Palace headed for a Grade 1 hat trick in Vosburgh

Palace will try to continue his current stellar run in the Vosburgh (Bud Morton/EquiSport Photos)

After Palace won the six-furlong Alfred G.
Vanderbilt Handicap on August 2, trainer Linda Rice was unsure whether she
should have the five-year-old stretch out to seven furlongs for the Forego
on August 30 at Saratoga or stay at six furlongs in the Vosburgh
Invitational on September 27 at
Belmont Park.

“I just trained (Palace) into the (Forego after his
Vanderbilt win), and he was training really well, and on the morning of the race
he was bucking and playing,” Rice remarked. “I knew right then I was going to have
to try him.”

Palace took advantage of the opportunity to score his second straight Grade 1
victory when posting a 3 1/2-length win in the Forego and, according to Rice,
will try for a Grade 1 hat trick by making his next start in the $400,000 Vosburgh, one of six graded stakes on
Belmont’s Super Saturday program.

“I’m not the only person who thought (Palace’s) best
distance was six furlongs,” Rice admitted. “Most people did. His record at
three-quarters (of a mile) is better than it was at seven (furlongs).

“After the
race, I was happy and relieved. I didn’t want to make a mistake with him; he’s
such a nice horse. There are other people who might have waited for the Vosburgh
instead of bringing him back going seven-eighths, but you never know when
something is going to go wrong with horses, and you’re sitting with a Grade 1 in
front of you with a $500,000 purse. Sometimes, you can’t over-think these
things.”