Belle Gallantey upsets Princess of Sylmar to win Del ‘Cap

Stanton, DE (SportsNetwork.com) – Belle Gallantey, ridden by Jose Ortiz, set a very slow pace and was able to hold off odds-on favorite Princess of Sylmar to win Saturday’s 77th running of the $750,000 Delaware Handicap (Del ‘Cap) at Delaware Park.

Princess of Sylmar was sent off as the 1-5 favorite for the 1 1/4-mile Del ‘Cap versus five challengers with Belle Gallantey the 6-1 second pick.

Trained by Rudy Rodriguez, Belle Gallantey broke from the inside post and immediately took the lead. She proceeded to set the pace with Princess of Sylmar stalking the leader from fourth-place. The first half-mile was covered in 49.51 seconds and six furlongs in 1:13.63.

On the final turn, Belle Gallantey continued on the lead with Flashy American and the favorite to the outside. The pacesetter held sway down the stretch and drove to a 2 3/4-length victory over Princess of Sylmar with Flashy American third and Gamay Noir finishing fourth. Completing the finish were Molly Morgan and Bryan’s Jewel.

The time for the Del ‘Cap was 2:01.15 on a fast track.

Owned by Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables and Gary Aisquith, Belle Gallantey registered her first stakes victory in her 41st career start. Winning the Del ‘Cap was worth $450,000 to more than double the 5-year-old chestnut mare’s earnings to $866,270. She has eight lifetime wins with 12 seconds and seven thirds.

Belle Gallantey made her stakes debut last month on Belmont Stakes Day at Belmont Park in the Ogden Phipps Stakes. The 5-year-old finished fifth in the 1 1/16-mile race less than two lengths behind winner Close Hatches and runner- up Princess of Sylmar.

Belle Gallantey paid $15.60, $4.20 and $2.80. Princess of Sylmar returned $2.10 and $2.10, and Flashy American paid $3.00 to show.

Categorized in: Horses