Palace Malice confirmed for Gulfstream Park Handicap

Palace Malice could be a top older horse in 2014 (Matt Wooley/EquiSport Photos) Trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed Thursday morning that Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice will make his four-year-old debut in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap on March 8. “He’s been training really well and everything’s gone smoothly so far,” Pletcher said. “I felt like this is a good place to get him started again.” Owned by Dogwood Stable, Palace Malice exits a sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park. In his only previous start at Gulfstream Park, Palace Malice posted a runner-up in a seven-furlong allowance last January to kick off his three-year-old campaign.

Second in last year’s Blue Grass, Palace Malice finished 12th in the Kentucky
Derby before being freshened prior to the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, where he defeated
Preakness winner Oxbow by 3 1/4 lengths with Derby winner Orb checking in third.

From there, Palace Malice won the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and was fourth by less
than a length after a troubled trip in the Travers, both at Saratoga Race
Course. He recorded a good second to Ron the Greek when making his first
attempts against older horses in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont
Park prior to the Breeders’ Cup.

“His race in the Jockey Club was good; there was just one horse better,
unfortunately, on the day,” Pletcher said. “The Breeders’ Cup kind of all went
wrong at the start. He didn’t break well that day and got shuffled back.
(Jockey) Johnny (Velazquez) got hurt earlier in the card and he was supposed to
ride him. Rafael (Bejarano) rode him for the first time and wasn’t familiar with
him. It kind of all went wrong, but he made a big middle move and it was just
kind of hard to make up ground on the track that day.”

Following the Breeders’ Cup, Palace Malice got a brief vacation at Dogwood in
Aiken, South Caroline before joining Pletcher’s string at Palm Meadows,
Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, in mid-December.

He has had seven works at Palm Meadows since mid-January, most recently going
five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 on Sunday, the fastest of 14 horses.

“His works have all been good,” Pletcher said. “He’s always been a horse that
trains very well, and doesn’t seem to have lost any enthusiasm.

“I think the freshening should have done him well, and we hope to have a big
year. It’s always fun to get one like him going again.”

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