Cox colt Verifying impresses in 3-year-old debut

Stalk, pounce and draw away. Verifying made it look easy Saturday at Oaklawn, rolling to a 5 1/4-length entry-level allowance victory in his 3-year-old debut for trainer Brad Cox.

Verifying, a half-brother to champion and multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Midnight Bisou, was making his first start since finishing sixth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile 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 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 – mile races at Oaklawn begin and end at the sixteenth 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 $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses about 2 1/2 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 purchase, 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 $500,000 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 $250,000 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 Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 28, Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 25 and the 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 1/2-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 6 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 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 49.0 seconds over a fast track Sunday morning at Oaklawn.