The half dozen or so employees of Todd Pletcher laughed, high-fived, fist-bumped, ribbed and teased each other and did all the fun-loving things people walking to the test barn with the Belmont Stakes winner should do as Palace Malice made his way back to the Belmont Park stable area.
One of the lighter-and unquestionably hilarious moments to the group-came when one of the guys yelled to one of the gals, “That was for you, you always doubted this horse!” She quickly jabbed back, “I didn’t doubt the horse, I doubted you!”
Rip-roarious laughter ensued. Others egged each other on for more barbs. The walk continued. Eventually the group dispersed, off to celebrate in their own ways. Moments richly deserved, after Palace Malice upset and outlasted Preakness winner Oxbow and Kentucky Derby winner Orb to win the 145th Belmont in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 47,562 Saturday.
A little more than a half hour later the near 14-1 Belmont winner, his groom and assistant trainer Michael “Whitey” McCarthy emerged from the test barn for the short walk back to Pletcher’s barn. Cooled out and looking tired from his 3 1/4-length victory, Palace Malice took his time.
That’s something he’s done quite a bit of in the eyes of those not around him everyday.
You see, the Belmont was Palace Malice’s first victory since winning a 6 1/2-furlong maiden 14 days into last year’s Saratoga meeting. Five losses followed, including a 12th after all but running off in the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago. Some defeats were narrow setbacks, others with legitimate excuses.
It’s somewhat understandable why most lost confidence in the colt from the first crop of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. We are living in a true age of mega instant gratification, where patience and development often take a backseat to hastiness and the quick fix.
Palace Malice would be the third most favored of the five Pletcher entries in the Belmont, behind the race’s 5-1 second choice Revolutionary and Arkansas Derby winner and 10-1 Overanalyze. Third choice in Pletcher’s group of five, seventh choice of 14 in the Belmont, but by no means overlooked by the people who know him best.
“It wouldn’t be too hard to get high on him if you watched him train,” McCarthy said as he made his way to Barn 31. “He does everything right.”
McCarthy went on to elaborate on Palace Malice’s rightness, saying his 5-furlong breeze May 27 in 1:00.24, was “unbelievable.” Pletcher said the workout came with a “monstrous gallop-out,” good news for a colt who showed way too much speed for his own good in the Derby before fading to 12th and 13 1/3 lengths behind Orb.
“I hadn’t seen a horse work like that in a long time,” McCarthy said, a pretty strong statement considering the caliber of stock given to Pletcher and his team each year.
Palace Malice is Pletcher’s second Belmont winner, joining the filly Rags to Riches, who ironically defeated Curlin in a memorable edition of the 1 1/2-mile test in 2007. He is his third classic winner, along with 2010 Derby Super Saver.
Palace Malice was on the path to the classics after finishing a good second to the mud-loving Majestic Hussar in his seasonal debut in mid-January in the slop at Gulfstream, his first start since coming back from bucked shins following his Saratoga maiden win. The Saratoga win turned heads-as they often do when high-profile connections are involved-but he was already very much on the radar of Dogwood Stables’ Cot Campbell, who paid $200,000 for him at the Keeneland April 2-year-olds in training sale, and the Pletcher team.
“This horse, he exposed himself pretty early,” McCarthy said. “We were high on him. Tristan [Barry, another of Pletcher’s assistants] was very high on him at Saratoga. I heard on more than one occasion how well he was doing. And of course Todd was singing his praises to Mr. Campbell. But you know a lot of times, you see that a lot. For one reason or another sometimes they don’t pan out. With him it’s been a nice progression to come all this way.”
Palace Malice’s progression took a few detours along the way, including a seventh in the Louisiana Derby and his performance in Louisville, along with a close third in the Risen Star and a runner-up in the Blue Grass.
The path might not have been pretty, but it worked nonetheless. It also gave Campbell, winner of the Eclipse Award of Merit in 2012 for his contributions to the game as the father of racing partnerships, another classic win to go with Summer Squall’s Preakness more than two decades ago.
Pletcher said the win was extra special because it came for Campbell, who gave him four horses in 1996 when his future Hall of Fame career was in its early days. Campbell said Saturday’s win was perhaps the finest hour for Dogwood and for him.
“I don’t know what would beat it,” he said afterward. “It comes at what is certainly the twilight of my career, to put it euphemistically. It’s a race that means a lot to me. I like the tradition of it, and I’ve come to the Belmont for many years. It’s hot stuff.”
As hot as things were after the race the pace was sizzling, or as one of the race’s riders said, suicidal.
That man was Gary Stevens, aboard Preakness winner Oxbow. Three weeks earlier Oxbow and Stevens got away with splits of :48.60, 1:13.26 and 1:38.14 without pressure. This time, running over a track drying out following a good 24-hour soaking well into the evening Friday, the pace was strong. Oxbow first tracked through Frac Daddy’s half mile in :46.66, 6 furlongs in 1:10.95 and was in front through a mile in 1:36.47.
“We were rocking down the backside,” Stevens said. “I looked two horses inside of me and they weren’t going to give it up. I just tried to make Oxbow as happy as I could. Midway around the turn I said, ‘well, maybe.’ But I’ve ridden long enough to know that he was going to walk home the last quarter of a mile and I really thought, going into that far turn, I didn’t think I’d hit the board.
“To finish second, I’m really surprised. He galloped out after the race like you wouldn’t believe. He’s just one of the greatest Thoroughbreds I’ve ever sat on and I’m real proud of him.”
The leaders did stagger home, running their last two quarters in :26.65 and :27.58. Oxbow was 1 3/4 clear of Orb, who many felt would benefit from the hot early pace but never seriously threatened.
Orb was second-last early, with only Derby runner-up Golden Soul to his rear, and made a strong rally around the turn. The decent middle move was enough to get Robbie Medina, trainer Shug McGaughey’s assistant who looked after Orb last spring and summer at Saratoga and all winter at Payson Park, a little excited watching the race on the outside rail but even he gave up the ghost once the field hit the stretch.
Later Medina, McGaughey, and assistant Buzz Tenney made the even shorter walk from the test barn back to Barn 20. Veteran veterinarian Dr. Mark Cheney, one of McGaughey’s oldest friends, was one of the first two greet the trio as they and Orb headed home.
“You gave it a good run Shug,” Cheney said.
McGaughey agreed.
“I thought he ran a good race. He made a good run,” the Hall of Famer said. “Over this track, Belmont Park, to make a long grueling run like that takes a lot out of a horse. And he spotted those horses a lot of ground and once they shook loose they didn’t come back.”
Belmont Stakes chart.
Belmont Stakes replay.
Palace Malice race record.
