Fair Grounds: Palace Malice tries to give Pletcher another New Orleans Handicap score
Todd Pletcher has had a veritable lock on the New Orleans Handicap in recent years by winning five of the last seven runnings, including the 2013 renewal with Graydar. The future Hall of Fame trainer will be looking to improve on that remarkable record Saturday at Fair Grounds when sending out Palace Malice as a solid favorite in the Grade 2, $400,000 fixture.
Palace Malice, with Mike Smith to ride, will break from the outside post in a field of eight older horses in the 1 1/8-mile New Orleans Cap, just three weeks after starting his season with a gritty victory in the Gulfstream Park Handicap.
“He’s bounced back quickly from that race and is doing great,” said Pletcher.[bc_video_id:319727:]
Palace Malice is one of three 4-year-olds in this race who started in the Kentucky Derby last year. Although he faded badly to finish 12th after setting a taxing pace, Palace Malice went on to win the Belmont and Jim Dandy stakes and comes into the New Orleans with race-high career earnings of more than $1.6 million for Dogwood Stable. As such, he was assigned the high weight of 121 pounds and will spot the opposition two to nine pounds.
The likely second choice in the race, Normandy Invasion (post 5, Rosie Napravnik), will carry 115 pounds. The colt set a Gulfstream record for a mile (1:33.13) five weeks ago when making his first start since running fourth in the Derby.
“You hate to give that much weight to a good horse like Normandy Invasion,” said Pletcher. “But when you’re a classic winner while carrying 126, that helps.”
Not only did the familiar rivals cross paths in the Derby but also here last winter in the Risen Star, where Palace Malice ran third and Normandy Invasion was a troubled fifth as the favorite. Moreover, both have trained all winter at the Palm Meadows training center in south Florida.
By shipping in, they may be conceding a slight edge to the locally based Golden Soul (post 3, Brian Hernandez Jr.), who has accomplished very little since blowing up the Derby tote board with his runner-up finish at 34-1.
“He loves this track, and I think he’s going to run huge fresh,” said Dallas Stewart, the trainer of Golden Soul. “He’s worked lights out here since early January, a lot of times with [Louisiana Derby starter] Commanding Curve. I couldn’t have him more ready, and I think he’ll hit the board at the very least.”
Besides that powerhouse trio of 4-year-olds, the New Orleans Cap also drew Bradester (post 1, Jimmy Graham), the winner of the Mineshaft Handicap five weeks ago; Mister Marti Gras (post 2, Florent Geroux), a versatile gelding cross-entered with a preference to the Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial, according to trainer Neil Pessin, on this same card; Prayer for Relief (post 4, Shaun Bridgmohan), a seasoned veteran with earnings of almost $1.6 million; Sunbean (post 6, Richard Eramia), a standout Louisiana-bred who is winless in open company; and Fordubai (post 7, Robby Albarado), the winner of the Louisiana Handicap in January.
The New Orleans Cap is carded as the 10th of 13 Saturday races and directly precedes the Louisiana Derby (race 11). Post time is 5:25 p.m. Central.
Long the premier older-horse stakes at Fair Grounds, this race has been won by such notables as Tenacious (1958-59), Master Derby (1976), Wild Again (1984), Concern (1995), and Mineshaft (2003).
