Interborough no cakewalk for La Verdad
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The multiple graded stakes winner La Verdad will be a heavy favorite in Saturday’s $100,000 Interborough Stakes at Aqueduct, but she is by no means a cinch in the six-furlong race for fillies and mares.
For a listed stakes at this time of year, the Interborough came up like a graded event, with Room for Me, the dominant winner of the Garland of Roses; Princess Violet, the winner of the Grade 1 Madison; and the New York-bred five-time stakes winner Willet in the field.
In May at Belmont, when La Verdad was in the midst of finishing first in five consecutive races, Room for Me gave her all she could handle in the Grade 3 Vagrancy, finishing within a half-length of La Verdad.
Entering the Interborough, La Verdad has had one workout since running sixth in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight on Nov. 28, while Room for Me is coming off a 3 3/4-length victory in the Garland of Roses over Aqueduct’s main track.
Prior to the Garland of Roses, La Verdad and Room for Me both ran in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. While La Verdad finished second behind Wavell Avenue after setting the pace, Room for Me rallied from last to finish seventh, beaten 5 3/4 lengths.
Room for Me was pretty much eliminated at the start of the BC Filly and Mare Sprint, said trainer David Jacobson.
“When she broke, she banged her head on the side of the gate, and it took her out of the race,” said Jacobson, who has won five races as Room for Me’s owner and trainer since claiming her for $12,500 last February. “If she would have broke good, I don’t know if she would have beat the winner or La Verdad, but she would have been right there, and the Garland of Roses proves it.”
La Verdad does her best running on the lead, and she might have to outfoot Jubilant Vision or Fat Kat for that spot on Saturday.
Princess Violet was farther back than usual after getting pinched back at the start of the Garland of Roses. Dancing House went 2 for 2 in 2015 but has not raced since April and is not certain to run.
The Interborough will go as race 3 (1:20 p.m. Eastern), and show wagering will not be permitted.
KEY CONTENDERS
La Verdad (Last 3 Beyers: 96-81-89)
◗ Has finished first or second in 18 of 22 starts against females, including a 10-for-13 mark at six furlongs.
◗ She worked a solid five furlongs in 1:00.86 last Saturday over the Belmont training track.
Room for Me (Last 3 Beyers: 95-85-95)
◗ Has won her last five starts at six furlongs, a streak that began with a 13 1/2-length win in the Videogenic Stakes, a stakes race for claiming horses run over the inner track last March for which she earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure.
◗ Finished behind La Verdad the three times they met in 2015.
Princess Violet (Last 3 Beyers: 86-83-89)
◗ In her first start off a six-month layoff, she ran second behind Room for Me after getting bothered leaving the gate.
“I thought she could win it,” trainer Mike Hushion said. “I didn’t know the winner was that good of a horse.”