Essential Quality | Horse Racing Free Tips

Essential Quality Draws Post Two, Installed As 2-1 Favorite For Belmont Stakes

Godolphin homebred Essential Quality, just a length from being undefeated in his career, drew post position two and was installed as the 2-1 morning line choice for Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Trained by Brad Cox, the 3-year-old son of Tapit suffered his first loss in six starts when fourth in the Kentucky Derby, but the juvenile champion and jockey Luis Saez are all set to return for the third jewel of the Triple Crown.

Preakness Stakes winner Rombauer returns for the Belmont, albeit with John Velazquez picking up the mount for trainer Michael McCarthy. Flavien Prat was aboard Rombauer for his victory at Pimlico, but Prat opted to remain with Derby third-place finisher Hot Rod Charlie (Doug O'Neill) for the Belmont Stakes.

Other Grade 1 winners in the Belmont field include Known Agenda (Florida Derby) and Rock Your World (Santa Anita Derby). Wood Memorial winner Bourbonic is back for the Belmont, as is the graded stakes-placed Overtook, both trained by Todd Pletcher.

The wildcard in the field remains France Go De Ina, the Japan-trained colt who ran seventh in the Preakness Stakes.

Another expected foreign entry, UAE Derby winner Rebel's Romance, was removed from consideration early Tuesday morning by trainer Charlie Appleby due to an infection in the colt's hind leg.

The full field for the Belmont Stakes is as follows:

Bourbonic – Kendrick Carmouche, Todd Pletcher – 15/1
Essential Quality – Luis Saez, Brad Cox – 2/1
Rombauer – John Velazquez, Michael McCarthy – 3/1
Hot Rod Charlie – Flavien Prat, Doug O'Neill – 7/2
France Go De Ina – Ricardo Santana, Jr., Hideyuki Mori – 30/1
Known Agenda – Irad Ortiz, Jr., Todd Pletcher – 6/1
Rock Your World – Joel Rosario, John Sadler – 9/2
Overtook – Manny Franco, Todd Pletcher – 20/1

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Cox: Belmont Stakes Triumph Can Add To Essential Quality’s Legacy

The last few years have brought trainer Brad Cox to new heights of the sport. Cox has saddled multiple high-quality graded stakes winners, with Essential Quality among his highlights. The Tapit colt will look to add to that legacy and give Cox his first win in a Triple Crown race when he competes in Saturday's Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival runs from Thursday, June 3, through Saturday, June 5, and is headlined by the 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes. The festival will encompass 17 total stakes, including eight Grade 1s on Belmont Stakes Day, capped by the “Test of the Champion” for 3-year-olds in the 1 1/2-mile final leg of the Triple Crown.

A potential favorite for the Belmont, Essential Quality started his career 5-for-5 before running a competitive fourth last out in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, finishing just one length back to winner Medina Spirit in the 1 1/4-mile first leg of the Triple Crown.

The Godolphin homebred earned the Eclipse Award for champion 2-year-old after winning the G1 Breeders' Futurity in October at Keeneland and followed with a victory in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile over fellow Belmont Stakes-contender Hot Rod Charlie.

Essential Quality was one of four Breeders' Cup winners for Cox in 2020, with Monomoy Girl [Distaff], Knicks Go [Dirt Mile] and Aunt Peal [Juvenile Fillies Turf] also getting their picture taken. That successful weekend at Keeneland helped earn Cox his first career Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer.

“This horse has put us in this position and we feel very fortunate to be a part of it,” Cox said. “He's accomplished so much already, being a champion 2-year-old. But at some point, he'll be retired to stud and it's our job now to continue to add to his legacy. A Grade 1 win at 3 is going to be huge for this horse and we're hopeful it can happen in the Belmont.”

Cox will be saddling his first contender in a Belmont Stakes, which this year returns to its famed 1 1/2-mile distance. He has come close to winning an American Classic twice, with Owendale running third in the 2019 Preakness and Mandaloun finishing second, just a half-length back to Medina Spirit, in the Kentucky Derby earlier this month. Mandaloun will not be part of the Belmont Stakes field, but Essential Quality, with earnings of more than $2.4 million through six starts, gives his conditioner a formidable contender.

“It's a great feeling to be in this position and have a realistic shot,” Cox said. “He gives us a fantastic opportunity on Saturday.”

Essential Quality is expected to arrive at Belmont on Tuesday morning. The Kentucky bred breezed five furlongs in 59.40 seconds on Saturday over the Churchill Downs main track. That bullet work was in company with 4-year-old filly Bonny South, who will also be shipping to New York to run in the Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps going 1 1/16 miles on Belmont Stakes Day as part of a “Win and You're In” Breeders' Cup qualifier for the Distaff.

“He had a great work Saturday and looked great Sunday morning,” Cox said. “He'll ship Monday afternoon. But he breezed great and we're going in the right direction.”

Essential Quality has improved his Beyer Speed Figures in each of his six starts, culminating with his first triple-digit number when earning a 100 for his “Run for the Roses” performance.

Other expected contenders for Cox on a loaded 13-race Saturday card that will feature nine graded stakes and eight G1 contests will be Shedaresthedevil, who is also targeting the Ogden Phipps; Knicks Go for the G1, $1 million Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan that's a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile; two-time G2 winner Travel Column for the G1, $500,000 Acorn for sophomore fillies going a one-turn mile; and Caddo River, fresh off the Triple Crown trail, shortening to seven furlongs for the G1, $400,000 Woody Stephens presented by Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.

Cox will also send out Kinenos for the two-mile G2, $500,000 Belmont Gold Cup for 4-year-olds and up on the Widener turf course on Friday.

For information and details on Belmont Stakes Racing Festival hospitality offerings, ticket packages and pricing, visit BelmontStakes.com. For full terms and conditions, visit https://www.belmontstakes.com/tickets.

For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.

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Rombauer Retains Tops Spot In NTRA 3-Year-Old Poll

John and Diane Fradkin's Grade 1 Preakness Stakes winner Rombauer has retained the No. 1 ranking in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top Three-Year-Old Poll over last year's 2-year-old champion and Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Essential Quality. There were no changes in the order of the top 10 horses from last week.

Trained by Michael McCarthy, Rombauer, a bay son of Twirling Candy, received 12 first-place votes and 300 points. He is expected to start in the final jewel of the Triple Crown, the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, on June 5. Godolphin's Essential Quality, the 5-2 Kentucky Derby favorite, also has 12 first-place votes, but is eight points shy of first place with 292 points. Mandaloun, also trained by Cox, is in third place with four first-place votes and 262 points. Owned by Godolphin, Mandaloun finished second in the Kentucky Derby. Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, Strauss Bros Racing and Gainesway Thoroughbreds' Hot Rod Charlie, third in the Kentucky Derby, is in fourth place. Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie has 221 points. Zedan Racing's Medina Spirit, third in the Preakness after winning the Kentucky Derby, is in fourth place. Trained by Bob Baffert, Medina Spirit has seven first-place votes and 210 points.

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon, second in the Preakness, is in sixth place. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Midnight Bourbon has 186 points. Shadwell Stable's undefeated bay filly, Malathaat, winner of the Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks, is in seventh place. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Malathaat has 171 points. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior remains in eighth place. Winner of the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile presented by LG&E and KU, Jackie's Warrior, trained by Asmussen, has 72 points. WinStar Farm and CHC's Life Is Good, off the Triple Crown trail due to injury, is in ninth place. Life Is Good has one first-place vote and 57 points. Hronis Racing and Talla Racing's Rock Your World, winner of the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, rounds out the top 10 with 52 points.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Mystic Guide remains on top of the NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll for older horses. Winner of the Group 1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan on March 27, Mystic Guide returned to the work tab on May 19 with a 4-furlong breeze at Fair Hill in Maryland in preparation for a summer campaign. Trained by Mike Stidham, Mystic Guide received 31 first-place votes and 334 points. The 4-year-old Charlatan, runner-up in the Group 1 Saudi Cup, is in second place with one first-place vote and 219 points. Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go, winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup, is now in third place. Trained by Cox, Knicks Go has two first-place votes and 218 points. Robert and Lawana Low's 4-year-old Colonel Liam (217 points), who finished in a dead heat for first with Domestic Spending in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs, drops one spot to fourth place.

Places five through 10 in the poll remain the same as last week. My Racehorse, Spendthrift Farm LLC and Madaket Stables' Monomoy Girl, the reigning older dirt female Eclipse Award-winner, is in fifth place with 189 points. St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska (148 points), winner of Oaklawn's Grade 1 Grade Apple Blossom, is in sixth place. The 4-year-old Gamine (142 points), last year's champion female sprinter, has one first-place vote and 142 points, and is in seventh place. Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, is in eighth place with one first-place vote and 141 points. The Cox-trained 4-year-old filly Shedaresthedevil (96 points), winner of Churchill's Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes, is in ninth place. Completing the top 10 is Klaravich Stable's 4-year-old Domestic Spending (55 points), for trainer Chad Brown.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in the Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll concludes following the Belmont Stakes on June 5 and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through Nov. 6.

The full results for the NTRA Thoroughbred Polls can be found on the NTRA website at: https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-may-24-2021/

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Knicks Go Re-Routed To Met Mile

Multiple Grade 1 winner Knicks Go had been targeting the May 31 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park for his first start back after finishing fourth in the Saudi Cup in February, but the 5-year-old son of Paynter has been re-routed to the Grade 1 Met Mile on June 5 at Belmont Park.

Trainer Brad Cox told the Daily Racing Form the reason behind the change is that Charlatan, second-place finisher in the Saudi Cup, will not appear in the Met Mile entry box. The Bob Baffert-trained colt was taken out of training for an unspecified issue earlier this month, and his trainer is currently banned from entering horses at NYRA racetracks.

Other likely entrants in the G1 Met Mile include: Mischevious Alex, Dr Post, Silver State, and Lexitonian. Possibles include Ny Traffic and Rushie.

Cox has several other contenders for the loaded Belmont Stakes Festival, including juvenile champion Essential Quality in the marquee event. Shedaresthedevil and Bonny South are pointing to the Ogden Phipps, Travel Column the Acorn, Caddo River the Woody Stephens, and Kinenos the Belmont Gold Cup.