Will 'Truth' Come Out in Gallant Bloom?

Lady Sheila's La Verdad (Yes It's True) has been off the board in her last two starts, but the bay has a solid shot to return to winning ways in today's GII Gallant Bloom H. A winner of nine of her first eleven tries, the Linda Rice representative could do no better than fifth in Saratoga's sloppy Honorable Miss H. July 28 in which she was ridden surprisingly tentatively. She set the pace last time in the Aug. 23 GI Ballerina S., only to fade to fifth again behind the romping Artemis Agrotera (Roman Ruler). That race came at seven panels, however, and a half-furlong cut-back and a return to Belmont–where La Verdad is three-for-three–could do the trick. “Obviously, she's run much better at Belmont than she did at Saratoga,” Rice noted. “I think in the [Honorable Miss] she was compromised by the mud and post position [one]. In the [Ballerina], I don't think seven furlongs is her best distance. I think she prefers Belmont, and that could be enough to turn the results around.” Chester and Mary Broman's Artemis Agrotera, winner of last year's GI Frizette S. here as a juvenile, bounced back from a pair of lackluster efforts to crush state-bred optional claimers by 10 1/4 lengths upstate July 23. She proved far too tough last time in the Ballerina, airing by 6 1/2 lengths and earning a field's-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure. “When she has good energy, that's when she has performed well,” noted trainer Mike Hushion of the expected favorite. “I thought running in the [Gallant Bloom] would be better for her [than training up to the Breeders' Cup].” Hushion also saddles the speedy Bridgehampton (Bernardini), a clear winner of Parx's May 24 My Juliet S. who was last seen finishing fourth of four after setting the pace in the July 21 Shine Again S. at Saratoga. “I was trying to keep her at six furlongs, but I couldn't get a race and ran out of options,” said Hushion. William Parsons, Jr. and David Howe'sMerry Meadow (Henny Hughes) took the track-and-trip GIII Vagrancy H. here May 17. Beaten a nose in the GIII Bed O' Roses H. June 21, she was third in the Honorable Miss. “[Merry Meadow] is pretty reliable,” offered conditioner Mark Hennig. “Obviously, [Artemis Agrotera] is coming off a pretty big effort, but [Merry Meadow] always runs well and she likes this track.”