Palace Malice

[hockey2315]

Originally Posted by Aly-Sheba

You are right, it was overstated. A great trainer would not have made that change going into the biggest race of they year.

Not to Defend Todd, but. . . The horse hadn't exactly been setting the world on fire prior to the Derby. . . he had a tendency to switch back to his wrong lead late and I'm sure it seemed like a logical fix. If he was coming off a big win and was going in as the favorite I guess I could understand calling it a blunder, but how was trying something new with a 23-1 shot who hadn't before proven he could be competitive a mistake?

He won an eyesore of a Belmont and now we want to act like he would have won the Triple Crown or something if only he hadn't been wearing blinkers in the Derby? I'll be very surprised if Palace Malice wins another race this year unless they put him on turf, which I doubt will be happening any time soon.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by hockey2315

He won an eyesore of a Belmont and now we want to act like he would have won the Triple Crown or something if only he hadn't been wearing blinkers in the Derby? I'll be very surprised if Palace Malice wins another race this year unless they put him on turf, which I doubt will be happening any time soon.

You're underestimating his performance.

3-year-olds sometimes get very good without much warning this time of year.

War Emblem (speed) was freaking terrible until he got to Sportsman Park and ran those two huge races at Sportsmans before the Derby.

Charismatic (stalker) was a complete joke before he jumped up and won the Lexington with a performance that came out of left field.

Summer Bird (mid-pack) ran sneaky well in the Derby, but was an N1X that jumped way up this time of year and took over his division.

Mine That Bird (closer) made a dramatic form reversal throughout the triple crown series.

They don't always sustain that level of performance, and it's easy to make dismissive statements because Pletcher trains and his horses rarely improve through a campaign ... but the Palace Malice who ran in the Belmont is a completely different, and much improved, animal than the one earlier in the year.