Palace Malice Scares Off Rivals for Sunday's G3 Westchester
May 9, 2014 0:42:00 GMT -5
Post by Jon on May 9, 2014 0:42:00 GMT -5
Palace Malice seeks graded hat trick in Westchester; Ruffian draws six
Brisnet
While the Grade 1, $400,000 Man o' War and Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian are both scheduled for Sunday at Belmont Park, a four-horse field in an undercard graded contest is garnering all the attention.
That's because the Grade 3, $150,000 Westchester features Palace Malice, hero of last year's Belmont Stakes and unbeaten in two races thus far this season.
The four-year-old son of Curlin was sent off at 13-1 in the 2013 Belmont against Kentucky Derby winner Orb and Preakness victor Oxbow. Palace Malice easily triumphed, despite running four wide on both turns of the 1 1/2-mile classic, when 3 1/4 lengths clear of Oxbow on the wire while Orb finished another 1 3/4 lengths back in third.
Palace Malice went on to add the Jim Dandy to his record, defeating eventual three-year-old champion male and Breeders' Cup Classic second Will Take Charge on that day at Saratoga. Unfortunately, the Todd Pletcher trainee wouldn't visit the winner's circle again during his sophomore season.
He just missed by three parts of a length when fourth in the Travers, finished second while facing older rivals for the first time in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and capped the year with a subpar sixth in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Palace Malice was given plenty of time to recuperate from his tough three-year-old season and seems to have returned better than ever. The Kentucky-bred opened 2014 with a gutsy head score in the Gulfstream Park Handicap on March 8 and then shipped to Fair Grounds for a 4 3/4-length romp in the New Orleans Handicap just 21 days later.
Pletcher said he and Cot Campbell of owner Dogwood Stable selected the Westchester for Palace Malice's next race because it would set the colt up for a start in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Metropolitan Handicap on June 7, Belmont Stakes Day.
"We felt like it made sense to run him between the New Orleans Handicap and the Met, and we felt like the Westchester made a lot of sense," Pletcher explained. "If he performs well in the Westchester it would add confidence that the Met is the right race for him. If he were to not run well -- which I don't anticipate will be the case -- then maybe we could go in another direction, like the (Grade 2, $500,000) Brooklyn (on June 7).
"It's rare you have so many options with one horse, but he's already proven he can win anywhere from 6 1/2 furlongs to a mile and a half," Pletcher continued. "He's already won at a mile this year, and we want us to put ourselves in a good position for the Met. Hopefully, the (Grade 1, $1.5 million) Whitney (going 1 1/8 miles on August 2 at Saratoga) would be a big goal after that."
Palace Malice's stalking style is what makes him effective at various distances, Pletcher said.
"I think he is pretty versatile," the horseman asserted. "He has enough speed to get in the game. He can sit off if he needs to. He's very tractable."
John Velazquez, holding the reins for Palace Malice's seasonal opener, takes back the mount from Mike Smith, who was aboard for the colt's last win as well as half of his three-year-old season.
Only three rivals were willing to take on Palace Malice in the one-mile Westchester, and both I'm Steppin' It Up and Red Rifle could challenge the likely prohibitive favorite at the short distance if they don't get into a speed duel.
I'm Stepping' It Up is exiting a front-running, 3 3/4-length score going a mile at Calder on March 23, but the Tony Pecoraro-trained six-year-old will need to live up to his name in this spot. The chestnut's prior best effort against classy rivals came as a third in the 2010 Champagne. Jose Caraballo has the call.
Palace Malice's lightly raced stablemate Red Rifle didn't do so well in his last start over Keeneland's Polytrack in the Ben Ali, but before that set a new track record on Sam Houston's dirt when taking the nine-furlong Maxxam Gold Cup in 1:48.73. The Giant's Causeway four-year-old earned a career-best 100 BRIS Speed rating for that effort, and the Pletcher pupil will try to rebound while returning to dirt on Sunday under Javier Castellano.
Declan's Warrior completes the Westchester and, though the Majestic Warrior colt is a Grade 3 winner at Aqueduct, he'll be stretching out past 7 1/2 furlongs for the first time in this spot. Trained by Nick Zito, the four-year-old chestnut was eased and walked off the track at Saratoga in last season's King's Bishop. He just returned on March 20 to be second against allowance rivals while only earning an 86 Speed figure at Gulfstream Park.
"We've been looking at the Westchester since he ran in Florida," said Zito, who trains Declan's Warrior for his wife, Kim's, Lucky Shamrock Stable. "We decided to stick with the plan even after Palace Malice was pointed to the race.
"(Declan's Warrior) made a good run first time off the layoff, and we hope to have a good year with him. We want to see if he can stretch out, and a one-mile race is a way to go."
Declan's Warrior will need to step up off his last race if he hopes to threaten Palace Malice on Sunday. Joe Bravo will be in the irons for the first time.
Brisnet
While the Grade 1, $400,000 Man o' War and Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian are both scheduled for Sunday at Belmont Park, a four-horse field in an undercard graded contest is garnering all the attention.
That's because the Grade 3, $150,000 Westchester features Palace Malice, hero of last year's Belmont Stakes and unbeaten in two races thus far this season.
The four-year-old son of Curlin was sent off at 13-1 in the 2013 Belmont against Kentucky Derby winner Orb and Preakness victor Oxbow. Palace Malice easily triumphed, despite running four wide on both turns of the 1 1/2-mile classic, when 3 1/4 lengths clear of Oxbow on the wire while Orb finished another 1 3/4 lengths back in third.
Palace Malice went on to add the Jim Dandy to his record, defeating eventual three-year-old champion male and Breeders' Cup Classic second Will Take Charge on that day at Saratoga. Unfortunately, the Todd Pletcher trainee wouldn't visit the winner's circle again during his sophomore season.
He just missed by three parts of a length when fourth in the Travers, finished second while facing older rivals for the first time in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and capped the year with a subpar sixth in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Palace Malice was given plenty of time to recuperate from his tough three-year-old season and seems to have returned better than ever. The Kentucky-bred opened 2014 with a gutsy head score in the Gulfstream Park Handicap on March 8 and then shipped to Fair Grounds for a 4 3/4-length romp in the New Orleans Handicap just 21 days later.
Pletcher said he and Cot Campbell of owner Dogwood Stable selected the Westchester for Palace Malice's next race because it would set the colt up for a start in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Metropolitan Handicap on June 7, Belmont Stakes Day.
"We felt like it made sense to run him between the New Orleans Handicap and the Met, and we felt like the Westchester made a lot of sense," Pletcher explained. "If he performs well in the Westchester it would add confidence that the Met is the right race for him. If he were to not run well -- which I don't anticipate will be the case -- then maybe we could go in another direction, like the (Grade 2, $500,000) Brooklyn (on June 7).
"It's rare you have so many options with one horse, but he's already proven he can win anywhere from 6 1/2 furlongs to a mile and a half," Pletcher continued. "He's already won at a mile this year, and we want us to put ourselves in a good position for the Met. Hopefully, the (Grade 1, $1.5 million) Whitney (going 1 1/8 miles on August 2 at Saratoga) would be a big goal after that."
Palace Malice's stalking style is what makes him effective at various distances, Pletcher said.
"I think he is pretty versatile," the horseman asserted. "He has enough speed to get in the game. He can sit off if he needs to. He's very tractable."
John Velazquez, holding the reins for Palace Malice's seasonal opener, takes back the mount from Mike Smith, who was aboard for the colt's last win as well as half of his three-year-old season.
Only three rivals were willing to take on Palace Malice in the one-mile Westchester, and both I'm Steppin' It Up and Red Rifle could challenge the likely prohibitive favorite at the short distance if they don't get into a speed duel.
I'm Stepping' It Up is exiting a front-running, 3 3/4-length score going a mile at Calder on March 23, but the Tony Pecoraro-trained six-year-old will need to live up to his name in this spot. The chestnut's prior best effort against classy rivals came as a third in the 2010 Champagne. Jose Caraballo has the call.
Palace Malice's lightly raced stablemate Red Rifle didn't do so well in his last start over Keeneland's Polytrack in the Ben Ali, but before that set a new track record on Sam Houston's dirt when taking the nine-furlong Maxxam Gold Cup in 1:48.73. The Giant's Causeway four-year-old earned a career-best 100 BRIS Speed rating for that effort, and the Pletcher pupil will try to rebound while returning to dirt on Sunday under Javier Castellano.
Declan's Warrior completes the Westchester and, though the Majestic Warrior colt is a Grade 3 winner at Aqueduct, he'll be stretching out past 7 1/2 furlongs for the first time in this spot. Trained by Nick Zito, the four-year-old chestnut was eased and walked off the track at Saratoga in last season's King's Bishop. He just returned on March 20 to be second against allowance rivals while only earning an 86 Speed figure at Gulfstream Park.
"We've been looking at the Westchester since he ran in Florida," said Zito, who trains Declan's Warrior for his wife, Kim's, Lucky Shamrock Stable. "We decided to stick with the plan even after Palace Malice was pointed to the race.
"(Declan's Warrior) made a good run first time off the layoff, and we hope to have a good year with him. We want to see if he can stretch out, and a one-mile race is a way to go."
Declan's Warrior will need to step up off his last race if he hopes to threaten Palace Malice on Sunday. Joe Bravo will be in the irons for the first time.
