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Essential Quality Finishes No. 1 In Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Benefiting from Grade 1 victories in the Belmont Stakes and the Runhappy Travers Stakes, Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality has finished No. 1 in the final voting of the 2021 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). This year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be run at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 6 as the final race of the 38^th Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality earned 290 votes, and finished four votes ahead of stablemate Knicks Go, who had 286 votes in second place. Last year's TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) winner and Champion 2-Year-old Male, Essential Quality has won five of six starts this year, with his only defeat being a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go had been in first place in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings until Essential Quality overtook him two weeks ago.

Also trained by Cox, Knicks Go has won four races in 2020, including the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park and the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga in August, in which he earned an automatic starting position into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Knicks Go won his final prep for the Classic on Oct. 2 when he registered a 4-length victory in the Lukas Classic (G3) at Churchill Downs. In addition to Essential Quality, two other 3-year-olds finished in the top four.

Roadrunner Racing, William Strauss, Boat Racing and Gainesway Stable's Hot Rod Charlie finished in third place with 269 votes. Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie won the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) on Sept. 25 in his most recent race.

Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit, who won Santa Anita's Awesome Again (G1) on Oct. 2, accumulated 189 votes to finish in fourth place.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield finished in fifth place with 168 votes. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield earned an automatic starting position in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he captured the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs in June.

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp's Max Player, who won two Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races in the Longines Classic Division this year, finished in sixth place with 150 votes. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Max Player was victorious in the Suburban Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park in July, and followed up that score with a triumph in The Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga on Sept. 4.

Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector finished in seventh place with 142 points for trainer Bill Mott. Art Collector was a frontrunning winner of the Woodward Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park on Oct. 2 in his final tune-up for the Classic.

Prince A A Faisal's 4-year-old Mishriff (IRE) finished in eighth place with 67 votes. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Mishriff gained an invitation to the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) at York Racecourse in England on Aug. 18.

The John Sadler-trained Tripoli finished in ninth place with 50 votes. Owned by Hronis Racing, Tripoli secured a free berth in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar in August.

St. Elias Stable's Dr Post rounded out the top 10 with 38 votes. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old Dr Post finished third in the Woodward Stakes.

FINAL Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Oct. 12, 2021*

Rank	Horse	Votes	First-Place Votes	Previous Week
1	Essential Quality	290	14	1
2	Knicks Go	286	12	2
3	Hot Rod Charlie	234	1	3
4	Medina Spirit	189	1	4
5	Maxfield	168	1	5
6	Max Player	150	0	6
7	Art Collector	142	1	6
8	Mishriff (IRE)	67	2	9
9	Tripoli	50	0	10
10	Dr Post	38	0	10

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 2021 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings were determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers, and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

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NBC Sports To Present Final Breeders’ Cup Challenge Race From Keeneland Wednesday

Led by unbeaten Turnerloose, an overflow field of 14, including two also-eligibles, has been entered for Wednesday's $200,000 Jessamine Stakes (G2) at Keeneland Race Course with the final automatic starting position in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) up for grabs. The 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-old fillies will be televised live on NBCSN at 4 p.m. ET as a part of the “Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In – presented by America's Best Racing.”

Wednesday program marks the 13th and final show in this year's “Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In – presented by America's Best Racing” on NBC and NBCSN from some of North America's most iconic racetracks. The series leads to the 38th Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 5-6, which will be shown live on NBC and NBCSN. The Breeders' Cup World Championships television schedule appears here.

NBC Sports' coverage will feature commentary and discussion from its International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., led by host Ahmed Fareed, analyst Randy Moss, and handicapper Matt Bernier. Reporters Britney Eurton and Nick Luck will be on-site at Keeneland.

Dawn and Ike Thrash's Turnerloose has started her career with two wins. Trained by Brad Cox, the daughter of 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist broke her maiden at 1 mile at Ellis Park on July 16 and then captured the 1-mile Aristocrat Juvenile Fillies Stakes at Kentucky Downs by five lengths on Sept. 6. Florent Geroux rides from post three.

Another runner coming off a big effort at Kentucky Downs is Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Dressed, who has won two of her three starts. After breaking her maiden in her second try at Arlington Park, Dressed, trained by Wayne Catalano, came from off the pace to win a 6 ½-furlong allowance optional claiming race at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 12 by 3 ¼ lengths. Dressed will be ridden by Flavien Prat from post 12.

Making a five-wide sweeping move, SF Racing's Misthaven (IRE) won on debut in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight by 1 ¾ lengths on Sept 5 at Kentucky Downs. Breaking from post 10, Misthaven, trained by Joe Sharp, will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione. Starting just to the outside of Misthaven in post 11 is Teneri Farm and J Stable's Opalina. Trained by Roderick Rodriguez, Opalina is up from Gulfstream Park in Florida, where she broke her maiden at 1 mile on Sept. 17. Opalina will be ridden by Edgard Zayas.

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Asmussen, Baffert, Brown, Cox Dominating Grade 1 Competition

Four trainers – Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert, Chad Brown and Brad Cox – have combined to win 41% of the 83 Grade 1 races run in North America so far this year, a marked increase in the success rate for racing's elite “super trainers” from just a decade ago.

Asmussen and Cox have won nine G1 races each this year, with Baffert and Brown just one behind. Throw in Todd Pletcher's six G1 wins and fully 40 of 83 (48%) of the sport's most important races have been won this year by horses from one of five stables.

Going back a decade to 2011, the dominance was not as severe. When that racing year ended, Bob Baffert led all trainers with 11 G1 wins, but the trainer with the next highest number was Dale Romans, with six, followed by Todd Pletcher, H. Graham Motion and William Mott, with five apiece.

The combined 32 G1 races won by those five trainers accounted for 28% of the 116 G1 stakes run by the end of 2011.

Looking at all graded stakes run so far this year, Pletcher leads the way with 29, followed by Cox at 28, Brown at 27, Baffert at 26, and Asmussen at 20. The combined 130 graded race wins by those five trainers accounts for 33% of all the graded stakes run so far this year.

In 2011, the top five trainers, led by Pletcher's 43 graded wins, combined to win 125 of the 486 graded races by year's end, or 26%.

Anecdotally, it seems as though a handful of trainers are dominating North America's best races – the Grade 1 events – like never before. These numbers, though they only represent a one-season comparison from 10 years ago, would tend to back that up.

The charts below include all trainers with 10 or more graded stakes wins by year's end in 2011 and through Oct. 10 in 2021.

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Bubble Rock Best In Matron At Belmont

Shortleaf Stable's homebred Bubble Rock reeled in pacesetter Mystic Eyes and staved off the late-running Gal in a Rush to secure a half-length score in Saturday's $150,000 Grade 3 Matron, a six-furlong inner turf sprint for juvenile fillies, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by Brad Cox and piloted by Irad Ortiz, Jr., who captured his 3,000th career win here on Thursday, Bubble Rock entered from a dominant 3 1/4-length maiden score sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs over the Mellon turf on September 3 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Mystic Eyes, with Manny Franco up, broke alertly and led the field through a half-mile in :44.24 over the firm going with Makin My Move tracking her early foot from second position.

Bubble Rock, who settled outside rivals in third, advanced four-wide through the turn and gradually picked off Makin My Move before surging past a stubborn Mystic Eyes to secure the win in a final time of 1:08.01.

Gal in a Rush, who exited the outermost post 9 under Dylan Davis, saved ground in the early going before tipping out and rallying strongly down the lane to complete the exacta by a half-length over Mystic Eyes.

The victory marked the second Matron score for Ortiz, Jr., who captured last year's edition aboard Royal Approval.

“She's nice. Last time she won and finished well, too,” said Ortiz, Jr., who has piloted Bubble Rock in all three starts. “I just did the same thing today. I waited for my time to go and when I asked her, she finished up really strong again. She's got a really good size to her and she always finishes well, so I think she'll be alright.”

Dustin Dugas, the New York-based assistant for Cox, said Bubble Rock has matured over the course of her campaign.

“She's progressed a lot mentally,” Dugas said. “She's been a very nervous filly to work with and she's kind of taken some time. She's really progressed mentally and physically she's a very big, good-looking filly and moves great.”

Rounding out the order of finish were Makin My Move, The Club, Lady Danae, Dufresne, High Arabian, and Mainstay. Benbang was scratched along with the Wesley Ward-trained duo of Poppy Flower and Chi Town Lady, who are both slated to take on the boys in Sunday's Grade 3 Futurity.

Bubble Rock is out of the Giant's Causeway mare Reef Point, who is a half-sister to millionaire Blue Chipper – winner of the 2019 Group 1 Keeneland Korea Sprint in Seoul and third-place finisher in that year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

A Kentucky homebred, Bubble Rock banked $82,500 in victory while improving her record to 3-2-1-0. She paid $7 for a $2 win wager.

Live racing returns Sunday at Belmont Park with a nine-race card featuring the $250,000 Grade 2 Beldame for fillies and mares 3-years-old and upward going nine furlongs; the $150,000 Grade 3 Futurity for juveniles going six furlongs on the turf, a “Win And You're In” for the Grade 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint; and the $150,000 Grade 3 Knickerbocker going nine furlongs on the turf for 3-year-olds and upward. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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