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Force the Pass airs in Belmont Derby

Force the Pass blew the race open turning for home (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography) Richard Santulli's homebred Force the Pass (Speightstown) delivered a breakout performance at odds of 10-1 in Saturday's $1.25 million Belmont Derby Invitational (G1). Just up in a blanket finish in the May 30 Penn Mile (G3), the Alan Goldberg trainee left no doubt this time, slipping through along the inside on the far turn and opening up by a resounding 3 3/4 lengths over French shipper Canndal (Medicean). Bolo (Temple City), the 2-1 favorite, uncharacteristically stopped despite getting away with pedestrian fractions of :24 2/5, :50 1/5 and 1:15 1/5 on Belmont's firm inner turf. Jockey Rafael Bejarano wrapped up on him in the stretch, allowing him to coast across the wire last, and he was subsequently vanned off. Force the Pass was well placed throughout by Joel Rosario, who had him poised in third early, in the slipstream of Bolo. When the favorite drifted enough rounding the far turn to present an opening, Force the Pass seized the opportunity and wasted no time in capitalizing. Shooting clear in a couple of strides after the mile mark in 1:39, he stamped his authority en route to finishing 1 1/4 miles in 2:01. His supporters were rewarded with a $22.20 win payout.

"Good trip, perfect trip," Rosario recapped. "He broke a little slow and then we were covered right away. It looked like we were going to be fourth going into the first turn, but we ended up being second or third. He was getting out a little bit going forward and I just tried to stay near the rail.

"As soon as I got to the three-eighths pole, I got room to go on the inside and just went forward and controlled the race from there."

Canndal, well back early, improved his position down the backstretch and followed Force the Pass's move. Although no match for the winner, the Aga Khan homebred kept on well to take second by a half-length from Startup Nation (Temple City). Closing Bell (Tapit) was just edged in fourth, followed by Takeover Target (Harlan's Holiday), Irish shipper Postulation (Harlan's Holiday), Divisidero (Kitten's Joy), Granny's Kitten (Kitten's Joy) and Bolo.

The post-race bulletin on Bolo was encouraging.

A veterinary examination found "nothing wrong," as Dr. Lisa Fortier of the American Association of Equine Practitioners reported, but Bolo will be re-examined in Sunday morning.

Force the Pass is now a millionaire with $1,030,084 in earnings from a record of 6-4-2-0. Unraced at two, the chestnut has campaigned exclusively on turf so far. He won second time out at Gulfstream Park March 7 and made it two in a row in the non-black-type Cutler Bay over the same course. Force the Pass was a troubled second as the 2-1 favorite in the May 16 James W. Murphy at Pimlico, but overcame a problematic passage last time at Penn, and didn't have a straw in his path here.

"We were hoping for a dirt horse (initially) because he handled everything so well -- very professional," Goldberg said. "We brought him up here three days ago -- he'd never been here before -- and he never turned a hair. We'll give him the summer off and look towards the fall."

Bred by Santulli's Colts Neck Stables in Kentucky, Force the Pass is out of multiple Grade 3 vixen Social Queen (Dynaformer), a relative of $4.7 million-earner Perfect Drift (Dynaformer).

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