Palace Fever

Palace Fever made her only outing so far a week ago, finishing eighth in what appears to have been a competitive race. As a three-year-old still finding her way, there is not much to assess yet—one race is barely enough to know whether a horse has the talent to make it or will drift toward the rear of the field as a matter of course. What matters now is what trainer W. McCreery does next. Based at Rathbride in County Kildare, McCreery has already sent out 19 winners this season, which suggests the yard knows how to train horses to win. For a horse that has yet to trouble the judge, that is encouraging. The question is whether Palace Fever will get another chance soon, and whether a second race will reveal something the first one could not.