Pleasant Acres Stallions is pleased to announce the arrival of Verifying to Florida for the 2024 breeding season at a $10,000 fee.
“We are very excited to introduce this talented son of Triple Crown winner Justify into our stallion barn at Pleasant Acres Stallions,” said director of stallion services Christine Jones. “There is only one other son of Justify at stud currently in the United States (Arabian Lion) and his fee is $30,000. Verifying’s pedigree is one of the finest available and at $10,000 he will certainly be a positive influence for Florida breeders with his future crops.”
Trained by Brad Cox, Verifying began his career at 2 with a win at first asking at Saratoga Race Course. He entered the Champagne Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park in his next start, running a solid second. At 3, he won the Indiana Derby (G3) and placed second in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1), H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1), and Matt Winn Stakes (G3). He was on the board seven out of 11 starts—64%—with career earnings of $852,706.
“We are always looking for stallions we know will raise the bar in Florida,” said Pleasant Acres Stallions owner Joe Barbazon. “We’ve had our eye on Verifying since he ran in the grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont. Not only has he shown athleticism and talent during his career, he has also lived up to his impeccable pedigree.”
Regally bred, Verifying is a son of Diva Delite , a Florida-bred Repent mare who showed sufficient class and stamina to win the Florida Oaks (G3), racing 1 1/16 miles on dirt. She also won the Gasparilla Stakes and Suncoast Stakes.
“We jumped at the opportunity to be part of Florida’s most exciting new stallion,” said Jeff Bloom of Bloom Racing Stable. “A 2-year-old debut sprint winner at Saratoga and a two-turn graded stakes winner at 3, Verifying has a stunning pedigree and is by leading second crop sire Justify. Being a half brother to our champion mare Midnight Bisou is simply icing on the cake!”
Diva Delite also produced Verifying’s half sister, 2019 Eclipse Award champion older dirt female Midnight Bisou . In four seasons, she won 13 graded stakes—including five grade 1 events—and earned nearly $7.5 million. In the 2022 Keeneland November Sale, Midnight Bisou brought an impressive $5.5 million.
In 2019, Diva Delite was purchased at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale for $1.2 million while in foal with Verifying.
Verifying’s sire, Justify , scored nearly $3.8 million and retired unbeaten with six firsts from six starts—including four grade 1 events. He won the 2018 Triple Crown and was named Eclipse Award Horse of the Year that year, as well as the champion 3-year-old colt. Justify retired to stallion services at Ashford Stud in 2019 with a $150,000 fee. His current yearlings sold for up to $850,000, and he is the leading second-crop sire in North America by earnings, stakes winners (15), graded stakes winners (10), and grade 1 winners (6). He also leads all North American sires of juveniles by more than $2 million in progeny earnings through Dec. 30.
Verifying joins stallions Bodexpress , Chess Chief , Curlin’s Honor , Doppelganger , Gone Astray , Gunnevera , Leinster , Magic On Tap , Neolithic , No Never No More , Simplification , and Sweetontheladies at the 220-acre farm located just northwest of Ocala, Fla.
For more information on Pleasant Acres Stallions, visit www.pleasantacresstallions.com.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
