Winless in nearly 17 months, Palladio broke through in a big way in the $154,200 Durham Cup (Can-III) (VIDEO) Oct. 11 at Woodbine, as the 6-year-old took over at the quarter pole and held on in the stretch to score by 1 3/4 lengths on the Polytrack.
Receiving a beautiful stalking trip under Richard Dos Ramos, Palladio stayed off the rail behind Monsoon Rain and Head Chopper for much of the nine-furlong event. After Head Chopper took over from a tiring Monsoon Rain on the turn, Palladio made his move toward the front and rallied four wide to take command. He had a two-length lead at the eighth-pole and was never seriously challenged in the stretch.
The son of Lycius stopped the clock in 1:49.29 on a fast track. Marchfield rallied between horses to make a mild bid in the final sixteenth but settled for second, a length in front of third-place Artie Hot. Torquay rallied from last to get fourth in a field of eight older horses.
Trained by Roger Attfield, Palladio found things much easier than his last effort, when he faced the likes of Kip Deville, Ventura, and Rahy’s Attorney in the Sept. 7 Woodbine Mile (Can-IT). He finished seventh in that test, which was just his second start of the campaign.
Palladio had been winless in his last nine efforts dating back to May 21, 2007 when he set the Woodbine 1 1/16-mile track record in the Eclipse Stakes (Can-III). In 2005, as a 3-year-old, the bay captured the Ohio Derby (gr. II) and Ontario Derby. Overall, the Haras Santa Maria de Araras homebred is 7-1-3 from 27 starts. He now has earned $770,286.
Palladio is out of the Mari’s Book mare Gioia. He was bred in Florida.
The winner paid $13.60, $6.30, and $4.20. The exacta (7-2) returned $55.50, while the trifecta (7-2-5) was worth $186.50.
