La Verdad moves into Breeders' Cup picture with Gallant Bloom win

ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Linda Rice said if she was impressed enough with the way La Verdad performed in Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap at Belmont Park, she would want to supplement the filly to next month’s $1 million Breeder’s Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

After watching La Verdad record a front-running, half-length victory in a very fast time of 1:15.16 for 6 1/2 furlongs in the Gallant Bloom, Rice indicated that the La Verdad is indeed Breeders’ Cup bound.

“I believe so,” Rice said. “I think she needed the race.”

Owner Sheila Rosenblum will have to put up a $100,000 fee to supplement La Verdad to the Filly and Mare Sprint, run Oct. 31 at Keeneland. Plus, there are $20,000 in entry fees. La Verdad, who won for the 16th time in 21 starts, earned $180,000 for her win Saturday.

The win was the fifth in as many starts this year for La Verdad, who also won the Grade 2 Distaff, Grade 3 Vagrancy, and Grade 2 Honorable Miss at Saratoga. She did test positive for clenbuterol in the Honorable Miss, an incident that is still under investigation.

La Verdad had to scratch from the Grade 1 Ballerina on Aug. 29 at Saratoga due to inflammation in a hind leg. She came into the Gallant Bloom a little overweight, according to Rice, and she was carrying top weight of 123 pounds, spotting weight to the field Saturday.

But La Verdad was running over a track on which she had won six of seven previous starts, her only loss being a head decision to Artemis Agrotera in this race last year.

Saturday, under Jose Ortiz, La Verdad broke on top but was challenged by Room for Me through a quarter-mile in 22.76 seconds. La Verdad was able to put Room for Me Away by the middle of the turn and was a length in front through a half-mile in 45.04 seconds.

“I got a little pressure from the outside, but I let her do her thing and by the half-mile pole I got the lead easy and I could take a breather with her and that really helped me in the end,” Ortiz said.

Dame Dorothy, who appeared to be leaning back when the gate opened causing her to break slow, moved into second at the top of the stretch. But La Verdad kept on going and won by a comfortable half-length over a late-running Wavell Avenue.

La Verdad’s final time of 1:15.16 was the second fastest of 21 Gallant Blooms run at the 6 ½-furlong distance. Only Dust and Diamonds (1:14.71) ran faster. She returned $3.10 as the 1-2 favorite.

“I thought La Verdad broke a tad flat-footed today and she’s usually a smidge quicker away from there but she hadn’t run in a while and I had to work hard to get her here having lost some [training] time,” Rice said. “I really think this race will do her a lot of good. She’ll move forward. She’ll be harder to beat next time.”

Wavell Avenue, coming off an allowance win over Sweet Whiskey at Saratoga, came with a solid late kick under Joel Rosario to be second in her first try in a graded stakes.

“This is a horse that continues to improve,” trainer Chad Brown said. “I’m real happy with the trip that we got. I thought Joel rode her perfect- inside-out trip - just missed,” Brown said.

Brown was non-committal about a possible start in the Filly and Mare Sprint for Wavell Avenue.