The 4-year-old gelding Veritas Aequitas – Latin for “truth and justice” – started his career inauspiciously in August of 2023 with a sixth-place finish at Del Mar, for which he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 21. That figure improved to 74 by the end of an 11-race 2024 campaign and reached a new apex of 76 in a come-from-behind, 1 1/4-length win over a mile at Emerald Downs on June 1 with veteran jockey Frank Alvarado in the irons.
“I thought we were in trouble the other day when a horse got loose by himself on the lead in a moderate half in 48 [seconds],” trainer Dan Markle said of that race. “In spite of it, Frank just loped her on around him and finished in good shape.”
Veritas Aequitas, by Keen Ice, will again go a mile alongside six rivals in a conditioned allowance with a $25,000 purse at Emerald on Sunday afternoon. It’s a route of ground that Markle’s horse has found ideal, posting a record of 13-3-3-3 at the distance.
“The farther he goes, the better he does,” said Markle. “He’s a cool horse, a big, handsome horse, got a lot of size, and he’s graceful, nice to ride. His style is fun to watch. He lopes long and applies himself in the late stages. With Frank Alvarado aboard, who’s won thousands of races, I expect a good effort.”
Markle, who’s been training horses since 1978, has seen it all and is quick to be self-deprecating when discussing Veritas Aequitas’s chances in race 7.
“We missed an important work the other day when the track was muddy,” said Markle. “I hope he’s good enough to make up for my bad training. He’s a pretty classy horse. This is a tough race. There’s a lot of well-conditioned horses in here.”
One of those is What a Dude, owned and trained by Miguel Hernandez. Eighteen of the 6-year-old gelding’s 27 career starts have come on turf. He posted a career-high 89 Beyer – the best in Sunday’s field – on May 3 going 1 3/8 miles on the grass at Turf Paradise in a $50,000 stakes race that saw him finish third, beaten just a neck. Next out, he ran out of gas going a mile at Emerald in his first start at the track, but he rebounded brilliantly to win a mile and 70-yard allowance on June 13 under a stalking trip from Juan Gutierrez.
Gutierrez will again have the reins on Sunday in a race Hernandez hopes will serve as a springboard to the $125,000 Longacres Mile on Aug. 17.
“If he does good here, I’d like to run the Longacres Mile,” said Hernandez. “That’s my next step. That’s why I put him in this race.”
Veritas Aequitas’s future plans also hinge on Sunday’s outcome.
“If he can win this race, he might be out of conditions,” said Markle. “It [the Longacres Mile] is certainly a possibility. It would be nice to have a candidate for that race.”
Second-guessing that proposition, Markle then cautioned, “The Mile is gonna have some monsters in it. I’d like to avoid them kind of horses.”
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