Lion of Justice, Verifire Dazzle in Colonial Debuts

This column highlights the performances of 3-year-old maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are graded/group winners, or have dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners, in particular, who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

Colonial Downs

Colonial Downs attracted not just Kentucky Derby (G1) hopefuls but lured in some of the most talented first-timers in the country to participate in their inaugural three-day spring meet. Two youngsters to make a splash on Virginia Derby day hailed from the barn of top trainer Brad Cox—Resolute Racing's Verifire, a $1 million son of Authentic , and the Into Mischief  colt Lion of Justice, a full sibling to multiple graded stakes winner Everso Mischievous.

St. Elias Stable, Talla Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, and C J Stable's Lion of Justice went to bat first. Shipping in from Cox's Payson Park Training Center string, which has yielded exceptional results for the trainer all winter, Lion of Justice was sent off at even-money odds in his March 15 debut. Scampering to the front, the long-striding dark bay or brown colt forced the issue under Flavien Prat, setting testing splits of :23.13, :45.34, and 1:09.23 over the lightning-fast Colonial dirt track. Turning for home, the colt found another set of wings as the highly regarded Dettori took aim on the leader. Tapped twice left-handed down the lane, Lion of Justice kept right to business, coasting to the wire for an emphatic 6 1/2-length victory.

Lion of Justice flew home his final quarter-mile in :24.64, stopping the timer in 1:33.87, less than a fifth of a second off the one-mile track record.

A $1.1 million purchase for West Point Thoroughbreds at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Lion of Justice's sparkling performance evoked a comparison to his older full brother, Everso Mischievous. That flashy-looking son of Into Mischief also broke his maiden as a 3-year-old for Cox before rolling through an impressive three-race win skein from August to October 2023. Posting three straight triple-digit Equibase Speed Figures, Everso Mischievous landed his first graded win when defeating older rivals in the 2023 Forty Niner Stakes (G2) during the Belmont at the Big A fall meeting.

Bred by Clearsky Farms in Kentucky, Lion of Justice is the third winner produced from the Medaglia d'Oro  mare Ever So Clever. Bankrolling more than half a million in earnings, Ever So Clever was victorious in the 2017 Fantasy Stakes (G3) before finishing unplaced in that year's Kentucky Oaks (G1).

One race after Lion of Justice, Verifire set off some fireworks of his own over the New Kent, Va., oval, racing to within one second of the track record in a six-furlong maiden special weight.

The fleet-footed chestnut was the fourth-highest priced juvenile at the 2024 Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale after blitzing a :09 4/5 eighth-mile. Given the time to mature and develop, Verifire, like Lion of Justice, also geared up for his Colonial unveiling at Payson; a well-oiled machine by the time he stepped into the gate for his debut.

Tracking behind his rivals through the first quarter, Verifire angled four-wide and powered to a narrow lead wheeling out of the far turn. With a furlong left to run, the white-faced colt turned on the afterburners, kicking clear of the field by 6 1/4 lengths under the wire in a blazing final time of 1:08.14. 

A member of 2020 Horse of the Year and Kentucky Derby (G1) hero Authentic's first crop, Verifire is the first winner for the stakes-placed Smart Strike mare Ruby Trust.