Palace Malice Ready for 4-Year-Old Debut

Five months before his victory in last year’s Belmont Stakes (G1), Palace Malice launched his 3-year-old campaign running second in a seven-furlong entry-level allowance at Gulfstream Park.            

Trainer Todd Pletcher is following a similar blueprint this winter, bringing Palace Malice back for his 4-year-old season opener in Saturday’s $250,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap (G2).            

The bay son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin has not raced since finishing sixth, beaten seven lengths by Mucho Macho Man in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, his 10th start of 2013.            

“All systems are go,” Pletcher said. “It’s come up a good race, as you would expect. We expect him to run well, too.”            

Palace Malice drew the far outside post in the field of eight older horses going a mile on the main track. He will be ridden for the first time by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.            

“I think it’s actually a good post position for him,” Pletcher said. “It kind of gives him a few options to see how things unfold inside of him. We’ll ask him to leave there running a little bit to put him into the race. The track’s been playing that way a bit but based on the way he ran in some of his earlier races, he broke his maiden at Saratoga and ran pretty fast early on. He ran pretty well here going seven furlongs last year, so hopefully the one-turn mile suits him.”            

Owned by Dogwood Stable, Palace Malice will be up against some familiar foes in fellow Triple Crown veterans Itsmyluckyday, the Florida Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) runner-up making his season debut; and Falling Sky, winner of the Gulfstream Park Sprint (G2) on Feb. 8 who was 19th in the Kentucky Derby (G1).            

Based with Pletcher at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, Palace Malice has had eight breezes for his return, most recently going a half-mile in 48.90 seconds on Sunday.            

“What we do in these cases is do enough to get them ready to run well, hopefully win and still move forward for the race and have something to build on,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully you don’t overdo it or underdo it, either. You’re trying to get it right and run well enough that they can win, but not so well that they can’t recover and build on it and improve for it, as well.”