Newcomers Series: Creative Cause

Note: This is the first installment of a new All Equine All The Time series looking at the pedigrees of new horses entering stud for 2013.

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On Monday, Creative Cause was officially retired to stud at Airdrie Stud for the 2013 season. The 3-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway retired with a record of four wins, two seconds, and three thirds from 10 races for $1,039,000 in earnings.

Creative Cause ran third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. (Photo: Melissa Bauer-Herzog)

His biggest victory came in the G1 Norfolk Stakes with two Grade 2 victories also on his record. The colt also finished second in the G1 Del Mar Futurity and this year's G1 Santa Anita Derby. He was one of the final contenders for last year’s Two-Year-Old Male Eclipse, finishing behind Hansen and Union Rags, the two horses he finished behind in the G1 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

In his final start, the G1 Preakness Stakes, the colt finished third behind I’ll Have Another and Bodemeister. 

One reason Airdrie Stud picked the colt was due to his family both top and bottom. With stakes winners on both sides of the family tree, the colt looks have his bloodlines going for him when he hits the shed.

As mentioned before, Creative Cause is by Giant’s Causeway, who was covered in a blog earlier this year. You can read about Giant’s Causeway by clicking on this link.

Creative Cause is out of the mare Dream of Summer by Siberian Summer. The California-based runner retired with a 50% win rate, winning 10 of her 20 starts with four seconds and three thirds for $1,191,150 in earnings.

Like her son, Dream of Summer is a multiple graded stakes winner. However, her biggest win came outside the state in the Apple Blossom Handicap (gr. I). In that race, Dream of Summer beat Star Parade (ARG) by a neck. The field also featured Island Fashion and Ashado. Her other victories include the A Gleam Invitational Handicap (gr. II) and the Gardenia Handicap (gr. III).

Dream of Summer also finished second in the 2005 and 2006 editions of the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (gr. I). Dream of Summer retired after her second place finish in the 2006 Santa Margarita and was bred to Forestry that year.

Of her three foals to race, Dream of Summer has a 100% win rate. Creative Cause is her most successful foal thus far. However, her 2-year-old daughter by Distorted Humor has put in seven works at Fair Hill over the last 60 days. Dream Of Summer also has a yearling filly by Tiznow and a March 28 weanling filly by Eskendereya.

Dream of Summer is out of the unraced Skywalker mare Mary’s Dream. The 1990 mare produced 5 winners from seven runners with one stakes placed gelding and the graded stakes winner Dream of Summer. Mary’s Dream also has another winning producer in Latin Mary Can. Latin Mary Can has two foals to race according to Equibase with her gelding Southofthequator winning once and finishing second once in eight starts.

Mary’s Dream is the only mare in four generations on Creative Cause’s damside not to race. His third dam Proper Mary (by Properantes) was a multiple stakes winner with $176,037 in earnings. The mare won three California stakes races in a row in 1986 and retired in 1989 after 28 starts with five wins, six seconds, and three thirds.

Mary's Dream went on to produce two foals, Mary’s Dream and Properly Married (by Something Fabulous). Properly Married made it to the race track for three starts in 1994 and won one of those to retire with $12,546 in earnings. She was the dam of four winners out of five foals to make it to the track.

Proper Mary was out of the stakes winner My Mary, a half-sister to multiple stakes winning mare Four Hearts.  My Mary won the 1977 Bustles And Bows Stakes at Pomona in addition to two other wins. The mare finished her racing career in 1979 with three wins, one second, and three thirds in 29 starts for $56,820 in earnings.

However, her strength came as a producer.

My Mary’s biggest success on the track was Somethingmerry, a multiple graded stakes winner. Somethingmerry’s biggest win came in the G2 Palomar Handicap at Del Mar in 1991. The mare won one other graded stakes and was a Grade 1 placed horse with a third in the G1 Santa Maria Handicap. Somethingmerry went on to produce seven winners from 10 foals on Equibase.

Creative Cause schools at the 2011 Breeders' Cup (Photo: Melissa Bauer-Herzog)

Overall, My Mary produced eight winners of 11 to run including multiple stakes winner My Sonny Boy, rounding out Creative Cause's immediate pedigree with each generation producing winners.

Creative Cause will stand for $15,000 next season as perhaps the only 3-year-old with a double digit number of starts in less than 10 months of racing.