Clement can reinforce stereotype in featured race

Four allowance races are sprinkled through Thursday’s program at Belmont Park, where a pair of preliminary $77,000 races with first-level conditions go as races 3 and 8 and flank two New York-bred sprints that are races 4 and 7.

Seven 3-year-old turf routers go in race 8, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the Widener course. The group is headed by the uncoupled duo of Belly of the Whale and Mansion House for trainer Christophe Clement, who dispelled the notion of being merely a developer of grass horses when Tonalist romped in last Saturday’s Peter Pan Stakes.

“It used to upset me, at the end of the day, you were pigeonholed at something, and my deal for years was as a turf filly-and-mare trainer,” Clement said a day after the Peter Pan. “But Bill Mott told me long ago, ‘It’s better to be pigeonholed at something than nothing. I feel very comfortable to train from five and a half furlongs to one and a half miles, turf or dirt. That’s me, that’s the way it is.”

Belly of the Whale was among a large handful of debut winners for the stable at Saratoga and was then second in an off-the-turf route at Keeneland, finishing with a burst to make up better than five lengths in the final furlong. He returned at Aqueduct three weeks ago to finish second again while compromised by a slow pace.

Mansion House was a close third in a Group 3 stakes at The Curragh last summer. His first start for Clement was a rallying third in the Awad Stakes on closing day at Belmont last fall behind Storming Inti, who was beaten a neck in the recent Grade 2 American Turf.

Canzoni earned the field’s top turf Beyer Speed Figure at Gulfstream Park last time out for Todd Pletcher, running third behind repeater Chart Topper, who is now 3 for 4 on grass.

Patent drops out of a troubled trip in the Grade 3 Palm Beach for Kiaran McLaughlin. Prior to that, he finished a half-length behind Blue Grass Stakes runner-up Medal Count in his seasonal bow. J to the Croft, Part, and Steve round out the field.

Seven older dirt sprinters, including the David Jacobson-trained entry of Define and Real Estate Rich, go in race 3 at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Contenders include two others recently claimed from Jacobson. Coolusive was haltered out of a May 2 win by Michelle Nevin; Dan and Sheila is second off a claim by Greg DiPrima.

Bemata, Cast a Doubt, and Risk Management also entered.