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Essential Quality Duels Midnight Bourbon Down Stretch To Win Travers

After a half-length victory in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy, Essential Quality came into the Grade 1 Travers Stakes as the overwhelming favorite and demonstrated once again why as he dueled with a game Midnight Bourbon down the Saratoga stretch to win the Midsummer Derby by a neck. The Godolphin gray tracked Midnight Bourbon, who stumbled and unseated Paco Lopez in the Grade 1 Haskell in his last start, throughout the 1 1/4-mile Travers, hooked up with him at the top of the stretch, and refused to quit, adding another G1 stakes to his rich resume.

At the break, Ricardo Santana, Jr. hustled Midnight Bourbon to the front, with Luis Saez and Essential Quality on his heels into the first turn. After a first quarter in :24.18, Midnight Bourbon had a comfortable lead, which gave Santana a chance to give his colt a breather on the backstretch, running the half-mile in :48.96 and the three-quarters in 1:14.49. By the time the field of seven entered the far turn, horses were closing on Midnight Bourbon, Essential Quality catching him as they approached the last part of the race. From the top of the stretch on, it was a duel between the two front runners, the rest of the field unable to catch them.

Down the Saratoga stretch, Midnight Bourbon and Essential Quality ran head to head, neither able to gain an advantage on the other until the last sixteenth of a mile, Essential Quality gaining inch by inch as they closed in on the wire. At the finish, it was the Belmont Stakes winner by a neck over Midnight Bourbon, with Miles D third.

The final time for the 1 1/4-mile G1 Travers Stakes was 2:01.96.

Bred and owned by Godolphin, Essential Quality is a 3-year-old colt by Tapit out of the Elusive Quality mare Delightful Quality. The Brad Cox trainee and 2-year-old champion colt has five wins in six starts in 2021, his only loss coming in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, where he finished fourth, for a lifetime record of eight wins in nine starts.

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Jackie’s Warrior Gets Better Of Life Is Good In H. Allen Jerkens Memorial

Jackie's Warrior followed his 7 1/4-length victory in the Grade 2 Amsterdam with a gritty performance in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkins Memorial at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The son of Maclean's Music showed his versatility after running second throughout much of the seven furlongs, taking the lead in the stretch, and holding off a resurgent Life Is Good to win the G1 stakes for 3-year-olds.

Breaking from post two, Jackie's Warrior got out of the gate fast, but Mike Smith and Life Is Good were fastest, taking the lead in the first quarter-mile, with Judge N Jury in third. Around the far turn, Life Is Good had as much as a 2 1/2-length lead on Jackie's Warrior, who kept the leader in his sights as they entered the stretch. Once in the straight, Jackie's Warrior, running toward Life Is Good's inside, took over the lead, but Smith and the son of Into Mischief fought back, closing the gap between the two in the last sixteenth. The two dueled through the race's final yards, with Jackie's Warrior getting a neck in front at the wire. Following Sea was third, with Drain the Clock, Newbomb, and Judge N Jury rounding out the order of finish.

The final time for the seven furlongs was 1.21.39. Find this race's chart here.

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Yaupon Fights Off Firenze Fire To Get Forego Win

Yaupon, last-out winner of the Lite the Fuse Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, survived a stretch duel and an attempted savaging by Firenze Fire to take the Grade 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

In a stacked field of graded stake winners like Lexitonian and Whitmore, Yaupon returned to the form he had showed in 2020, darting out to the lead out of the gate in the Forego. Firenze Fire and Chance It went with him, with Firenze Fire holding on to second throughout the seven-furlong Forego. Into the stretch, it was all Yaupon and Firenze Fire, who dueled head and head in the Saratoga straight. Inside the last eighth of a mile, Firenze Fire reached over and attempted to bite Yaupon, appearing to get caught briefly in the Asmussen trainee's bridle before Jose Ortiz was able to straighten him out. Despite that, Ricardo Santana, Jr. was able to keep Yaupon straight and in front, winning the G1 Forego by a head.

The final time for the seven-furlongs was 1:21.74. Find this race's chart here.

“It's very exciting to have a winner of the Grade 1 Forego for the Heiligbrodts [owners]. But the finish made it that much more dramatic. I will watch that replay many times in my future. For that to happen [Runner-up Firenze Fire savaging Yaupon in deep stretch] in a Grade 1 at Saratoga with two horses on the lead, that will be memorable,” Asmussen said after the Forego.

“The last time I took him back, but I know the horse really well. Today, there was no speed in the race, so I decided to go and he's a firing horse so thankfully we got the victory today.” Santana, Jr. told the NYRA Press Office after the race. “That was kind of scary. That never happened to me before and the only thing I can think is don't stop riding.”

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Gamine Easy Victor In Ballerina, Earns Spot In BC Filly & Mare Sprint

In the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Gamine sprinted to her fifth G1 victory, taking the lead early in the seven-furlong stakes and holding off late challenges from Ce Ce and Lake Avenue to earn a spot in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

A last-out winner in the Grade 2 Great Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos, the Bob Baffert-trained 4-year-old filly came into the Ballerina as the prohibitive favorite off of four consecutive victories dating back to her win in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. in early November. Breaking from post one, the daughter of leading North American sire Into Mischief went to the lead as expected, with Estilo Talentoso in second. After a first quarter in :23.20 and a half-mile in :45.60, Gamine and John Velazquez held a three-length lead into the far turn, with Estilo Talentoso still in second and Lake Avenue third.

Into the stretch, with Lake Avenue on the rail and Ce Ce to her outside, Gamine maintained her front-running status, holding off the two closers by a length and three-quarters at the wire. The time for the seven-furlong Ballerina was 1:21.61. Lake Avenue was second, Ce Ce third, with Sconsin, Estilo Talentoso, Truth Hurts, and Casual round out the order of finish.

Find this race's chart here.

The G1 Ballerina is a Win and You're In event for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. The winner of Win and You're In events earn a fees-paid guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding Breeders' Cup race.

Gamine paid $2.70, $2.30, and $2.10. Lake Avenue paid $7.10 and $3.70. Ce Ce paid $2.80.

“We were down in the one-hole, so you have to break and go from there. She handled the gate well, broke well and Johnny [Velazquez] put her in the race,” Baffert assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes said after the race. “The 23 [second quarter-mile] felt pretty comfortable, 45 was pretty comfortable. [They were gaining on her] slightly, but once Johnny got her to switch leads, I wasn't really concerned. They were moving but we were still running.”

“She just kind of waited and then by the quarter pole, I asked her for what she needed to do, and she got it done,” Velazquez told the NYRA Press office. “I didn't think there was much speed in the race. She's a nice horse to relax. If they went fast, she was going to go fast. If they went slow, she was going to go slow, so that's what I like about her. When she's in the lead, she's in control of herself.”

Bred by Grace Thoroughbred Holdings, Gamine is out of the Kafwain mare Peggy Jane. Consigned by Bobby Dodd, she was purchased by owner Michael Lund Peterson at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midatlantic Two-Year-Olds InTraining Sale for $1.8 million. Her win in the G1 Ballerina is her fourth victory in four starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of nine wins in 10 starts and $1,681,500 in career earnings.

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