Verifying, Half-Brother To Champion Midnight Bisou, Will Target Either Rebel Or Risen Star

Among the overflowing list of talented 3-year-olds in the barn of trainer Brad Cox is Verifying, the $775,000 Justify colt who is a half-brother to champion Midnight Bisou.

Verifying won on debut, then finished second in the Grade 1 Champagne. He finished sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile after being bumped at the start, beaten 12 lengths by presumptive 2-year-old champion Forte.

In his sophomore debut, Verifying ran lights-out in an allowance optional claiming race at Oaklawn Park to win by 5 1/4 lengths. Now Cox is ready to start the colt in a prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, though the trainer told the Daily Racing Form on Tuesday that he hadn't quite decided on a specific race.

There are two options on the table, Cox said. Verifying will either start in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star at Fair Grounds on Feb. 18, or in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel at Oaklawn on Feb. 25.

“He's a beautiful horse, well balanced,” Cox told DRF. “I think probably one of his best attributes is that he's kind of easy on himself. He's not a horse that wants to over-train. He just kind of goes along and does what's asked. He's not super aggressive. I think on this Triple Crown trail, that's something Essential Quality taught me – you kind of have to have a horse that doesn't want to overdo it all the time. It's a long, grueling, tough road to get down.”