Rosenblum Holds on to La Verdad

On the morning after a game runner-up finish in the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) Oct. 31 at Keeneland, owner Sheila Rosenblum withdrew La Verdad from the Fasig-Tipton November sale to keep her as a broodmare. 



Purchased privately by Rosenblum in December 2013, La Verdad is a New York-bred by Yes It's True   out of the Hook and Ladder mare Noble Fire. The 5-year-old mare, a four-time grade II stakes winner, has earned more than $1.6 million while making 19 of her 23 starts for Rosenblum's Lady Sheila Stable and trainer Linda Rice.



"What a performance," said Rosenblum of La Verdad's Breeders' Cup effort. "She ran some hell of a race. We were thrilled to take second."



Rosenblum and Rice had been undecided about whether to run La Verdad in the Breeders' Cup at all. The TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) is run at six furlongs but would have required her to run against males; the seven-furlong Filly & Mare Sprint meant that she had to go a furlong longer than her preferred distance.



In addition, La Verdad had run at Belmont Park a week before, winning the Iroquois Stakes for New York-breds.



Rosenblum had also been on the fence about selling the mare. Although she's been a Thoroughbred owner for only few years, she has established several partnerships and has spent more than $5 million on horses this year. Admitting her emotional attachment to La Verdad, who brought her first and most significant success in the industry, Rosenblum also acknowledged the financial value of La Verdad as a broodmare prospect.



But following the mare's Breeders' Cup success, Rosenblum decided to withdraw La Verdad and breed her herself. She will be Rosenblum's first broodmare.



"We'll race her one more time this year if she comes out of the Breeders' Cup well," said Rosenblum, mentioning the Fall Highweight Handicap (gr. III) at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 26 as a possibility. "And then I'll breed her next year."



Rosenblum and Rice had hoped to retire La Verdad with a grade I win, aiming in both 2014 and 2015 for the Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga. La Verdad finished fifth in the race last year and was scratched with a minor injury this year. She fell 1 3/4 lengths short in the Filly & Mare Sprint after setting the pace.



"She's my New York love story," said Rosenblum, who lives in Manhattan. "It would be a shame if her foal's not a New York-bred. I love New York, and I want to make New York-bred horses.



"I want to do the right thing as a business woman, too. I'm keeping her out of love, but her foals will be a business decision."