Team 24--Good News Saturday CD works
John Greenhaw
Senior Member
Here's Saturday's update:
Palace Malice worked a half mile this morning with Overanalyze, and our rider Mike Smith could not have been more delighted.
"Really great!" Mike said. "We went heads up in :47, and I was impressed with his gallop out. Great energy level. When I finally got him pulled up at the far turn, he then dragged me all the way back to the barn. Really tickled with his work."
Good report from this Hall of Fame rider who flew in from California a day early to accommodate the moved up work date (Saturday from Sunday) due to advancing weather.
Todd was delighted - using phrases like "super," "very impressive," couldn't have been any better."
He scoped clean afterwards and cooled out perfectly, according to Todd
Palace Malice worked a half mile this morning with Overanalyze, and our rider Mike Smith could not have been more delighted.
"Really great!" Mike said. "We went heads up in :47, and I was impressed with his gallop out. Great energy level. When I finally got him pulled up at the far turn, he then dragged me all the way back to the barn. Really tickled with his work."
Good report from this Hall of Fame rider who flew in from California a day early to accommodate the moved up work date (Saturday from Sunday) due to advancing weather.
Todd was delighted - using phrases like "super," "very impressive," couldn't have been any better."
He scoped clean afterwards and cooled out perfectly, according to Todd
Comments
Good luck, John. We're all rooting for you big-time.
I will have a good chunk of my hard earned cash on PM. I'll be rooting loud!
All aboard the PM train to Louisville !!!
Honestly, Fuck Yeah.
Lol, maybe in the middle, I'm starting to hear about him like the "Wise Guy" horse.
I'm gonna see if Mikey mentioned this horse to Bill. Him and PVAL, seem to give him very honest assessments. Maybe I should even have him ask, I'm so fucking curious.
I sincerely hope I'm wrong, as I'd like nothing better than to see him win. I just don't see it happening. I do expect that he'll run we'll up to a certain point (the furlong pole?), assuming he gets a decent trip. Maybe the blinkers will make a difference. It wouldn't be the first time I saw that happen. Fingers crossed.
We are into our second week of updates on our Derby contender Palace Malice as we head to Churchill Downs with our eighth Derby runner!
Here's Monday's update from Cot Campbell, who is driving toward Louisville today with his wife Anne:
"Palace Malice came out of his sharp half mile work on Saturday in great order. He walked Sunday morning, jogged this morning and will do the same tomorrow. Our colt will gallop at 8:30 on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and slightly earlier Friday morning - 5:45!
"I certainly don't know if he'll win the Derby, but there's every indication that he's ready to run in it.
"I think it speaks volumes that Mike Smith came a day early from California to work him on Saturday, and he was really delighted with him. I think he's genuinely enthused about his shot in the race.
"Palace Malice and his workmate Overanalyze finished dead even in the work - Mike Smith was on our colt and Gary Stevens on Overanalyze. For some strange reason, the clockers had Overanalyze going faster. Both horses clocked the fastest time (:47) of 70 workers at that distance that morning.
Steve Haskin wrote a beautiful column on April 18 concerning Palace Malice's dam, Palace Rumor. There is tragedy, redemption and fate... and the knowledge that one simple decision by her trainer, Burt McBride, has led Palace Malice to the Kentucky Derby.
This from Cot:
Daily Derby Notes
The clock is ticking and the Kentucky Derby will be here before we know it. The anticipation is crazy!!! Cot and Anne Campbell arrived in Louisville Tuesday afternoon and attended the Trainers Dinner last night. Here's this morning's update from Cot:
"Churchill Downs was teeming with humanity this morning, and of course very heavy with press representatives.
"Our guy, Palace Malice, marched out with the other four Pletcher Derby entrants, stood while bandages were put on, and then paraded to the race track at the 8:30 break which is designed to provide 30 minutes for Derby and Oaks runners only.
"Palace Malice had his new blinkers on (green with yellow trim) and galloped like a dream. His rider, Jake Nelson, who has been a major part of his progress, felt that he went the best he's ever gone. The blinkers, obviously, have been a great addition. Mike Smith, who will ride our colt on Saturday, observed the gallop as well and was impressed with what he saw.
"I asked Todd Pletcher an interesting question: we ran third with Impeachment and fourth with Limehouse in this race. How does this horse's pre-evaluation stack up against theirs? He said simply that he thought Palace Malice was a better horse.
"We'll go to the post position draw later this afternoon and then more of the same in the morning."
... and some earlier notes that are just to good to delete yet!
"Palace Malice has clearly bounced back big-time after his very speedy work on Saturday in which he worked a half mile in :47, along with his workmate Overanalyze. The latter was spotted several lengths when they went off... our colt waited on him and when they got head to head, they matched strides all through the stretch to record the fastest time of 70 works. Almost a full century of riding talent was on the two colts - Gary Stevens, 50 odd years old, and Mike Smith, 48, were on Overanalyze and Palace Malice, respectively.
"Speaking of energy leverl - very crucial at this point - Palace Malice felt so good on Sunday he had to be taken back to the track to jog (instead of walking in the shedrow). We will see him Wednesday and Thursday when he goes to the track at 8:30 and then he'll have his final gallop at 5:45 Friday morning, since they close the race track at 8:00 on Oaks Day. He will do a little something the morning of the Derby."
Lenny Shulman, features editor at The Blood-Horse, has a terrific story on the magazine's website today about Cot, Dogwood and - of course - Palace Malice: Dogwood's Campbell Reaches for the Gold Ring.
The post position draw for the Kentucky Derby will be shown live on the NBC Sports Network from 5 - 6 PM this evening.
The following press release was sent out on April 23:
When Palace Malice comes out of the starting gate on Saturday, May 4, he will represent the eighth Dogwood Derby runner in the history of the stable.
"It is an honor just to run in the Derby and we are pleased to have participated as much as we have," said Dogwood Stable President Cot Campbell. "It is interesting that in the last 40 years only four outfits have had more runner in the Kentucky Derby than our stable."
"We have run second (Summer Squall), third (Impeachment) and fourth (Limehouse). Admittedly, we have run several colts that were ill-suited. But you don't know that in the spring of a horse's three-year-old year, and it is worth trying," Campbell continued.
In the year 2000, Dogwood ran two horses - Trippi and Impeachment. Campbell recalled the moment this way: "One of my great thrills was to see the two Dogwood runners leading the post parade as they came onto the race track, while 140,000 people chimed in on My Old Kentucky Home. Never will we forget that moment. Impeachment ran third in the race. Trippi turned out to be one of the great sprinters of his generation, but did not place in the Derby."
Dogwood's Derby starters have been: Summer Squall - 1990; Wallenda - 1993; Smilin Singin Sam - 1994; Jack Flash - 1997; Trippi and Impeachment - 2000; and Limehouse - 2004.
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Cot's BloodHorse.com Blogs
Since I’ve been around racing for awhile, I’ve had contact with some very interesting, colorful characters. I’ve agreed to write about a number of
Interesting. We'll see where he shows.