crown in the Belmont clubhouse taunted the conditioner.

But that was all erased June 11, when WinStar Farm and Bobby Flay's Creator got on the right side of another photo finish with a Todd Pletcher-trained runner in the 1 1/2-mile classic.

BALAN: Creator Edges Destin to Take Belmont

"I can now walk by that wall," Asmussen said June 12 back at Barn 58 on the Belmont backstretch, as Creator walked the shedrow. "I'll actually stop next year and look at the pictures, for obvious reasons."

The silver-haired conditioner reported the Tapit   colt came out of the Belmont well—"I was kinda surprised by his energy level"—and will depart from New York June 13 for some time off at WinStar near Versailles, Ky. Asmussen said the amount of time Creator would spend turned out is "undetermined."

"I very much think that, right now, with all the pressure we've put on him and all the racing he's had to this point this year, he needs a little mental freshening to get away from it for a little bit," Asmussen said.

WinStar's Gettysburg, who set the Belmont pace and moved to the Asmussen barn from Pletcher's just to run in the Belmont, will join Creator for some turnout time in Kentucky. WinStar president and chief executive officer Elliott Walden, in one of the odder developments in the Belmont aftermath, said the Pioneerof the Nile   colt would return to Pletcher after doing his job on the front end to set the race up for his winning short-term stablemate.

"He needs to be rewarded for paying for it a little bit," Asmussen said of Gettysburg's upcoming time off. "He needs more than a couple days at the spa. He was a valiant horse on the lead."

Pletcher, however, said Sunday morning that he would not take Gettysburg back.

"I spoke to Elliott this morning and I think it's best—I don't think it's a good look for him to come back to us," said Pletcher, who also reported Destin and Stradivari came out of the race in good order. "I don't think it has a good look to it. I think it would be better if they take a different path."

Earlier, Asmussen praised Walden for his decision to switch barns with Gettysburg to enter the Belmont, ensuring Destin wouldn't be able to get away with soft fractions on the front end.

"Elliott did a great move with Gettysburg," Asmussen said. "He'd seen his previous races and you looked at it on paper—a race without Gettysburg goes :50 and change for a half-mile. Fifty and change makes it a cluster—a bowling ball going around there.

"A little pace would stretch the race out to where you had a shot. ... Without Gettysburg being there—:48 and change... right then, you knew we had a shot."

A day after, Asmussen fondly remembered not only the result and tactics of the Belmont, but also its drama.

"I woke up every 15 minutes to watch the replay," Asmussen joked about his lack of sleep overnight. "Obviously we're very proud of the horse. ... I really thought the horse tried to win late. He really laid out there, dug in, and I personally feel fortunate for his effort. ... I'm blessed enough to have the victory and to be able to celebrate that with family is everything.  

"Racing, for me, is a family affair. I grew up in my parents' barn and their participation is a huge part of it. It's all the things we love about racing. It was an extremely exciting moment and then to bask in the glory and share it amongst each other, it adds to it."

Asmussen also recalled the journey for the gray colt, which wasn't always an easy one. It took him six starts to break his maiden, which was followed by a third-place Rebel Stakes (gr. II) run and a victory in the Arkansas Derby (gr. I) at Oaklawn Park, a point at which the trainer said everything changed.

"Darren Fleming, our assistant in Hot Springs who is a big part of what we do, (said) the difference in him between the Rebel and the Arkansas Derby, just from a focus (standpoint) ... the focus he showed for the pre-race Arkansas Derby under the pageantry of Oaklawn—you know, the crowds you get there, the saddling inside, the walk across—it unnerves quite a few horses," Asmussen remembered. "I think you see a lot of success in the classics out of horses that do well at Oaklawn—it's not only ability. It's the pageantry of the classic race.

"The focus he showed when the pressure was on, I think that's what ascended him to this level, from a horse who took a while to break his maiden."

As for what's next for Creator, Asmussen said the Aug. 27 Travers Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course is "absolutely" under consideration, as long as the colt is ready to run after his layoff.

"I mean, he wins the Belmont in New York—we'd love for Creator to be at his best for the Travers," Asmussen said. "But I think we need to do the responsible thing, let him letdown a little bit, and see how he responds. We've got to respect the effort he gave for us yesterday."

Claire Novak contributed to this report.