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Essential Quality Edges Highly Motivated In A Blue Grass Thriller

Champion Essential Quality had to dig deep to maintain his unblemished record, but the Godolphin homebred colt by Tapit did just that at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday, wearing down the front-running Highly Motivated in the final yards to win the Grade 2, $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes by a neck as the 1-2 favorite.

Ridden by Luis Saez for trainer Brad Cox, Essential Quality ran the 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:48.50 and paid $3 to his backers for his fifth career victory in as many starts.

Highly Motivated, an Into Mischief colt trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Javier Castellano, fell just short on a track where he scored his only previous stakes victory in the Nyquist Stakes on the Breeders' Cup undercard last Nov. 6, the same day Essential Quality locked up his Eclipse Awrad as champion 2-year-old male with a victory in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Highly Motivated was sent off as the 7-2 second choice in the betting.

It was 5 1/2 lengths back to the third-place finisher, Rombauer, a California invader from Michael McCarthy's barn who was 24-1. Hidden Stash, the G2 Tampa Bay Derby runner-up, finished fourth at 18-1. He was followed across the finish by Keepmeinmind, third behind Essential Quality in the Breeders' Cup. Sittin On Go, Hush of a Stormn, Unbreated and Leblon completed the order of finish in the field of nine.

The top four finishers in the Blue Grass received 100-40-20-10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, to be run on May 1 at Churchill Downs. No horse has exited the Blue Grass to win the Kentucky Derby since Blue Grass runner-up Street Sense won the roses in 2007. The last Blue Grass winner to win the Kentucky Derby was Strike the Gold in 1991. Essential Quality's connections obviously hope that streak will end in four weeks' time.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

The Blue Grass set up as a virtual match race between the the two favorites, who had each run once this year: Essential Quality won the G3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn on Feb. 27 and Highly Motivated finished a troubled third in the G3 Gotham around one turn at Aqueduct on March 6.

Highly Motivated secured the early lead and Essential Quality raced just to his outside throughout. Highly Motivated carved out fractions of :23.83, :48.21 and 1:12.08 for the first six furlongs, when Saez turned up the heat and moved Essential Quality closer to the lead. The top pair was well clear of Rombauer when they straightened away into the stretch.

Highly Motivated wasn't finished, however, clinging to a half-length advantage at the furlong pole after a mile in 1:35.97. But Saez kept asking Essential Quality for more, and the gray colt kept to his task, putting his nose in front in the final sixteenth.

Post-race quotes:

Brad Cox (winning trainer of Essential Quality)

“It's a tremendous feeling. He had to dig in today. It was probably what he needed. It was good for him to get a good test today He did everything easy enough in his last race. I was proud of what he was able to overcome today. Big effort.”

“I was happy where we were (turning for home). I could tell (with) the horse on the inside (Highly Motivated), Javier (Castellano) had horse, and we really had to work to get by him. The horse on the inside (Highly Motivated) ran a huge race. Both of them really duked it out the whole way. It set up for both of them, and they both responded well. That was a good race four weeks out (before the Kentucky Derby-G1). Four weeks from today. Hopefully we're ready.”

Luis Saez (winning rider)

“That other horse was fighting, and I thought we weren't going to get him. But I always had faith in Essential Quality. He's a nice horse No matter how fast or slow the pace, he always wants to be first at the wire.”

Javier Castellano (rider of runner-up Highly Motivated)

“He ran a huge race. I'm very satisfied the way he did it today. I got beat, finished second, but I'm so proud of my horse and the way he did it today. Easy fractions on the lead, he galloped along – that's the first time he did two turns. We tested him a little bit to see how far he could go and he did it. He tried with one of the best horses in the country and I give all the credit to the winner. But I would never complain with my horse and the way he did it.”

Whit Beckman (assistant to Chad Brown, trainer of Highly Motivated)

“That was just a tremendous run he put in. He ran so well and you could tell he just did not want to get beat. When one is trying that hard and you could feel the disappointment. I wasn't confident being on the front end in a big race like this. But Javier got there and my confidence was with Javi and his decisions.”

Florent Geroux (rider of third-place finisher Rombauer)

“I am very happy with his effort today. The two horses in front of him are very nice and we ran a very good effort.”

The post Essential Quality Edges Highly Motivated In A Blue Grass Thriller appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Essential Quality Guts It Out in the Blue Grass

Godolphin homebred Essential Quality (Tapit) gave his connections a few anxious moments in the stretch, but, in the end, he proved why he is a champion with a gutsy score in Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. Saturday evening.

Hustling up to contest the early pace, the 1-2 favorite allowed Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) to take control, settling on his outside hip through a :23.83 first quarter and :48.21 half-mile. The top two continued to duke it out as three-quarters went in 1:12.08 with the rest of the field watching from a few lengths back. Essential Quality glided up alongside his foe, looking him in the eye as they entered the far turn. Highly Motivated regained a narrow lead at the top of the stretch, but Essential Quality stuck right with him. Both colts proved all class as they battled down the lane, each refusing to yield as they pulled away from their competition. But, in the end, the relentless Essential Quality muscled past his determined foe to win by a neck. It was 5 1/2 lengths back to Rombauer (Twirling Candy) in third.

“It's a tremendous feeling,” said winning trainer Brad Cox. “He had to dig in today. It was probably what he needed. It was good for him to get a good test today. He did everything easy enough in his last race. I was proud of what he was able to overcome today. Big effort.”

He continued, “I was happy where we were [turning for home]. I could tell the horse on the inside [Highly Motivated], Javier [Castellano] had horse, and we really had to work to get by him. [Highly Motivated] ran a huge race. Both of them really duked it out the whole way. It set up for both of them, and they both responded well. That was a good race four weeks out [from the GI Kentucky Derby]. Four weeks from today. Hopefully we're ready.”

“That other horse was fighting, and I thought we weren't going to get him,” said winning rider Luis Saez. “But I always had faith in Essential Quality. He's a nice horse. No matter how fast or slow the pace, he always wants to be first at the wire.”

Tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' off an impressive four-length score in his six-panel career bow at Churchill Downs Sept. 5, Essential Quality scored a decisive victory when extended to two turns in Keeneland's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. Oct. 3. He rallied from off the pace to capture the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile in Lexington Nov. 6, clinching the Eclipse award for top 2-year-old male. Making his seasonal bow in a sloppy renewal of Oaklawn's GIII Southwest S. Feb. 27, the homebred proved he was only getting better as he matured, charging home a 4 1/4-length winner.

Pedigree Notes:

Essential Quality is one of 27 Grade I winners for Gainesway kingpin Tapit, and is one of 142 black-type winners overall (88 graded) for the leading sire. The Eclipse winner joins Frosted as a three-time Grade I winner for their sire, sitting only behind Tonalist, Tapit's most accomplished Grade I-winning son with four victories at the highest level. The late Darley sire Elusive Quality's daughters have been churning out stakes winners for some time, with Essential Quality being one of their 126 black-type winners (54 graded). Third in the GIII Bed o' Roses H., Delightful Quality is a half-sister to champion juvenile filly Folklore (Tiznow), a winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, as well as stakes winner and GIII Tempted S. runner-up Divided Attention (A.P. Indy). She has a 2-year-old filly by Uncle Mo; was barren to that sire for 2020; and was covered by the Coolmore stallion's GI Kentucky Derby-winning son Nyquist last spring. Folklore is the granddam of 2020 Japanese Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who returns in the G1 Osaka Hai Sunday.

Saturday, Keeneland
TOYOTA BLUE GRASS S.-GII, $800,000, Keeneland, 4-3, 3yo,
1 1/8m, 1:48.50, ft.
1–ESSENTIAL QUALITY, 123, c, 3, by Tapit
                1st Dam: Delightful Quality (GSP, $253,900),
                                by Elusive Quality
                2nd Dam: Contrive, by Storm Cat
                3rd Dam: Jeano, by Fappiano
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Godolphin, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox;
J-Luis Saez. $480,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt-US,
5-5-0-0, $2,265,144. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Highly Motivated, 123, c, 3, Into Mischief–Strong Incentive,
by Warrior's Reward. ($240,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-Klaravich
Stables, Inc.; B-Klaravich Stables (KY); T-Chad C. Brown.
$160,000.
3–Rombauer, 123, c, 3, Twirling Candy–Cashmere, by Cowboy
Cal. O-Fradkin, John and Fradkin, Diane; B-John Fradkin &
Diane Fradkin (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy. $80,000.
Margins: NK, 5HF, 4 1/4. Odds: 0.50, 3.60, 24.00.
Also Ran: Hidden Stash, Keepmeinmind, Sittin On Go, Hush of a Storm, Untreated, Leblon.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Essential Quality Guts It Out in the Blue Grass appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Red-Hot Rosario Rides Kimari To Her Initial Grade 1 Victory In Madison Stakes

Winning his fourth consecutive graded stakes on Saturday's program at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., Joel Rosario rode Ten Broeck Farm's Kimari to a popular victory in the Grade 1 Madison Stakes. The 4-year-old filly by Munnings came from just off the pace to win by about a length as the 3-5 favorite, covering seven furlongs on a fast main track in 1:21.53. She paid $3.40 to win.

Estilo Talentoso, a 50-1 outsider, and Bell's the One finished in a dead heat for second, with Sanenus fourth and pacesetter Mundaye Call fifth in the field of seven older fillies and mares.

Trained by Wesley Ward, Kimari was winning for the sixth time in 10 career starts. Two of her losses came at Royal Ascot in England, where she finished second in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes in 2019 and second again in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup in 2020. Kimari has won on turf or dirt and on fast tracks and sloppy tracks. She was coming off an easy win in the slop at Oaklawn in the Spring Fever Stakes on Feb. 21, her first start since a third-place finish in the Music City Stakes on turf at Kentucky Downs.

The Madison victory was her first in a Grade 1 race.

Rosario had Kimari in a perfect spot throughout the Madison, sitting just off the lead of Mundaye Call through opening fractions of :22.90, :45.58 and 1:09.29. She took command inside the furlong pole and held sway by three-quarters of a length.

Rosario earlier won the G2 Appalachian Stakes on turf aboard Jouster for Todd Pletcher, the G2 Commonwealth aboard Flagstaff for John Sadler and the G1 Ashland Stakes aboard Malathaat for Pletcher.

Post-race quotes:

Joel Rosario (winning rider of Kimari)

“I wanted to sit a little bit behind the other horses. After she threw her head around a little bit, she was fine. (After she settled), she was running for me then, comfortable, just waiting to let her go.”

Wesley Ward (winning trainer)

“She was a little bit rank. She broke better than she usually does, which put her right into the race. On paper, there really wasn't a lot of speed up front. Everything went our way. As soon as she turned for home, he (Rosario) started riding her. I was a little worried the last part; I wasn't sure seven-eighths (of a mile) is really her game. But this is her track, and this guy (Rosario) is on fire. So we had all the luck with us today.”

Corey Lanerie (rider of Bell's the One, who finished in a dead heat for second with Estilo Talentoso)

“I was very proud of her. Neil (Pessin) brought her over and she was ready, as ready as you can get one for not running. She ran her heart out for me. I'm disappointed we didn't win but very happy with the way she ran. I'm looking forward to her next race, I think she's going to improve more and more.”

Neil Pessin (trainer of Bell's the One)

“(The winner) had a race on us this year. We were coming off the bench. That and maybe if we could have bounced to the outside instead of being inside between horses. I think she's a little better if she's out. That being said, the winner ran a big race. Hopefully we can turn the tables on her over at Churchill (in the Derby City Distaff-G1 on May 1.).”

Paco Lopez (rider of Estilo Talentoso)

“Ran a huge race.”

The post Red-Hot Rosario Rides Kimari To Her Initial Grade 1 Victory In Madison Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Rosario Roll Continues With Kimari in the Madison

The temperatures were on the cool side Saturday in Central Kentucky, but jockey Joel Rosario was hot. As in en fuego. The Dominican sensation had ridden, in succession, Flagstaff (Speightstown) to victory in the GIII Commonwealth S.; Bound For Nowhere (The Factor)–who was drawn somewhere in the middle of Versailles Road–to win the GII Shakertown S.; and produced 'TDN Rising Star' Malathaat (Curlin) at just the right time to snatch the GI Central Bank Ashland S. Rosario completed a spectacular stakes four-timer in the day's penultimate race, riding Ten Broeck Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' Kimari (Munnings) to absolute perfection in the GI Madison S.

Not always the quickest away from the stalls, the $152,000 Fasig-Tipton July yearling jumped well–indeed, almost too well–as she raced freely through the early stages while tracking second favorite Mundaye Call (Into Mischief) through an opening quarter-mile in a modest :22.90. Stalking the Audubon Oaks winner into and around the turn, Kimari claimed that one under a hold at the three-sixteenths marker, was asked for more speed entering the final furlong and was more or less ridden hands-and-heels to the victory. Estilo Talentoso (Maclean's Music) bid three wide in upper stretch and stayed on nicely to dead-heat for second with Bell's the One (Majesticperfection).

“She broke better than she usually does, which put her right into the race,” said trainer Wesley Ward, who also saddled Bound For Nowhere earlier in the day. “On paper, there really wasn't a lot of speed up front. Everything went our way. As soon as she turned for home, [Rosario] started riding her. I was a little worried the last part; I wasn't sure seven-eighths is really her game. But this is her track, and this guy [Rosario] is on fire. So we had all the luck with us today.”

Named a no-brainer 'Rising Star' when galloping home a 15-length winner on debut over this main track two years ago, Kimari was a dual stakes winner sprinting on the turf that season, then won the Purple Martin S. on the dirt at Oaklawn before finishing a bang-up second against the boys in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot last June. Rested off a slow-starting third in the Sept. 15 Music City S. at Kentucky Downs, she returned to the main track to romp by 4 1/4 lengths in a sloppy-track renewal of the Spring Fever S. in Hot Springs Feb. 27.

Pedigree Notes:

Kimari is the 19th graded winner for Munnings and joins A.G. Vanderbilt H. hero El Deal and Cotillion S. and Delaware H. victress I'm A Chatterbox as his Grade I winners. Kimari's dam was herself a Grade III winner, having annexed the Chicago H. at this same seven-furlong distance in 2013, and was purchased by China Horse Club for $300,000 at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. The dam of the 2-year-old colt Imola (Quality Road), Cozze Up Lady was barren to Always Dreaming for 2020 and foaled a Constitution colt this past Feb. 15.

Saturday, Keeneland
MADISON S.-GI, $300,000, Keeneland, 4-3, 4yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:21.53, ft.
1–KIMARI, 118, f, 4, by Munnings
1st Dam: Cozze Up Lady (GSW, $407,169),
                                by Cozzene
2nd Dam: The White Lady, by Johannesburg
3rd Dam: Maha Al Iman, by Pulpit
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($152,000 Ylg '18 FTKJUL). O-Ten Broeck Farm, Inc.; B-China Horse Club International Limited (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward; J-Joel Rosario. $180,000. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Eng, 10-6-2-1, $758,777. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
(DH) 2–Bell's the One, 120, m, 5, by Majesticperfection
                1st Dam: Street Mate, by Street Cry (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Day Mate, by Dayjur
                3rd Dam: Possible Mate, by King's Bishop
($155,000 Ylg '17 FTKJUL). O-Lothenbach Stables, Inc. (Bob
Lothenbach); B-Bret Jones (KY); T-Neil L. Pessin. $45,000.
(DH) 2–Estilo Talentoso, 118, f, 4, by Maclean's Music
                1st Dam: Bazinga Baby, by Afleet Alex
                2nd Dam: Elizaveta, by Quiet American
                3rd Dam: Carezza, by Caro (Ire)
($77,000 Ylg '18 FTKOCT; $95,000 RNA 2yo '19 OBSAPR;
$15,000 2yo '19 OBSOPN). O-Juan Arriagada; B-Mile High
Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Juan Arriagada. $45,000.
Margins: 3/4, 2 1/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.70, 4.30, 50.80.
Also Ran: Sanenus (Chi), Mundaye Call, Fair Maiden, Sconsin.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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