Laurel: Mr Palmer rallies from last to win Private Terms

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club

Mr Palmer wins the Private Terms as the 8-5 favorite for trainer Bill Mott.

Mr Palmer overcame a sluggish start and passed all eight of his opponents in an emphatic victory Saturday in the $100,500 Private Terms Stakes at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

With Junior Alvarado riding for trainer Bill Mott, Mr Palmer prevailed by 3 1/2 lengths after rallying widest of all for the stretch run of the 1 1/8-mile Private Terms. He returned $5.60 as the favorite in a field of nine 3-year-olds after finishing in 1:51.35 over a fast track.

“You’ve got to get excited about a 3-year-old like this,” said Mike Lauffer, who co-owns the son of Pulpit with Gregory McDonald. “We’ll try to put this colt on the [Kentucky] Derby and Preakness trail – if he’s good enough, you know.”

Mr Palmer took six tries to win a maiden race before finally doing so last month at Aqueduct. In the Private Terms, he “broke like a step slow, but I wasn’t worried,” said Alvarado. “I was just trying to find a clean trip and I had to go a little bit wide. But he’s got so much class, when I asked him, he definitely took off. He’s a professional.”

Battier, a 19-1 shot, finished second, a head before Seventeenohsix. Where’s Dominic and Dynamic Strike, both sent away at 5-2, were fourth and fifth, respectively.

The $2 exacta (6-8) paid $58.80; the $1 trifecta (6-8-10) returned $255.40; and the 10-cent superfecta (6-8-10-1) was worth $55.73.