La Verdad Sparkles on Empire Showcase Day
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Lady Sheila Stable's La Verdad found her way back to the Belmont Park winner's circle Oct. 18, landing the $150,000 Iroquois on Empire Showcase Day for her fifth stakes score of the year by 1 1/4 lengths .
The 4-year-old daughter of Yes It's True came off a head loss to Artemis Agrotera in the Sept. 20 Gallant Bloom Handicap (gr. II) and returned as the 7-10 favorite in restricted company against her fellow New York-breds. It was her first victory since landing four in a row, including the grade II Distaff Handicap earlier this season, a streak capped by the Dancin Renee Stakes at Belmont July 3.
La Verdad was fifth this summer in the July 28 Honorable Miss Handicap (gr. II) and fifth in the Aug. 23 Ballerina Stakes (gr. I), both at Saratoga Race Course. But at Belmont she is 4-for-5 in her career.
"She obviously likes Belmont and it's nice to get her back in the winner's circle," trainer Linda Rice said. "At Saratoga, she had bled a little bit in the Honorable Miss, and I had to back off on her training and she got a little heavy on me. When I ran her seven-eighths in the Ballerina, she really didn't want to go seven furlongs and she certainly didn't want to do it when she was heavy.
Under Jose Ortiz, La Verdad easily clearing seven others after setting fractions of :22.51, :45.52, and 1:10.43.
"The plan today was to go to the lead, hopefully not in :43; the :45 helped. I'm not sure what's next. I had no absolute plans other than to get through today's race and then sort it out based on her performance."
"That filly is unbelievable," Ortiz said. "She broke good, she put me in the lead, and I just took it as it came. I put my hands down trying to relax her and when I asked her to run she went very well. It was a tough race. I have to say Linda Rice did a tremendous job with the filly, because she brought it 100% today. You thought maybe after that last race (the Gallant Bloom) you might not know how she is going to come back, but she came back 100%. Today she was in the right spot."
La Verdad ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:17.13, followed home by Willet and Risky Rachel. She paid $3.40, $2.20, and $2.10 while improving her record to 10 wins and two seconds from 15 starts with earnings of $777,700.
"She's a star," owner Sheila Rosenblum said. "I've had her about nine months now, and she has kept going. She clearly likes Belmont more than other places. She's been up against the best of them and she's proven she's one of the best. As I said the first time I won with her, she's New York."
Earlier on the card, Eric Fein's homebred Ostrolenka won the $250,000 Sleepy Hollow Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths over Good Luck Gus, completing the one-mile event for 2-year-old New York-breds in 1:37.39 to become the first stakes winner for his sire, Musket Man . The Todd Pletcher trainee was ridden by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.
In the filly counterpart to that race, the $250,000 Maid of the Mist Stakes, Marc Keller's Quezon recovered from a hard bump at the start to gallop clear by six lengths under Manuel Franco. Trained by Bobby Ribaudo, the daughter of Tiz Wonderful got the distance in 1:38.38 .
The $200,000 Mohawk Stakes was taken by Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch's Kharafa, who attended the pace going 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf before drawing off to a 1 1/4-length score under jockey Angel Arroyo . The final time was 1:45.01. Arroyo went on from his Mohawk victory on the Timothy Hills trainee to win the Empire Classic aboard Effinex at odds of 17-1 later in the afternoon.
Discreet Marq, the 4-5 favorite, beat Old Harbor by three lengths in the $200,000 Ticonderoga for fillies and mares on the lawn. Irad Ortiz Jr. rode for trainer Christophe Clement as Patricia Generazio's 4-year-old homebred Discreet Cat filly got her first win in six tries this year, finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.36 .
Moonlight Song went gate to wire at 5-1 in the final stakes, the $150,000 Hudson Handicap for sprinters, finishing 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.58 . Joel Rosario was aboard Albert Fried Jr.'s 7-year-old homebred Unbridled's Song gelding for trainer Charlton Baker.