LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Essential Quality completed his major preparations as one of the favorites for the 153rd Belmont Stakes, drilling five furlongs before daybreak Saturday at Churchill Downs. Working outside of the 4-year-old filly Bonny South, a two-time graded winner, Essential Quality and exercise rider Edwin Vargas were timed in 59.40 seconds from the half-mile pole to the seven-furlong pole through the wire. The pair went in lockstep down the Churchill stretch and beyond, timed in splits of 12.20, 23.80, and 46.60, according to Churchill clocker John Nichols. The six-furlong gallop-out time was 1:12.80. “It’s a real positive sign when you have a work like that leading into the Belmont,” trainer Brad Cox said afterward. :: DRF's Belmont Stakes Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, past performances, analysis, and more This was the third straight Saturday that Cox sent out Essential Quality to breeze over a fast Churchill surface since the gray Godolphin homebred finished fourth as the 5-2 favorite in the May 1 Kentucky Derby. The Tapit colt was scheduled to leave Sunday for the 780-mile trip to New York on a Brook Ledge van, along with other Cox-trained horses intended to run this coming weekend at Belmont Park. Essential Quality was the 5-2 favorite in the Derby when he finished just a length behind the victorious Medina Spirit, whose status as the official Derby winner has been jeopardized by a positive post-race test for a therapeutic medication banned for raceday purposes. It was the first defeat for Essential Quality, the champion 2-year-old of 2020, following five straight wins to open his career. Cox, who also trains the Derby runner-up Mandaloun, eliminated both colts from consideration for the May 15 Preakness just a few days after the Derby, deciding instead to point Essential Quality to the Belmont and Mandaloun to the Pegasus and Haskell. Essential Quality, said Cox, “is still a pretty lightly raced horse but has faced adversity in his previous races, which is good going into a Triple Crown race. I think the distance will suit him very well, being a son of Tapit. It’s great to be part of a race like the Belmont as a trainer, and very important for owners as well. We’re really looking forward to getting up to New York.” Luis Saez, who has ridden Essential Quality in his last five starts, has a return call in the Belmont. :: Enhance your handicapping with DRF’s Belmont Park Clocker Report Essential Quality figures among a core of lukewarm favorites for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, along with Hot Rod Charlie, third in the Derby, and Rombauer, the Preakness winner. A field of at least nine 3-year-olds is expected when entries are drawn Tuesday. In other years, the Cox horses would have been flown to New York, but the Tex Sutton airline charter continues to be grounded because of a regulatory issue. Brook Ledge and other equine van companies such as Sallee and Stark are hauling multiple loads from Kentucky early this week.