Howe Great turned a pace stalking trip into an impressive victory in the $150,000 Palm Beach Stakes (gr. III) this afternoon at Gulfstream Park, holding off a late-running Dullahan to win the nine-furlong turf race in a sharp 1:46.56.
Ridden to victory by John Velazquez, Howe Great broke fastest of all in the field of six, but soon settled into the second position along the rail as longshot Scorcher raced away to set a moderate early pace of :23.87 and :47.52 while leading by three-quarters of a length. Csaba was tucked into third along the inside, followed on the outside by Coalport. Dullahan, making his first start since finishing fourth in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), was content to race in fifth early on, while Argentine Tango was the trailer by a large margin.
The positions remained unchanged until the field rounded the far turn, when Dullahan made a sweeping, four-wide bid to challenge for the lead. However, Howe Great was able to secure a perfect trip along the inside, shooting past Scorcher to take over the lead in early stretch. Dullahan closed resolutely in the final eighth of a mile, but Howe Great was able to hold him off to win by about one length.
Csaba stayed on well to finish third, followed by Argentine Tango, Coalport, and Scorcher. The winner is owned by Team Valor International and trained by Graham Motion, the same connections as the 2011 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Animal Kingdom.
-Keelerman
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