Rice to run La Verdad in Iroquois, Palace in Hudson

Trainer Linda Rice decided Friday to run both Palace and La Verdad on Saturday's Empire Classic Day card at Belmont Park.

Rice has Palace in the $150,000 Hudson for New York-bred 3-year-olds and up and La Verdad in the $150,000 Iroquois for New York-bred fillies and mares. They will be heavy favorites in their respective 6 1/2-furlong races, which will be back to back as races 3 and 4.

Palace was pre-entered Monday in the BC Sprint, but he has had a foot issue since stumbling at the start of the John Morrissey Stakes at Saratoga on July 30 and missed a recent workout and a few days of training. He will face much easier competition in the Hudson.

La Verdad was pre-entered in both the Filly and Mare Sprint and the Sprint, but neither seems like a perfect spot. The seven furlongs of the Filly and Mare Sprint is a bit beyond her preferred distance, and while she is suited by the six furlongs of the Sprint, La Verdad would be competing for the lead with some very fast horses, including Private Zone and Runhappy.

Both Palace and La Verdad are nearing the end of their careers. Palace, a two-time Grade 1 winner, is scheduled to enter stud at Spendthrift Farm next year with a $6,000 stud fee, and La Verdad, undefeated in five starts this year and 15 for 21 in her career, is expected to be bred.

Rice also entered Hit City Girl in the Iroquois but plans to scratch her now that La Verdad will run. Both horses are owned by the Lady Sheila Stable of Sheila Rosenblum.

La Verdad has won five straight stakes this season at age 5. Since being given the winter off, she has taken the Grade 2 Distaff in April, the Grade 3 Vagrancy in May, the statebred Dancin Renee in June, the Grade 2 Honorable Miss in July, and the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom in September.

A winner of $1.35 million over three seasons of competition, La Verdad will be very difficult to catch Saturday -- and that's the truth.

Her main competition in the 11-horse Iroquois may come from 3-year-old Tricky Zippy. Two starts back, Tricky Zippy defeated older females -- including five Iroquois entrants -- in the Union Avenue at Saratoga. Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, she finished fifth most recently in the Grade 2 Prioress.

Also entered in the Iroquois are the hard hitters Miss Da Point, Willet, and Here's Zealicious. The Bill Mott-trained Isabelle will be making her first start since March, but she won her seasonal debut following a 5 1/2-month layoff.

Palace is the clear class of the Hudson, which drew 10 entrants, but that he has missed some training due to a foot condition is cause for concern.

Palace, 6, peaked in 2014 at Saratoga, winning the Vanderbilt and Forego, both Grade 1's. He has only started three times this year.

Palace finished fifth in the Grade 1 Carter in April but came down with a throat infection and didn't start again until he was third in the July 30 Morrissey after stumbling at the start. He was closing late in the six-furlong Vosburgh on Sept. 26 but ran out of ground and finished fourth, beaten three-quarters of a length.

Trainer Mike Hushion has a pair of contenders in Loki's Vengeance and Captain Serious. Loki's Vengeance won an open, third-level optional-claiming sprint Sept. 25.

Captain Serious will be making his first start since May but enters off a steady series of seven works dating to Sept. 3. He finished fourth, beaten two lengths, in this race a year ago.

Noble Cornerstone is a sleeper in the field. Trained by Tom Morley, he won an open, second-level optional-claiming race three starts back. He has since finished fourth in the slop in the Morrissey and third to multiple graded stakes winner Clearly Now in a high-level optional claimer.

- additional reporting by David Grening