Trainers, horses gearing up for New York Showcase Day

One year after being claimed for $20,000, Palace will lead

trainer Linda Rice's formidable contingent for Empire Showcase Day on October 19 at Belmont Park.

Empire Showcase Day features seven stakes races, all for

New York-breds. Palace will represent Rice and owner Antonino Miuccio in the

$150,000 Hudson, a six-furlong race for three-year-olds and up.

Since being claimed out of an 11 3/4-length maiden victory

last October at Belmont, Palace has won five of eight starts for his new

connections, including a three-length victory in his most recent start, the

Chowder's First overnight stakes for New York-breds on August 23 at Saratoga.

The four-year-old son of City Zip entered the Chowder's First off a

pair of starts against open company in optional claiming turf sprints, winning

in July at Belmont and finishing fourth in August at Saratoga.

"He had been so good last winter, and then he bled through Lasix and I turned him out for a few months," Rice

explained. "He's still a stallion and he kind of gained a lot of weight. I left

him as a colt, but I was questioning my judgment because he had become a little

heavy and I wasn't getting him back to his best form as quickly as I thought I

would.

"As a six-year-old he's having his best year, as often grass

horses will as they get older," Rice remarked. "He has gotten better every year,

but this has certainly been his best year. He came out winning three in a row.

"I have felt his best distance is six furlongs to a mile. I had reservations

running him at Saratoga, but 5 1/2 (furlongs) was too short for him. I was very

impressed he put forward good efforts in his last two races, even though I don't

think it's his best distance."

In the seven-furlong, $150,000 Joseph A. Gimma for

two-year-old fillies, Rice will saddle Miss Narcissist, who broke her maiden by 2

1/2 lengths in her second start, a 5 1/2-furlong dash on August 28 at Saratoga. In

her debut, she was fifth earlier that month at the Spa.

"She was very rank the first time we ran her at Saratoga," noted Rice, who owns Miss Narcissist in partnership with Acqua Nova Stable and

Winter Park Partners. "She was green, high-strung, kind of a hotwire to be

around. In her second race she put it together. What we had seen in her morning

workouts she showed up with in the afternoon.

"Now we've had about 60 days

between races. We put her in the (Grade 2) Matron (on September 29), but I felt

it was too much, too soon. We took her out of there and prepped her for this

race. It's not ideal to go from 5 1/2 to seven-eighths with a horse who is a

little rank and un-ratable, but we have been giving her nice, slow workouts, and

I think she's going to put in a good race."

"He runs great every time he goes over there," Hushion stated. "He just needs

to be in the right place at the right time. He's certainly not a lot better than

his competition, but he's as good as them, so if he gets the perfect trip and

the good set up, why not? I've been looking to give him a break along the way,

but he just continues to look great and train great. Big and round and shiny --

just how we like them."

Mine Over Matter will be joined by B Shanny, who earned his

first stakes victory by 4 1/4 lengths as the odds-on favorite in the Leon Reed

Memorial Handicap on August 17 at Finger Lakes. Unlike Mine Over

Matter, B Shanny races on or close to the lead.

"We were hoping (the Leon Reed would) be a soft spot and

that he'd handle the track and the shipping, and he took care of business," Hushion

said.

Kimmel saddled Lady's Lunar Luck to a pair of sharp optional claiming victories at

Saratoga in August, and the Freud mare had every reason to inspire confidence

in her connections going into the John Hettinger on September 15 at Belmont off

those scores.

However, the dark bay five-year-old never threatened at 5-1 and ran

evenly to finish seventh, beaten 2 3/4 lengths, in the 1 1/8-mile race.

"I liked her going into the Hettinger, but she kind of ran

flat that day," Kimmel said. "She had been training well, but she'd had a pretty

hard race 17 days before and didn't have the kind of kick she'd shown in her two

starts at Saratoga."