She is out of the stakes-winning Forlì mare For The Flag, by the outstanding sire Kris S. Her owner is Eric Kronfeld, who bought back Vertigineux for $120,000 (equivalent to $233,000 in 2023) after she failed to meet her reserve at the 1996 Keenland yearling sale.
She is the dam of two Grade I stakes winners: Balance, by Thunder Gulch, and champion and 2010 American Horse of the Year Zenyatta, by Street Cry.
Vertigineux was sold in 2008, to Coolmore Stud with the stipulation that Mr. Kronfeld got to keep the Bernardini foal she was carrying.
For the 2009 breeding season, she was covered by English champion colt Henrythenavigator and produced a filly on 4 March 2010, later named Pressurizing.
Vertigineux was honored by the association of Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders (KTOB) as "Broodmare of the Year" in April 2009.