Grade 1 winners take chill off morning

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Temperatures remained in the low 20s, and it was another gray morning Thursday in New York. At least a forecast for a dusting of snow failed to materialize.

One sign, perhaps, that spring is not a myth was the presence of a pair of multiple Grade 1 winners on the Belmont Park training track Thursday morning.

Sweet Reason, who won the Acorn and the Test last summer, and Palace, the winner of the Vanderbilt and Forego at Saratoga, are recent returnees to their respective barns. On Thursday, Sweet Reason had her second timed workout since returning to trainer Leah Gyarmati’s care, breezing an easy half-mile in 52.19 seconds. Palace, meanwhile, had his second gallop since returning to Linda Rice’s barn last week.

Neither horse is on a strict timetable, with the connections of both planning on races at Belmont Park in the spring. It simply was nice to see them back.

Sweet Reason was a finalist for the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old filly, though the award unanimously went to Untapable. Sweet Reason finished second to Untapable, beaten a length, in the Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx last September. It would be no surprise to see those two meet in the Grade 1, $1 million Ogden Phipps at Belmont on the undercard of the June 6 Belmont Stakes.

Gyarmati said the Phipps is her focus and that she will work backward from there in plotting out Sweet Reason’s campaign. A possible return spot could be the Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian Handicap at Belmont on May 9.

“She’s doing good. I’m just going slow with her because I don’t plan on running her for a while,” Gyarmati said. “I don’t have a solid plan. I don’t think I need to plot out anything until she gets a little further along.”
Thursday’s breeze was a little faster than an open gallop. Last week, Sweet Reason went three-eighths in 38.01 seconds.

Meanwhile, Palace, unraced since his sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, returned to Rice’s barn only last week. After spending most mornings in the barn due to the cold, Palace returned to the track this week. Rice is targeting the Grade 2, $250,000 True North at Belmont on June 5. Palace won that race last year.

Possible preps for him would be the Affirmed Success against New York-breds on May 3 or the Diablo for open company May 10. Both races are at Belmont and worth $100,000.

“He’s sharp, he looks fresh,” Rice said. “He was off 60 days. I don’t think it’ll take that long to get him back.”
Rice said that Kid Cruz bled when he finished sixth in the Evening Attire Stakes last Sunday, his first start since last year’s Travers.

“That’s new,” Rice said. “We’ll treat him a little more aggressively with Lasix.”

Rice said a start for Kid Cruz in the $100,000 Stymie on March 22 is “up in the air.”

A previous version of this article had the incorrect purse for this year Ogden Phipps Stakes. It is $1 million, not $750,000.