Palace Carries New York Hopes Into BC Sprint

As Palace prepares for the Nov. 1 Xpressbet Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I), he doesn't simply represent New York by stabling and racing there. He is a New Yorker down to his bones, bred in the Empire State by the Peter J. Callahan Revocable Trust. 

 

Only one New York-bred has ever captured a Breeders' Cup race, when London Bridge won the Breeders' Cup Marathon (gr. II) last year. The Breeders' Cup dropped the Marathon for 2014 after only six runnings, although Santa Anita Park has picked it up as an undercard event Oct. 31.

 

The six-furlong Sprint is one of the original Breeders' Cup events and will be contested for the 31st time Nov. 1. Kentucky-breds have accounted for the majority of Breeders' Cup Sprints, and winners have also hailed from Florida, California, Maryland, and Great Britain. Six New York-breds have attempted the race, the best finishes being seconds by Friendly Island and The Lumber Guy   in 2006 and 2012, respectively.

 

Palace's New York-bred status proved a major selling point to trainer Linda Rice, who claimed him for only $20,000 in 2012. Rice, one of New York's leading conditioners, also was very familiar with Palace's sire, City Zip  , a multiple graded winner of $818,225 she also had trained.

 

"Palace is very much like his father," Rice said. "He's a good horse to be around, and he has a great disposition."

 

Out of the End Sweep mare Receivership, Palace races for owner Antonino Miuccio, who is retired and lives near Saratoga Race Course. Rice says that Miuccio is "a real racing fan," and she has eight horses in training for him. After Palace zipped through his state-bred and open conditions with four wins and two seconds in seven starts from the fall of 2012 to the summer of 2013, Rice was pleased for Miuccio that Palace would get a chance at Saratoga.

 

"A year ago we won a stakes at Saratoga with him called the Chowder's First Stakes, a registered New York-bred race," said Rice.

 

Rice had told Miuccio that they had a good opportunity in that race, but she couldn't have predicted the summer Palace would have at Saratoga in 2014. Palace brought home trophies in two grade I events--the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap and Forego Stakes. Last fall he captured the Fall Highweight Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct and added the True North Stakes (gr. II) this past June at Belmont Park.

 

A somewhat wide trip may have cost Palace a victory in the Sept. 27 Vosburgh Invitational Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont, when he finished third behind Private Zone and Dads Caps.

 

"I think he may have been just a little bit flat out of his races at Saratoga," said Rice. "I'm hoping we get him back to a peak performance because he's going to need to be to win a Breeders' Cup Sprint."

 

The Sprint attracted an overflow field of 21 at pre-entry time, with a full gate of 14 entered Oct. 27. Palace drew post eight.

 

Rice noted that some of the toughest Sprint competition will include Secret Circle, last year's winner, as well as Private Zone and Rich Tapestry, the latter the first horse from Hong Kong to compete in the Breeders' Cup. Secret Circle is the 9-2 morning-line favorite, with Rich Tapestry the second choice at 5-1. Palace, Private Zone, and Salutos Amigos are listed at 6-1.

 

The trainer sent Palace out to California Oct. 21 with assistant Samantha Randazzo.

 

"I had been concerned about shipping from the cooler weather to the hotter weather, so we shipped him early," said Rice. "I gave him two works in New York after the Vosburgh, and one was a pretty strong work the week before he left." 

 

Palace breezed five furlongs at Belmont Oct. 18 in :59.89, the fastest of 23 at the distance.

 

Once he arrived at Santa Anita, Palace settled in well. Randazzo schooled him in the paddock during the races Oct. 25 and 26. Palace worked a half-mile in :46 2/5 Oct. 27, and it was the third-fastest of 54 at the distance. By phone from New York, Rice reported that Palace came out of his work well and just jogged on the track the following morning.

 

Now it's a matter of keeping Palace happy and focused so that he can perhaps become the second New York-bred to earn a Breeders' Cup trophy.