Breeders’ Cup Photo ©
Trainer Linda Rice, seeking her first win in a Breeders’ Cup race, will have a starter in both the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I) and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) on October 31st at Keeneland.
On October 17th, Rice’s talented five-year-old mare La Verdad breezed five furlongs in a bullet 1:00 4/5 at the Belmont Park training track, which marked her second timed workout since winning the Gallant Bloom Handicap (gr. II) on September 26th. Unbeaten in five starts this year, La Verdad is expected to run in the Filly & Mare Sprint, although according to an article on the New York Racing Association website, she will be cross-entered in the Sprint at pre-entry time.
“She went very well, but she’s a pretty strong breeze horse anyway,” Rice was quoted as saying. “I think the track was a little slow this morning. She’ll have one more breeze next Saturday.”
Rice’s Sprint contender Palace, a multiple grade I winner coming off of a fourth-place finish in the Vosburgh Stakes (gr. I), was also expected to work over the weekend, but skipped the work due to the recurrence of a hoof injury. “We had a bit of a setback with him from the injury he sustained at Saratoga, but he’s fit enough so that [missing a work] won’t make a difference,” she said.
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