Palace Malice

By Alan Porter

“With six graded stakes victories, including the Belmont Stakes (G1) – in which he defeated the winners of the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I) – and Metropolitan Handicap (G1), Palace Malice has strong claims to be both the most versatile top-class performer of his crop, and the most versatile of the top-class runners sired by two-time Horse of the Year, Curlin.

Palace Malice is also off to a strong start at stud with five stakes winners, three graded, from his first crop, three-year-olds of 2020.

Palice Malice’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) hero, Structor, is out of a mare by More Than Ready, and there are two Curlin stakes winners out mares by that horse, which suggests that daughters of Ready’s Image, Daredevil and Verrazano

The cross of Curlin – whose own dam is by Deputy Minister – back over mares carrying that strain has been a very productive one. For Palace Malice it has already provided graded stakes winner Fly On Angel out of a mare by Posse (by Silver Deputy, also sire of Archers Bay, Badge of Silver and Spring at Last) and stake winners Ice Princess out of a mare by Awesome Again (sire of Ghostzapper and of Toccet –who is bred on the same cross as the dam of Ice Princess – Daheer and Awesome of Course). We could also consider introducing Deputy Minister though Dehere (whose son, Graeme Hall, is broodmare sire of a Curlin grade one winner), Touch Gold, Forest Camp and French Deputy.

Palace Malice’s Risen Star Stakes (G3) winner, Mr. Monomoy, is out of a mare by Henny Hughes (by Hennessy, also sire of Johannesburg and grandsire of Scat Daddy). This is a version of the excellent Curlin cross over mares from the Storm Cat line which has produced stakes winners out of mares by Giant’s Causeway (who is also represented by such as Creative Cause, Eskendereya and First Samurai), Tale of the Cat (Lion Heart; grandsire of Kantharos), Stormy Atlantic and Stormin Fever. Daughters of Bernstein, Bluegrass Cat, Cat Thief, Discreet Cat, Forest Wildcat, Forestry, Freud (brother to Giant’s Causeway), Harlan (sire of Harlan’s Holiday and Menifee; grandsire of Into Mischief, Majesticperfection and Shanghai Bobby), Pure Prize and Yankee Gentleman are among other Storm Cat sources that could be considered.

Smart Strike, the sire of Curlin, had a tremendous success rate with mares from the Danzig branch of Northern Dancer. Curlin has followed that trend, and already has nine stakes winners out of Danzig line mares. This includes

Champion Good Magic out of a mare by Hard Spun; a quartet of stakes winners out of daughters of Polish Numbers; and stakes winners out of mares by Foxhound, Pine Bluff and Ascot Knight. This would also make it worth considering daughters of War Front, Langfuhr, Belong to Me and Bellamy Road.

There is a Curlin stakes winner out of a mare by Dixieland Band and another out of a mare by that horse’s son, Dixie Union (sire of Union Rags). This line could also be sourced through High Cotton, Hook and Ladder ad Overanalyze.

Palace Malice is out of a mare by Royal Anthem, who by the Nureyev horse Theatrical, and it be worth crossing Palace Malice back over mares from this line, utilizing daughters of such as Atticus, Fasliyev and Spinning World. Combining Nureyev and with his three-quarters brother, Sadler’s Wells, has often worked well, and English Channel (a Smart Strike/Nureyev cross, like Palace Malice) has sired grade two grade one winners out of mares by Horse Chestnut (by Sadler’s Wells son, Fort Wood), a multiple graded stakes winner out of a mare by Sadler’s Wells son, King of Kings, and a graded winner out of a mare by Kitten’s Joy (by El Prado, also sire of Medaglia d’Oro and Artie Schiller). There is also a grade one winner by a son of Smart Strike out of a mare by Powerscourt.

Palace Malice is sire of the stakes winning and graded placed Crystalle out of mare by out of a mare by Flatter, a son of A.P. Indy. Curlin’s champion, Stellar Wind, is out of a mare by Malibu Moon, a son of A.P. Indy. He also has five stakes winners out of mares by A.P. Indy himself, and a grade stakes winner out of a mare by that horse’s son Bernardini. There is also a stakes winner by a son of Curlin out of a mare by Flatter. There is also a grade two winner out of a mare by Tapit (sire of Concord Point, Tapizar, Hansen and Trappe Shot). Tapit is by A.P. Indy son, Pulpit (also sire of Sky Mesa and Stroll), and it could also be worth considering mares by Congrats (a brother to Flatter) and Mineshaft (sire of Dialed In and Discreetly Mine), Jump Start, Majestic Warrior and Stephen Got Even.

A.P. Indy is by Seattle Slew, and Curlin also has classic winner Exaggerator out of a mare by Seattle Slew son, Vindication, and there is also a grade one winner out of a mare by Boston Harbor (by Capote), and stakes winners out of mares by Seattle Slew sons, Avenue of Flags and Slewdledo. Curlin also has two graded stakes out of mares by Yes It’s True, whose grandsire Raja Baba is from the same sire line and family as A.P. Indy.

Curlin already has two stakes winners, including grade one winner Collect, out of mares by Holy Bull, and he is sire of Macho Uno, Flashy Bull, Woke Up Dreamin and Giacomo. The cross with mares from the Roberto line has provided Curlin with graded winners by Dynaformer (sire of Temple City, Point of Entry and Purim) and Red Ransom.