Palace Malice won’t defend Met Mile title

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher said Tuesday that Palace Malice will not be back to defend his title in the Metropolitan Handicap on June 6.

“We’re not planning to run in the Met Mile,” said Pletcher. “I’m not sure where we’re going to run yet. It seems like he needs a little more time coming out of his last race. The Met comes up a little quick.”

Palace Malice rallied to a one-length victory over Goldencents in the 2014 Met Mile. He has started just twice since, closing out his campaign last year with a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Whitney before launching the current season with a third-place effort as the odds-on favorite in a six-furlong overnight stakes here on May 10. Palace Malice was originally scheduled to launch his comeback on May 2 in the Grade 3 Westchester, a race he won convincingly last year but had to skip due to a bruised foot.

“We’d love to make some of the bigger races at Saratoga – like the Whitney – and this fall with him,” said Pletcher. “I don’t know what we’ll do yet regarding his next start. We’ll play it by ear. He’ll tell us.”

The news was better from the Pletcher camp regarding the steadily improving Ostrolenka, who won the Mike Lee Stakes for 3-year-old New York-breds on Monday. Ostrolenka, an easy allowance winner just 23 days earlier, shortened up to seven furlongs for the first time in the Mike Lee following a steady diet of longer races earlier in his career.

Ostrolenka stalked the pace of Wincoma, put him away in the stretch, and held off Good Luck Gus to win the Mike Lee by two lengths.

“For a big horse, he showed quite a bit of speed, took the race right to the one we thought we had to beat, which was good,” said Pletcher who was not here Monday. “We’ll probably look at the New York Derby next and then the Albany at Saratoga. He looks like a very versatile horse who can run anywhere from six furlongs to a mile and an eighth.”