Creative Cause Gets Trainer to 1st Derby at Age 71 at LinesMaker

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (HORSES/Newsfeed) — Mike Har­ring­ton is con­tent watch­ing the hub­bub sur­round­ing Ken­tucky Derby week from afar. The 71-year-old trainer is hap­pily tucked away in a non-descript barn lack­ing a view of the Twin Spires. Let Churchill Downs sta­ble vis­i­tors be enter­tained by Bob Baffert’s jokes or eaves­drop on Todd Pletcher’s train­ing tidbits.

Har­ring­ton prefers lay­ing low with Cre­ative Cause, likely to be one of the top bet­ting choices for Saturday’s race.

The gray-roan colt has never fin­ished out of the money in any of his eight career races, post­ing four wins, two sec­onds and two thirds. He’s among the best of five strong California-based horses in the expected 20-horse field. Of course, Baf­fert and Pletcher hold their usual strong hand, with two horses each in the 138th Derby. Har­ring­ton has his first.