Jockey Club Gold Cup next for Palace Malice

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Saratoga Springs, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Palace Malice, sixth as the Whitney favorite on Aug. 2, will make his next start in the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 27 at Belmont Park, trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed on Monday.

Owned by Dogwood Stable, Palace Malice had been training for this Saturday's Woodward at Saratoga. He worked four furlongs in 48.67 seconds Sunday morning.

"We just felt like his breeze yesterday was good, but it wasn't that sparkling breeze that we were looking for leading into the Woodward," Pletcher said. "We know that his record at Belmont is really, really good. You could argue that it is his favorite track. We just felt like the Jockey Club made the most sense at this time."

Palace Malice was second to Ron the Greek in last year's Gold Cup and has victories at Belmont Park in the Belmont Stakes, Westchester and Met Mile for $1,574,000.

Palace Malice won his first four starts this year. The colt began 2014 by winning the Gulfstream Park Handicap on March 8 followed three weeks later by a solid victory at Fair Grounds in the New Orleans Handicap. He then claimed the Westchester Handicap at a mile by almost 10 lengths at Belmont on May 11. The colt decisively won the Met Mile on June 7 one year after taking the Belmont Stakes.

He has won seven of 17 career starts for $2,676,135.