Cox pointing undefeated Verifire to Allen Jerkens

Trainer Brad Cox questioned the strength of the competition that Verifire beat in his first two starts, a Colonial Downs maiden race in March and a Pimlico first-level allowance in May. The field that Verifire comfortably handled Sunday at Churchill in the $250,000 Maxfield clearly had more heft.

“Probably not a killer group but a well-balanced group, and he ran good,” Cox said.

Resolute Racing purchased Verifire, a son of Authentic, for $1 million at a March 2024 2-year-old in training sale, then had to wait a year for the colt to race. Now he’s 3 for 3 and likely headed, Cox said, to the Grade 1, $500,000 Allen Jerkens Stakes on Aug. 23 at Saratoga.

It’s either the Aug. 3 Adirondack at Saratoga or the Ellis Park Debutante a week later for the 2-year-old filly Chopsticks, the fourth starter and first winner for the stallion Essential Quality, the Cox-trained champion 3-year-old of 2021. Chopsticks benefited from a pace meltdown in a six-furlong maiden on June 27 but made the most of it, closing well to win by three lengths.

“She got a good setup, but that’s where she needs to be if they go that fast,” Cox said. “She’s meant to go farther.”

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