Belle of the Beldame

Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables and Gary Aisquith’s Belle Gallantey (After Market) got loose on an easy lead and came home a commanding 8 1/4-length victress in Saturday’s GI Beldame S. at Belmont Park. Favored Stopchargingmaria(Tale of the Cat) chased the pacesetter throughout the nine furlongs and came home a distant second. The victory was the second straight graded stakes score on Belmont’s Super Saturday card for trainer Rudy Rodriguez, who won the GII Kelso H. with Vyjack (Into Mischief). “It’s very, very special,” Rodriguez said of the double. “We’re working very hard with these kinds of horses and thank God they did it. I don’t know what to tell you. I’m speechless.” 
Claimed–for the fifth time in her career–from Sunny Meadow Farm for $35,000 at Aqueduct last December, Belle Gallantey reeled off three straight wins for her new connections before making her stakes debut with a fifth-place effort behind the likes of Close Hatches (First Defence) and Princess of Sylmar (Majestic Warrior) in the June 7 GI Ogden Phipp S. Sent off at 6-1, she went wire-to-wire to win the July 12 GI Delaware H. by 2 3/4 lengths over Princess of Sylmar, but she never got close when sixth, beaten 25 1/4 lengths, over a muddy track in the Aug. 22 GI Personal Ensign S. last time out. 
Hustled out to the early lead, Belle Gallantey was well in hand through a quarter in :24.18 with favored Stopchargingmaria a chasing second. The chestnut mare inched away through a half in :47.51 and was five lengths in front after three-quarters in 1:11.20. Stopchargingmaria and Endless Chatter made a mild challenge in upper stretch, but Belle Gallantey skipped clear effortlessly for an easy win. 
“She’s improved a lot since Rudy has had her,” said winning jockey Jose Ortiz. “He has to get all the credit, and I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to ride her. I just put my hands down and was a passenger. As soon as I went to the lead, she relaxed really well. Rudy told me she was 100%, and I always trust him. When we went to the quarter pole I had a lot of horse, so I knew I had it.” 
Rodriguez added, “I told Jose, ‘You’ve got the outside and you’ve got the option to see what everyone else is doing, so take it from there. If they leave you alone, take it.’ I think she’s a pretty versatile filly where she can sit and come from behind. When they left them alone and they went in :24.18, I was very happy. She’s a very nice filly and she showed it today.” 
Trainer Todd Pletcher was philosophical about Stopchargingmaria’s runner-up effort. “The winner is tough when she gets things her way on the front end,” Pletcher said. “We tried to stay as close as we could without totally taking our filly out of her game, but we just kind of kept chasing the whole way.” 
Belle Gallantey’s dam Revealed, in foal to Candy Ride (Arg), sold for $70,000 at the 2010 Keeneland November Sale. The mare produced a filly by Birdstone last year and a colt by Gio Ponti this spring. Belle Gallantey’s third dam is champion Meadow Star (Meadowlake). 

Saturday, Belmont Park 
BELDAME S.-GI, $400,000, BEL, 9-27, 3yo/up, f/m, 
1 1/8m, 1:47 2/5, ft. 
1–BELLE GALLANTEY, 123, m, 5, by After Market 
     1st Dam: Revealed, by Old Trieste 
     2nd Dam: Field of Vision, by Deputy Minister 
     3rd Dam: Meadow Star, by Meadowlake 
($10,000 yrl ’10 KEESEP; $30,000 2yo ‘11 PEGFEB). 
O-Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables LLC & Gary 
Aisquith; B-Pam & Martin Wygod (KY); T-Rudy R 
Rodriguez; J-Jose L Ortiz. $240,000. Lifetime 
Record: 43-9-12-7, $1,111,270. Werk Nick Rating: 
A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 
2–Stopchargingmaria, 120, f, 3, Tale of the Cat–Exotic 
Bloom, by Montbrook. ($47,000 yrl ’12 KEESEP; 
$220,000 2yo ‘13 OBSMAR). O-Repole Stable; 
B-Harvey Clarke & Brookdale Farm LLC (KY); T-Todd 
A Pletcher. $80,000. 
3–Endless Chatter, 123, f, 4, First Samurai–Orate, by 
A.P. Indy. ($77,000 yrl ’11 KEESEP). O-Alpha Delta 
Stables; B-Claiborne Farm (KY); T-Chad C Brown. 
$40,000. 
Margins: 8 1/4, 2 1/4, NK. Odds: 4.70, 1.55, 8.60. 
Also Ran: Stanwyck, Fiftyshadesofhay, Toasting, Oasis At Midnight. Click for the brisnet.com chart, the brisnet.com PPs or the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.