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Casa Creed wears down Sombeyay in G2 Hall of Fame

by NYRA Press Office

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed, second in a pair of graded-stakes earlier this year, came with a steady drive down the center of the stretch to reel in stubborn leader Sombeyay and emerge with a hard-fought head triumph in Friday's Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame at Saratoga Race Course.

The 35th running of the Hall of Fame for 3-year-olds was the first of three stakes worth $1.05 million on a 10-race program that kicked off the three-day Fasig-Tipton Racing Festival.

Casa Creed's second career stakes victory and first in graded company gave Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his seventh victory in the one-mile turf event, traditionally held on the afternoon of the annual late-morning induction ceremony at the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame located across Union Avenue from the storied racetrack. The Mott-trained Royal Delta was among the inductees.

"It was a very special day," Mott said. "She was a very special mare. We won three championships with her. To have her get into the Hall of Fame was great. This tops it out. It's always nice to win [the Hall of Fame] on the same day."

Mott's previous Hall of Fame victories came in 1992, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2009. Chad Brown had won the previous four editions of the race, but did not have a horse entered Friday.

Grade 3-placed Award Winner took the field of eight sophomores through an opening quarter-mile in 23.41 seconds with Sombeyay, making just his second career turf start, settled along the rail in second and Casa Creed tracking in the clear on the outside, as the half went in 47.37.

Sombeyay and jockey Luis Saez surged past Award Winner and assumed the lead midway around the far turn, straightening for home in front as Award Winner tried to keep up and Casa Creed began to roll under Junior Alvarado. Sombeyay dug in as Casa Creed came calling in mid-stretch but was unable to hold off the eventual winner, who passed the wire in 1:33.72 over a firm inner course.

"[Sombeyay] was running very game. It looked like we were going to get to him, and then he got away from us a little, but [Casa Creed] really showed us a lot of courage the entire stretch run," Mott said. "He was very courageous, and it looked like he gave it everything he had."

Sent off at 2-1, Casa Creed returned $6 for a $2 win bet. Sombeyay was a clear second, 1 ¾ lengths ahead of Global Access in third. English Bee, Swamp Rat, Award Winner, Limonite and Moon Colony completed the order of finish.

"I got a little worried at the three-eighths pole. I thought I had the race measured. I never thought [Somebeyay] was going to come through the rail at that point," Alvarado said. "I let the horse in front kind of go at a nice pace. Then the horse squeezed through the rail, it made things a little harder, and I had to start working a little early. But I knew turning for home that he's a fighter and he never gives up."

Casa Creed, a bay son of Jimmy Creed out of the Bellamy Road mare Achalaya, won the Kitten's Joy Jan. 5 at Gulfstream Park in his first start on the turf. He went winless in five subsequent starts, beaten less than a length by A Thread of Blue in the Grade 3 Palm Beach March 2 and 1 ¼ lengths by Moon Colony in the Grade 2 Penn Mile June 1. In his most recent start, Casa Creed was third by a half-length to Win Win Win, a veteran of the 2019 Triple Crown series, in the July 4 Manila at Belmont Park.

Mott said Casa Creed, bred in Kentucky by Silver Springs Stud, will enjoy a freshening following Friday's impressive win.

"We've run him pretty hard. I don't think we'll be running him back at the meet," Mott said. "It's probably over for him for this meet. He has given us a lot, so we'll probably give him a short little break."