Anyone who’s ever been relentlessly compared to an accomplished older sibling can relate to Destin.
His full brother, Creative Cause, set the bar pretty high by winning major races at two and three and competing honorably on the Triple Crown trail. He was fifth in the 2012 Kentucky Derby(G1) and third in the Preakness (G1).
Once Creative Cause burst onto the scene, it made sense for his dam, the Grade 1-winning Dream of Summer, to go back and visit his sire, Giant’s Causeway, again at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud.
Destin is the result of Giant’s Causeway’s second liaison with Dream of Summer. But precisely because he was a full sibling to Creative Cause, people kept judging the youngster with reference to his famous brother.
He kind of always lived in his brother’s shadow a little bit,” Taylor recalled.
“People would say, ‘I liked his brother better.’ They always compared them back and forth.”
But with the passage of time, a marvelous thing happened. The immature-looking baby brother began to develop as a yearling, as spring turned to summer (click through the gallery photos above).
“Probably about June of his yearling year was when he really started to blossom, come around, fill out, and put it all together,” Taylor said.
“He was a man by sales time.”
And the judges of horseflesh were quick to take notice, and not only revise, but reverse their previous opinions.
“Closer to the sale, people felt he might be better than Creative Cause. Before, they were saying he’s not as nice as his brother.”
Indeed, Destin actually ended up selling for substantially more than his older brother. Creative Cause brought only $135,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, while Destin commanded $400,000.
But the enduring points of comparison lie between Destin and Creative Cause.
“Both were really classy horses,” Taylor said. “Nothing seemed to bother them. Very classy, laid back, not lackadaisical or lazy, but nothing seemed to bother them. Cool, calm, collected, took everything in stride.”
Since Destin’s had “pretty smooth sailing” throughout his upbringing, Taylor observed, “maybe his name is appropriate – not a straw in his path.
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