Carter a longshot possibility for Palace

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Linda Rice has been pleased with the progress that multiple Grade 1 winner Palace has made since returning to her barn, so much so that she nominated him to the Grade 1 Carter, to be run April 4.

On Tuesday, Palace breezed five furlongs in 1:03.11, just his second work of the year. Palace, who won two Grade 1 races at Saratoga last summer, including the Forego, has not run since finishing sixth in last November’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

“He tends to come to hand pretty quickly,” Rice said. “I nominated him to the Carter just as a possibility. That would be a very aggressive step. He did win a Grade 2 off a layoff last year. It’s possible.”

Palace won the Grade 2 True North at Belmont in June off a layoff of almost four months.

As a New York-bred, Palace has other options, including the Affirmed Success Stakes at Belmont on May 3.