Essential Quality holds off Keepmeinmind in Jim Dandy Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Essential Quality doesn’t always do it the easy way. More often than not, though, he just gets it done.

Four- to five-wide virtually every step of the nine furlongs in Saturday’s Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, Essential Quality outfinished a rail-rallying Keepmeinmind to win by a half-length and set himself up perfectly for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Traver Stakes here Aug. 28.

“It’s always easy to just gallop around there in a fast time, but there was a lot of ground-loss today,” Brad Cox, the trainer of Essential Quality, said. “He obviously had to work to win. He got something out of it.”

That’s not to say losing ground was the plan. It is to say that Essential Quality was good enough to overcome it against a horse in Keepmeinmind he had beaten three previous times and three horses he was facing for the first time.

Essential Quality, a son of Tapit owned by Godolphin Racing, improved his record to 7 wins from 8 starts. He solidified his position atop the 3-year-old division, adding the Jim Dandy to victories in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, Grade 2 Blue Grass and Grade 3 Southwest earlier this year. His lone loss was a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, one length behind Medina Spirit.

Essential Quality went 3 for 3 last year including victories in the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile - both Grade 1 races - and was named 2-year-old champion male.

On Saturday, Essential Quality had the outside post in the field of five. Jockey Luis Saez let his horse run away from the gate, but so did the other riders, and Essential Quality was four-wide entering the first turn.

Keepmeinmind, under Joel Rosario, was a bit hard to handle inside of Essential Quality as the field made its way around the first turn. Longshot Dr Jack, under Jose Ortiz, set the pace, tracked by Masqueparade, the Ohio Derby winner, and Weyburn, the Pegasus runner-up.

Saez kept his horse in the four-path down the backside, but he was always within 2 1/2 lengths of the front.

Around the far turn, Weyburn joined Dr Jack and Masqueparade and Saez followed Weyburn’s move. Coming to the quarter pole, Irad Ortiz Jr. on Weyburn tried to float out Essential Quality. Meanwhile, Rosario had Keepmeinmind rallying inside of Masqueparade.

Essential Quality and Keepmeinmind hooked up at the eighth pole, but Essential Quality, under a vigorous Saez hand-ride, got to the wire first.

Saez said he saw Keepmeinmind rallying “but I had a lot of horse, I know he’s going to finish. The plan today was not to take too much out of him.”

Essential Quality, a son of Tapit owned by Godolphin Racing, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.92 and returned $2.80 in becoming the first favorite since Palace Malice in 2013 to win the Jim Dandy. Essential Quality was given a 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

“We were wide around both turns and we see a horse slip up the inside and it looked like he had run left,” Cox said. “It made for anxious moments down the lane, but overall he showed he’s a very determined horse - the heart of a champion. He’s a very good horse, he stays on.”

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Keepmeinmind finished second by 2 1/4 lengths over Masqueparade, who was four lengths clear of Weyburn. Dr Jack finished last. Risk Taking was scratched in hopes of finding a softer spot, trainer Chad Brown said.

Keepmeinmind broke much better than he had in his previous races and, despite being a bit rank early, finished a good second.

“He was a little sharp in the beginning, but he ran really well,” Rosario said. “After I got in behind horses a little bit he was comfortable and he got into stride. He kept on going, kept on going, but he couldn’t hold off the horse on the outside.”

When that horse is Essential Quality, few horses can.