Met Mile rail hardly ideal for Palace Malice

ELMONT, N.Y. – The Metropolitan Handicap was already going to be a stern challenge for Palace Malice. It became even more difficult when last year’s Belmont Stakes winner drew the rail in a top-shelf field of 13 entered Wednesday for Saturday’s $1.25 million Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park.

The Met Mile, which will go as race 9 on the card, is run as a one-turn race, and an inside post can be somewhat treacherous, especially if a horse breaks slowly.

“It would have been my 13th choice in terms of post positions,” said Todd Pletcher, who trains Palace Malice for Cot Campbell’s Dogwood Stable. “But he’s in phenomenal form right now, he’s doing great, and hopefully he’s good enough to overcome it.”

Palace Malice was one of 11 graded stakes winners entered in the Met Mile, which has been moved from its traditional spot on Memorial Day to Saturday’s bodacious Belmont Stakes undercard. Palace Malice was the star of this day last year, winning the Belmont Stakes by a demonstrative 3 1/4 lengths.

This year, Palace Malice has won all three of his starts, including the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes here May 11 by 9 3/4 lengths. He also won the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap, a one-turn mile, and the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds in March.

In addition to being saddled with the rail, Palace Malice is the highweight at 124 pounds, spotting three to 14 pounds to the field.

“He’s a seasoned horse. He’s been in a number of situations before, so hopefully he has the experience to overcome it,” said Pletcher, who won the 2010 Met Mile with Quality Road.

Palace Malice is one of four horses who raced in last year’s Kentucky Derby – he finished 12th – running in the race. The others are Normandy Invasion (fourth), Goldencents (17th), and Vyjack (18th).

Goldencents won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last year but hasn’t started since finishing seventh in the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct last November.

“The horse is doing very well,” said Jack Sisterson, assistant to trainer Doug O’Neill. “We think he’s really thrived off that freshening we’ve given him. We were thinking about giving him a prep race, but he was doing that well that we decided to just train him up to the Met Mile.”

Goldencents will break from post 4 under Mike Smith and carry 121 pounds.

Goldencents is one of three primary speed horses entered in the Met Mile. Moreno, who won his maiden over this track on Belmont Stakes Day last year, and Broadway Empire, last year’s Oklahoma Derby winner, also have speed.

Central Banker and Shakin It Up, the one-two finishers of the Churchill Downs Stakes on Derby Day, were expected to ship in from Kentucky on Thursday. Central Banker drew post 6, while Shakin It Up drew post 13.

Normandy Invasion, who set a track record for a one-turn mile in an allowance at Gulfstream Park, finished second to Palace Malice in the New Orleans Handicap. He was scratched out of the Alysheba Stakes at Churchill on May 2 due to quarter cracks on both of his front feet.

Clearly Now, Capo Bastone, Romansh, Declan’s Warrior, and Scarly Charly also were entered.