Hot City Girl eyes Barbara Fritchie

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Hot City Girl, the runner-up to Birdatthewire in last Saturday’s Grade 1 La Brea at Santa Anita, could make her next start in the $300,000 Barbara Fritchie Stakes at Laurel on Feb. 13, trainer Linda Rice said Wednesday. The Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie is run at seven furlongs, the same distance as the La Brea.

“Big purse, good distance,” Rice said at Belmont Park. “Point to that and then give her a break. We’ll see; not sure yet.”

Hot City Girl rode a three-race winning streak into the La Brea and was seemingly cruising on the lead in that race only to be run down by Birdatthewire, losing by a half-length.

“Grade 1’s are hard to come by,” Rice said.

La Verdad, a two-time Grade 1-winning New York-bred filly, remains in Rice’s Belmont Park barn, galloping each morning. Rice said she is waiting to speak with owner Sheila Rosenblum to determine whether La Verdad will race again or be bred in early 2016.