Identifier became Creative Cause’s newest graded stakes winner on Saturday with a come-from-behind victory in the $100,000 Hal’s Hope S. (G3) at Gulfstream Park, winning the 1 1/8-mile contest by a length with a sustained rally in final three furlongs.
The dark bay 4-year-old is the 15th lifetime and fifth graded stakes winner for Creative Cause. An $80,000 OBS 2-year-old, Identifier was bred by Heinz Steinmann and is owned by Gelfenstein Farm.
With Rare Form and Bodexpress sprinting away from the competition around the first turn, the 11-horse field was strung out over nearly two dozen lengths down the backstretch, with Identifier at least 15 lengths from the front. He was still 10 lengths off the lead when he kicked into gear midway on the final turn. Swinging off the fence entering the homestretch, he outran Just Whistle to the wire to stop the timer in 1:50.25 on a fast main track.
“I’m very grateful to Mr. Gonzalez(trainer Oscar) and I’m very happy for the horse. He’s a good horse,” rider Marco Meneses said. “This race today had a lot of speed. I just waited and waited all the way. I began my race from the three-eighths pole. The horse was perfect.”
Saturday’s victory upped Identifier’s record to 4-4-0 in 11 starts, with earnings of $168,390. The Hal’s Hope was his second stakes outing and first in a graded event.
