La Verdad hangs on in Vagrancy

Lady Shelia Stable's La Verdad (Yes It's True) visibly tired in the final

strides of Saturday's $147,000

Vagrancy

H. (G3) at Belmont Park, but asserted her class to hold off Room for Me (Harlington)

by a half-length on the wire.

La Verdad shot to her usual spot up front when the gates opened and proceeded

to set the pace with regular rider Jose Ortiz in the irons, carving out

fractions of :22 2/5, :45 1/5 and 1:09 3/5. The Linda Rice trainee began tiring,

though, in deep stretch and came out a bit while going to her wrong lead for the

final jumps.

Nonetheless, La Verdad was first under the wire while finishing 6 1/2

furlongs on the fast main track in 1:16.

"She's pretty tough," Rice said. "Ideally, we're looking for a Grade 1 at

Saratoga somewhere down the line, but hopefully we'll just keep winning races."

Room for Me was easily best of the rest, 7 1/2 lengths in front

of Mamdooha (Daaher) in third. Sustainable (Forestry) and Frivolity (Corinthian)

completed the order of finish in the short field.

Now 12-2-0 from 18 career starts, La Verdad has accumulated $990,700 in

lifetime earnings. The five-year-old bay added a seventh stakes win to her

resume, which also includes the last two editions of the Distaff H. (G2) and a

trio of restricted New York stakes. She also placed in last year's Gallant Bloom

H. (G2) at Belmont Park and the Barbara Fritchie H. (G2) at Laurel Park.