Grade 2, $800,000 Blue Grass Stakes 1 1/8 miles, Keeneland, April 3, 2021
(100 Derby qualifying points for first, 40 for second, 20 for third, 10 for fourth)
Winner: Essential Quality, by Tapit
Trainer: Brad Cox
Jockey: Luis Saez
Owner: Godolphin, LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 97
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Essential Quality, the reigning divisional champion who remained unbeaten in five career starts with a neck victory Saturday over Highly Motivated in the 97th Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, exited the Grade 2 race in fine shape and will ship Monday to Churchill Downs, trainer Brad Cox said Sunday morning.
“He looks good this morning and I am happy with the way he came out of the race,” Cox said.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Less than two weeks ago, it wasn’t inconceivable to think the Kentucky Derby would be run without the presence of trainer Todd Pletcher.
In a span of eight days, Pletcher now has four potential starters for the Kentucky Derby on May 1. On Saturday, Bourbonic and Dynamic One improbably finished 1-2 in the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial to earn their trips to Louisville.
Bourbonic, at 72-1, was the highest-priced winner ($146.20) in the 95-year history of the Wood Memorial. Dynamic One was sent off at 15-1.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It took the length of the Keeneland stretch, but heavily favored Essential Quality was able to push past Highly Motivated in the final yards Saturday to win the Grade 2, $800,000 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
The hard-earned victory kept Essential Quality, a Godolphin homebred, unbeaten in five career starts and surely makes him one of the top two choices – if not the outright favorite, depending, perhaps, on how Concert Tour fares in the April 10 Arkansas Derby – for the 147th Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.
Roman Centurian, second in the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 30, was scheduled to be withdrawn from Saturday’s Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby after trainer Simon Callaghan said he was unhappy with the colt’s training on Friday.
A battery of tests will be conducted before race plans are finalized, Callaghan said.
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Risk Taking is the proven one, a two-time winner at 1 1/8 miles over Aqueduct’s main track, including a graded stakes victory. Prevalence is the flashy one, a visually-impressive winner of his two starts, both this past winter in one-turn races at Gulfstream Park.
The two provide each other with a good test in Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, a race that could lead either one or both to the Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Essential Quality will be carrying more than just his 123-pound assignment Saturday in the 97th Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
The homebred gray also will shoulder the fervent hopes of his owner, Godolphin, in taking a final step toward favoritism in the Kentucky Derby, a race the worldwide powerhouse stable has yet to win. He’ll also be trying to restore lost pride in the Blue Grass itself, a race that once produced Derby winners with regularity but has seen its stature diminish over the last 30 years.
ARCADIA, Calif. – What a difference a horse makes. What a difference a year makes. What a difference this Runhappy Santa Anita Derby will be compared to what was expected as recently as last month, and compared to what it was last year.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – By virtue of his victory in the Gotham Stakes four weeks ago, Weyburn earned enough qualifying points to secure his spot in the Kentucky Derby on May 1. His connections, however, do not necessarily have a case of Derby fever.
In 84 runnings of the Santa Anita Derby, only two jockeys have won the race in three consecutive years – Gary Stevens from 1993 to 1995, and Mike Smith in the last three seasons.
Smith, 55, looked poised for another win in Saturday’s Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby on the two-time stakes winner Life Is Good until the colt was sidelined with an injury on March 20.
