EDITED PLEASANT ACRES STALLIONS PRESS RELEASE
MORRISTON, FL–Pleasant Acres Stallions announced the arrival of Verifying, by Justify out of Diva Delite, by Repent, 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,” Director of Stallion Services Christine Jones said. “There is only one other son of Justify at stud currently in the USA 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 H. Cox, Verifying began his career as a 2-year-old with a win in his first start at Saratoga. He entered the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont at the Big A in his second career start and finished second to Blazing Sevens.
As a 3-year-old, Verifying won the Grade 3 Indiana Derby and finished second to Tapit Trice in the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass, second to One in Vermillion in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial and second to Disarm in the Grade 3 Matt Winn. For his career, he won three with four seconds in 11 starts with career earnings of $851,706.
“We are always looking for stallions we know will raise the bar in Florida,” Pleasant Acres Stallions Owner Joe Barbazon said. “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.”
Verifying is out of the graded stakes-winning, Florida-bred mare Diva Delite, who showed sufficient class and stamina to win the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on dirt. She also won the $67,500 Gasparilla and $70,000 Suncoast.
Diva Delite is by Repent, winner of the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club, Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, Grade 3 Risen Star and Grade 3 Kentucky Cup Juvenile. He was runner up to Johannesburg in the Grade 1 Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and to Medaglia de’ Oro in the Grade 1 Travers.
Diva Delite also produced 2019 Eclipse Award champion older dirt female Midnight Bisou, an earner of $7.5 million and winner of 13 graded stakes, including five Grade 1 events. Midnight Bisou sold for $5.5 million at the 2020 Keeneland Kentucky November Sale.
In 2019, Diva Delite was purchased at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale for $1.2 million while in foal with verifying.
“We jumped at the opportunity to be part of Florida’s most exciting new stallion,” Jeff Bloom of Bloom Racing Stable, said. “A 2-year-old debut sprint winner at Saratoga and a two-turn graded stakes winner at three, 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.”
Triple Crown-winner Justify retired unbeaten in six starts with earnings of nearly $3.8 and was named the Eclipse Award Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male for 2018. He retired to stallion services in 2019 and his yearlings in 2023 sold for as much as $850,000. He is currently the leading second crop sire by stakes winners (13), graded-stakes winner (10) and Grade 1 winners (6) and the leading juvenile sire by progeny earnings with more than $4.8 million.
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 Pleasant Acres Stallions.
