Belmont Race Report: Passion Palace, continued

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FANTASTIC FILLIES

On Belmont's opening weekend 3-year-old fillies of the grade I variety were given forums on both dirt and turf, and in the case of both winners, the secret of their true quality appears to be out.

Approaching the 1 1/8-mile Gazelle Handicap in clandestine fashion was Centaur Farms' homebred Exogenous, who raised a bit of a storm in the paddock prior to her running third in Fleet Renee's Mother Goose (gr. I) in June. This time around, the light gray daughter of Unbridled and the Phone Trick mare Tangled Up In Blue was all business en route to an eye-opening 3 1/2-length romp over Two Item Limit and odds-on Fleet Renee in 1:47.68, just .26 of a second slower than the Woodward one hour later.

"We've thought well of her since day one, and her race in the Alabama was really a great effort," remarked Randy Schulhofer, who saddled Exogenous on behalf of his vacationing father, Hall of Famer Scotty Schulhofer. "But after watching her duck this way and come out that way down the stretch, we all kind of agreed the addition of blinkers might move her up just a little more."

Leaving her stall with a pair of black blinkers already in place, Exogenous tucked in quietly behind the pony of George Martens and proceeded toward Belmont's paddock, where her lithe physique blended in unassumingly among the flashy eight-horse parade. Even down the backstretch, behind a swarm of challengers to Fleet Renee's supremacy on the lead, she maintained that quiet presence while close up in hand beneath Javier Castellano.

Just as Fleet Renee turned for home in front after a pressure-packed pace of :23.29, :45.81, and 1:09.69, the star within Exogenous awakened. Castellano took full advantage of the wide-open inside path and the pair drew off with authority, returning a healthy $20.60 to her backers. Two Item Limit backed up her prolific stakes-winning résumé of the past two years with a good rally for second, just a nose ahead of Fleet Renee.

Returning to the paddock for a later race aboard his pony, Martens, the retired Belmont Stakes (gr. I)-winning jockey who breezes Exogenous and others for the Schulhofer barn, painted a wide grin and from behind his sunglasses beamed, "Wow! Now that was a move, wasn't it?"

The secret is definitely out of the bag.

Strengthening a barn already near the top of American turf racing has been the year-long union of success between Christophe Clement and Corey Nakatani. And if after Forbidden Apple and England's Legend this summer anyone was still in the dark regarding this development, here on Sept. 9 was Clement placing Nakatani aboard Voodoo Dancer.

Carefully spotted all season, the Green Hills Farm-owned daughter of Kingmambo out of the Danzig mare Zuri arrived at the Belmont inner turf course after a Del Mar sojourn and placed herself prominently on the star-laden roster of her barn with a stunningly easy 43*4-length canter in the $244,000 Garden City Breeders' Cup Handicap. She was the strong choice in a field of 10.

"She saw daylight a little early in California and she really is at her best when she moves later," Clement said. "Corey held and held until midstretch and made her rally much more effective. He has been riding great for me all year and he truly is a great rider. I'm happy to have him on my horses whenever that opportunity comes along."

On this particular filly, Nakatani was mostly a passenger, waiting with patience--and confidence--as the roan Shooting Party galloped along unfettered through an easy six furlongs in 1:12.13. Careful to abide by his filly's preference to move late, he held tight just long enough before Voodoo Dancer's smooth, gliding stride carried them past Shooting Party, who held admirably for second ahead of Wander Mom. The final time was 1:47.69, with a final eighth in :11.52.

Among those greeting the ascending filly from her return was Clement assistant Christophe Lorieul, who has climbed aboard Voodoo Dancer each and every morning. "She loves to train, so she really is a pleasure to work with," he said. "After Del Mar, I was wondering if she was the super filly we hoped she'd be. We've had some big wins before, but this is really exciting, because it is the first grade I for a horse I'm so completely involved with."

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