Tag: Triple Crown

Stalk, pounce, and draw away. Verifying made it look easy Saturday at Oaklawn, rolling to a 5 ¼-length entry-level allowance victory in his 3-year-old debut for trainer Brad Cox.

Verifying, a Justify half brother to champion Midnight Bisou, was making his first start since finishing sixth in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at 1 1/16 miles Nov. 4 at Keeneland. Verifying ($4.80) received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 97, a career high, after running the fastest mile of the meeting in prepping for a Kentucky Derby (G1) points race.

“It went better than planned,” Cox said in a phone call Saturday night. “We've always liked this colt. Mentally, I don't know if he's always been as polished as some of the other ones, but he's really starting to, I think, figure it out. I thought it was a huge run off the freshening since the Breeders' Cup.”

In Saturday's fourth race, which had a $104,000 purse, Verifying tracked front-running Gun Pilot for three-quarters of a mile before taking command on the outside turning for home. Verifying, the 7-5 favorite, accelerated away from his challengers in the final 100 yards and reached the finish line – one-mile races at Oaklawn begin and end at the sixteenths pole in the stretch – in 1:37.23 under Martin Garcia. The track was fast. Grade 2 winner Ginobili clocked 1:37.35 in winning the Fifth Season Stakes for older horses about 2 ½ hours later on the card.

“That's a really good horse,” Garcia said after riding Verifying for the first time. “Sometimes you break and have intentions to go and then later you take back. It's hard. In this case, I had intentions to go and the other horse goes, then I sat outside, and moved around him. I asked him one time and he just took off. He just kept going. I knew he had some time off since the Breeders' Cup. I think he's a really good horse mentally and, of course, he has a lot of ability. That's a really, really good horse.”

Jorgito Abrego, who oversees Cox's Oaklawn division, said Sunday morning that Verifying appeared to exit his victory in good shape. Cox said next-race plans are pending for Verifying, who has been based this winter at Fair Grounds. A $775,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale graduate, Verifying is the first Oaklawn winner sired by 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify.

“We'll ship him back to the Fair Grounds at some point and train him there,” Cox said. “I don't really know (what's next). We'll get with the Coolmore (ownership) group and come up with a game plan in the near future.”

Verifying is among maybe a dozen Kentucky Derby prospects for Cox and already has four qualifying points after finishing second in the Champagne Stakes (G1) at 1 mile Oct. 1 at Aqueduct (Belmont At The Big A meeting). In his only other 2022 start, Verifying was a career-debut winner sprinting Aug. 27 at Saratoga.

Cox trainees Victory Formation and Angel of Empire ran 1-2, respectively, in the Smarty Jones Stakes at 1 mile Jan. 1. The Smarty Jones was Oaklawn's first of four Kentucky Derby points races. The series continues with the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 28, $1-million Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 25 and the $1.25-million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 1.

Cox said he plans to start unbeaten Corona Bolt, Hit Show, and Jace's Boy in the Southwest.

Jace's Road was a 5 ½-length winner of the Gun Runner Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds. Corona Bolt was blowout winner of the Sugar Bowl Stakes at six furlongs Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds. Hit Show was a sharp entry-level allowance winner at 1 mile Dec. 17 at Oaklawn.

Cox said Giant Mischief is scheduled to make his 3-year-old debut in the Rebel. Giant Mischief closed his 2022 campaign with a runner-up finish in the Remington Park Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 17 at Remington Park.

Cox said Victory Formation and Angel of Empire are being considered for the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) at 1 1/8 miles Feb. 18 at Fair Grounds and the Rebel.

Angel of Empire worked a half-mile in :49 over a fast track Sunday morning at Oaklawn.

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Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher saddled a pair of promising 3-year-old debut winners Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where he and jockey Luis Saez teamed with three sophomore winners on an 11-race program.

Spendthrift Farm LLC's Kingsbarns, a son of Uncle Mo who brought $800,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Select 2-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale, where Tom McCrocklin consigned him, was particularly impressive while debuting at one mile, racing in traffic before splitting horses in the stretch to win by 1 ¾ lengths.

“I thought it was very professional for a debut. He broke OK but was kind of behind horses the whole way. He had to work his way through a seam. Plus, going a mile first time out, that was very impressive,” Pletcher said of the colt, who returned $8 for the victory.

Kingsbarns, bred in Kentucky by Dattt Farm LLC,was produced by the Tapit mare Lady Tapit.

Earlier on the card, MyRacehorse and Mathis Stables LLC's Cuvier ($21.60) demonstrated a lot of courage while graduating at first asking in Race 5, an $84,000 maiden special weight event for 3-year-olds going six furlongs.

The Pletcher-trained son of Collected, who was purchased from consignor Thorostock for $140,000 at the 2022 June OBS Open sale, set the pace into the stretch while withstanding outside pressure from favored stablemate Sgt. Pepper and Practiko. After his closest early pursuer began to fade, Cuvier was met with a strong outside stretch challenge from Al Atlasi but held gamely to the wire to score a gutsy triumph by a half length.

“It was a determined effort the whole way. He was under the gun the whole way and kept finding a little more,” said Pletcher, whose race favorite Sgt. Pepper pressed the pace between horses and faded to sixth.

Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Cuvier is out of the Flower Alley mare Chasing the Moon.

Pletcher saddled Constitution for a debut victory at Gulfstream Jan. 11, 2014 and Materiality for a first-out victory at Gulfstream Jan. 11, 2015, before both late-developing colts went on to win the Florida Derby (G1) two starts later.

“The dream is alive, right?” quipped Pletcher, who also trains Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Forte, who currently occupies the top spot on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard with 40 qualifying points.

Pletcher and Saez also teamed with Team Valor International LLC's Ok Boomer ($19.60), a Noble Mission colt who stayed undefeated with a late-rallying length score in an $86,000 optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds at 7 ½ furlongs on turf.

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Verifying, a Kentucky Derby (G1) prospect for trainer Brad Cox, turned in a strong performance in allowance company Saturday at Oaklawn, kicking away to a 5 1/4-length triumph.

Ridden by Martin Garcia, the Justify colt pressed the early pace set by Gun Pilot into the far turn before taking a narrow lead soon after. Dueling that rival into the stretch, he shook free and powered to the convincing victory while covering one mile in 1:37.23 on a fast track.

The 7-5 favorite, Verifying returned $4.80.

Gun Pilot held on for second, 2 3/4 lengths in front of third-place finisher Two Eagles River. Cox-trained stablemate Judo finished was never a factor and finished last of six.

Owned by Jonathan Poulin, Westerberg, and Coolmore associates Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Michael Tabor, Verifying tallied his second win from four starts. He won his debut Aug. 27 at Saratoga, followed by a runner-up finish in the Champagne (G1) Oct. 1 at Belmont at the Big A. He was subsequently a troubled sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 4 at Keeneland to cap his 2-year-old campaign but stamped himself a 3-year-old to watch with Saturday's dominant win.

Verifying, who is based a Fair Grounds, is one of maybe a dozen Derby prospects for Cox and already has four qualifying points for the Louisville classic acquired via his Champagne effort. He has $260,150 in purse earnings.

Purchased by Coolmore's M. V. Magnier for $775,000 from consignor Hunter Valley Farm at the 2021 Keeneland September yearling sale, Verifying is a half brother to 2019 champion older dirt female Midnight Bisou. He was bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds and Mountmellick Farm LLC. His dam is the Repent mare Diva Delite, a Grade 3 winner.

Click here for the updated Kentucky Derby Leaderboard.

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The most lucrative race Saturday at Oaklawn is the $150,000 Fifth Season for older horses at one mile, but perhaps the most intriguing race is the fourth, a $104,000 entry-level allowance for 3-year-olds at one mile that has lured a field of eight, including 6-5 program favorite Verifying for his 2023 debut.

From the first crop of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, Verifying races for two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox and a high-profile ownership group that includes Michael Tabor. Verifying, who was purchased for $775,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is a half-brother to champion and multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Midnight Bisou.

Verifying is among maybe a dozen Kentucky Derby prospects for Cox and already has four qualifying points after finishing second in the $500,000 Champagne Stakes (G1) at 1 mile Oct. 1 at Aqueduct (Belmont At The Big A meeting). He exits a troubled sixth-place finish in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at 1 1/16 miles Nov. 4 at Keeneland. In addition to Verifying, Cox is also scheduled to start lightly raced Judo in Saturday's fourth race (1:57 p.m. CST, probable post). Both horses have been based this winter at Fair Grounds.

“I've been pointing for allowance races with both horses,” Cox said Wednesday afternoon. “Verifying after the Breeders' Cup, I just backed off of him a little bit and got him back up and going. He's doing great. Judo, I just kind of struggled with getting a race to go for him and this is where we found ourselves. Hopefully, they both take that next step to give us the confidence to try stakes in the near future.”

Verifying made three starts last year, winning his career debut sprinting Aug. 27 at Saratoga. After stretching out to finish second in the Champagne, Verifying was “bumped and bothered at the start” of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, according to footnotes from the official race chart, and beaten 12 lengths by Forte, the probable champion 2-year-old male.

“He won on debut at Saratoga impressively,” Cox said. “I thought he ran really well in the Champagne to give us enough confidence out of the Champagne, training at Churchill, to try the Breeders' Cup. He didn't run a bad race, just probably wasn't quite up to par at that time. I'm hoping that now since he got a little time, we backed off him, he's back training, steady work pattern leading into this and hopeful he takes that step forward from 2 to 3.”

Verifying is scheduled to break from post 5 under Martin Garcia. Judo, who will be making his two-turn debut, is scheduled to break from post 7 under Joe Talamo. Both horses will be racing on the anti-bleeder medication Lasix for the first time Saturday. Judo is 8-1 on the morning line.

A Street Sense homebred for nationally prominent owners Gary and Mary West, Judo was a front-running winner of his 1-mile career debut Aug. 5 at Ellis Park. In his only other start, Judo finished second, beaten 9 ¼ lengths by Frosted Departure, in an entry-level allowance sprint Sept. 16 at Churchill Downs. Frosted Departure returned to win the inaugural $150,000 Renaissance Stakes at 6 furlongs Dec. 31 at Oaklawn for trainer Kenny McPeek.

Two Eagles River, who was beaten a head in the Renaissance after a disastrous start, will be making his two-turn debut in Saturday's fourth race for 2015 Oaklawn training champion Chris Hartman. Two Eagles River is the 8-5 second choice in the program.

The Renaissance marked the third career start for Two Eagles River, who won his 5-furlong career debut Oct. 30 at Churchill Downs before finishing second, beaten a neck by the highly regarded Victory Formation, in an entry-level allowance sprint Nov. 26 at Churchill Downs.

Unbeaten Victory Formation (3 for 3) returned to win the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 1 in his two-turn debut for Cox. The 1-mile Smarty Jones was Oaklawn's first of four Kentucky Derby points races.

Based on official rankings compiled by Churchill Downs, Cox has six of the top 16 horses on the latest Kentucky Derby leaderboard – No. 4 Jace's Road (13 points), No. 5 Instant Coffee (12), No. 6 Victory Formation (10), No. 13 Loggins (four), No. 14 Verifying (four) and No. 16 Angel of Empire (four).

Oaklawn's Kentucky Derby points series continues with the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 28, $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 25 and the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 1.

Cox reiterated Wednesday that he plans to start unbeaten Corona Bolt (2 for 2) and Hit Show in the Southwest, adding Jace's Road is also targeting the race, “but he's got to hit all his marks on his breezes over the next few weeks.”

Jace's Road (by Quality Road) was a 5 ½-length winner of the $100,000 Gun Runner Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds in his last start. Corona Bolt (Bolt d'Oro) was blowout winner of the $100,000 Sugar Bowl Stakes at 6 furlongs Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds. Hit Show (Candy Ride) was a sharp entry-level allowance winner at 1 mile Dec. 17 at Oaklawn.

Cox said Fair Grounds-based Giant Mischief (Into Mischief) is still scheduled to make his 3-year-old debut in the Rebel. Giant Mischief closed his 2022 campaign with a runner-up in the $400,000 Remington Park Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 17 at Remington Park.

Victory Formation returned last weekend to Fair Grounds to continue preparations for his next start, which is yet to be determined. Cox said the Tapwrit colt will be pointed for the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) at 1 1/8 miles Feb. 18 at Fair Grounds or the Rebel.

“Looks good,” Cox said.

Oaklawn-based Angel of Empire is also a candidate for the Risen Star and Rebel, Cox said. Angel of Empire finished second in the Smarty Jones.

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