Verifying scoring in an allowance optional claiming Jan. 14 at Oaklawn Park. (Coady Photography)
Darren Rogers/Churchill Downs
LOUISVILLE, Ky.— Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor’s dominant 5 ¼-length Oaklawn allowance winner Verifying headlines a field of 11 3-year-olds entered in Saturday’s $1 million Rebel (Grade II) at Oaklawn.
The Rebel, run at 1 1/16 miles, will award the Top 5 finishers points on a 50-20-15-10-5 scale for the Championship Series on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The Rebel will go as Race 11 of 12 at 6:23 p.m. (all times Eastern).
Trained by Brad Cox, Verifying impressed many as a 2-year-old after breaking his maiden by 1 ¾ lengths at Saratoga and finishing second to Blazing Sevens in the Champagne (GI) at Belmont at Aqueduct. In the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI), Verifying had a difficult start and only managed to finish sixth, beaten 12 lengths by eventual champion Forte. The son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify rebounded in a big way in his 3-year-old bow on Jan. 14 at Oaklawn where he dominated five rivals, including two next-out winners. Verifying earned a 95 Brisnet Speed Rating for that victory, the second highest last race figure of any horse in the Rebel.
Jockey Florent Geroux, who has yet to ride Verifying in any of his previous four starts, will fly from his winter base at Fair Grounds for the mount and break from the rail.
Verifying’s stablemate Giant Mischief is another top Rebel contender and was tabbed as the 5-2 second choice on the morning line odds. Owned in partnership by Spendthrift Farm, Steve Landers Racing, Martin Schwartz, Michael Dubb, TenStrike Racing, Jim Bakke, Titletown Racing Stables, Kueber Racing, Big Easy Racing, Winners Win, Mike Caruso and Stonestreet Stables, Giant Mischief will make his first start as a 3-year-old following his runner-up effort to Wildatlanticstorm in the Springboard Mile.
Giant Mischief had modest beginnings for Cox and his partners when he broke his maiden at 5 ½ furlongs on Sept. 22 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Giant Mischief quickly found himself back with Cox’s string in Louisville and he gamely defeated Arabian Lion in a first-level allowance on the undercard of Breeders’ Cup Future Stars Friday. Giant Mischief was tabbed as the 4-5 favorite in the Springboard Mile but after trouble at the start and a mid-race move, the Into Mischief colt was defeated 2 ¼ lengths.
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who has won at a 21% clip for Cox over the last six years, will have the mount from post No. 5.
Breaking just to Verifying’s outside in post 6 is SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan’s Sham Stakes (GIII) winner Reincarnate. Under new trainer Tim Yakteen, Reincarnate was transferred from Bob Baffert’s care for the Rebel. Baffert is suspended by Churchill Downs Incorporated from competing in the 2023 Kentucky Derby.
A son of Good Magic, Reincarnate defeated four rivals, including future Robert B. Lewis Stakes (GIII) winner Newgate, in the Sham. His victory earned him a 98 Brisnet Speed Rating, three points better than Verifying in his Oaklawn allowance win. Reincarnate raced on turf in the first two starts of his career prior to his dirt debut on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita where he finished second to stablemate Fort Bragg. Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez will have the mount and the duo was tabbed at morning line odds of 7-2.
Fans can wager on the Rebel at www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated and the Kentucky Derby.
Rebel Quotes
Brad Cox, trainer, Giant Mischief: “We gave him a little bit of time after the Springboard Mile to get him ready for the Rebel. It was a planned break. We’re hoping this race shows us enough that we’re able to take a look at Grade I on the Derby trail.”
Florent Geroux, jockey, Verifying: “He’s been extremely talented in the afternoons, and I think is starting to get better with age both physically and mentally. He wasn’t quite there mentally at first but that’s starting to come around.”
D. Wayne Lukas, trainer, Bourbon Bash: “That’s a very, very good horse (Gun Pilot) that won (the Feb. 4 allowance) the race, so we were not disappointed hooking into him. We tried him at the eighth pole. The thing with Bourbon Bash is he’s real feminine and he hasn’t matured yet. If the next two months to three months, he’ll get a little stronger – just physically, he’s OK mentally – he’s got enough tactical speed that we can put him in a race where he belongs. He doesn’t need the seasoning. He needs the strength.
Rebel Fun Facts and Info
Rebel Produced Three Kentucky Derby Winners – Saturday’s Rebel Stakes is the key prep at Oaklawn toward the Arkansas Derby (GI) that will be staged on Saturday, April 1.
In its previous 62 editions, the Rebel has produced three winners of the Kentucky Derby: American Pharoah (2015); Smarty Jones (2004) and Sunny’s Halo (1983).
American Pharoah was the lone Derby winner of the trio to compete in the Rebel during the Road to the Kentucky Derby points system era that began in 2013. Since then, the Rebel has produced 20 Derby starters and the only other horse besides American Pharoah to hit the board in the “Run for the Roses” was Lookin At Lee (2017).
Rebel Field Includes 10 Horses With Churchill Downs Ties – Saturday’s field for the Rebel is filled with horses that already have ties to the home of the Kentucky Derby.
In total, 10 of the 11 3-year-olds were either based or ran at Churchill Downs. The only horse that doesn’t have previous experience at Churchill Downs is California-based Reincarnate.
Seven of the horses entered in the Rebel competed at Churchill Downs on the Stars of Tomorrow programs during the Fall Meet: Bourbon Bash, Confidence Game, Frosted Departure, Gun Pilot, Powerful, Red Route One and Talladega.
