Belmont Park: Palace Malice back on work tab
June 24, 2013ELMONT, N.Y. – Just two weeks after his victory in the Belmont Stakes, Palace Malice got back to work Sunday, breezing a half-mile in 49.45 seconds by himself over the Belmont training track.
“He came out of the Belmont so well, and I was getting ready to ship him up to Saratoga,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I just felt like he was telling me to give [him] a breeze, so we did.”
Pletcher said Palace Malice got his final quarter in 24 seconds “and looked great doing it, very much in hand.” Pletcher is pointing Palace Malice to the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on July 27 to start the Summer at Saratoga series on NBC.
◗ Among the other notable workers Sunday was Rydilluc, the leader of the 3-year-old male turf division, who went seven furlongs in 1:27.60 over the Belmont turf course in company with Which Market.
Rydilluc, the winner of the inaugural Penn Mile on June 1, is pointing to the Grade 2 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs on July 13.