Palace Malice takes Belmont in style

Trainer Todd Pletcher insisted the easy victory of Palace Malice in the Belmont Stakes came as no surprise to him - despite the colt starting at nearly 14-1.

The son of Curlin finished only 12th in the Kentucky Derby behind Orb but turned that form on its head with the Derby winner back in third on this occasion.

Pletcher had five runners in the final leg of the Triple Crown, and was just glad to bag another win in the Grade One he last won with the filly , Rags To Riches, in 2007.

"It's huge," said Pletcher. "We always felt he had a big win in him. He just needed to put it all together.

"I kept saying I know there's a big (race) there; I felt like he had a big one in him. I kept waiting for it to materialise in the afternoon.

"He got close a couple of times but didn't quite get it done. (The Belmont) pretty much went in the early part the way we anticipated it would in terms of where we were positioned.

"Mike was able to get him in a nice comfortable rhythm and travel along, pretty quickly, considering the distance, but he looked like he was in a good comfortable rhythm and that was the main focus."

Jockey Mike Smith told www.bloodhorse.com that the removal of blinkers made all the difference.

"The key to the win was blinkers off," said Smith, who previously won the Belmont in 2010 aboard Drosselmeyer .

"The Derby was a sneaky good race if you go back and look at it. This race, he was enjoying the whole trip. He was breathing it all in and he was so relaxed."

Oxbow, the winner of the Preakness Stakes, was three-and-a-quarter lengths away in second