After fierce battle, Blue Grass top two headed to Derby

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 was to 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.

Essential Quality will resume training later this week for the May 1 Kentucky Derby, for which he almost certainly will be the favorite, depending, perhaps, on what transpires Saturday with the highly regarded Concert Tour in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn.

Highly Motivated and Essential Quality were one-two from the opening strides of the 1 1/8-mile Blue Grass, with Essential Quality pushing past as the wire approached when put to a heavy drive by jockey Luis Saez. Bred and owned by Godolphin, Essential Quality returned $3 as a heavy favorite in a field of nine 3-year-olds after finishing in 1:48.50 over a fast track and earning a 97 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I liked that he got a test yesterday,” Cox said. “It was not like he just galloped up to the leader and went on by.”

Meanwhile, trainer Chad Brown said from New York that it’s on to the Derby with Highly Motivated, who was making his first two-turn start after finishing third as an odds-on favorite in his previous race, the onemile Gotham on March 6.

“He was narrowly beaten by the top horse in the division,” Brown said. “Both horses ran super. He just lost momentum a tick near the wire. He swapped to his left lead, and it probably made the difference. I don’t know if that was just from fatigue or what.

“The fractions for that level of race [23.83, 48.21, and 1:12.08] were honest. He gave it his all, and those two really separated themselves from the rest of that field. I thought on the gallop-out he reengaged him again and possibly even poked his head in front.

“My view is if you’re able to go to the wire and past the wire with the Derby favorite then you belong in the field.”

Brown said the most likely scenario is Highly Motivated will remain at Keeneland and have one work there before moving to Churchill, where he will have one work prior to the

Derby.

Meanwhile, Rombauer, who finished third by 5 3/4 lengths behind Essential Quality, is among the horses on the cusp of the 20-horse cutoff for the Derby with 34 qualifying points. Trainer Michael McCarthy said the colt is possible for the Derby, but might wait for the May 15 Preakness. Rombauer probably would make the cutoff as of now, but two remaining qualifiers still to be run Saturday – the Arkansas Derby (100-40-20-10) and the Lexington at Keeneland (20-8-4-2) – could alter that status.

Hidden Stash, fourth by 10 lengths behind Essential Quality in the Blue Grass, now has 32 points and is basically in the same boat as Rombauer. Trainer Vicki Oliver said she will wait until the colt returns to training before determining whether or not to push on toward the Derby.

Meanwhile, the Derby dream is most likely over for fifth-place finisher Keepmeinmind, who has been off the board in both starts this year after ending his 2-year-old season with a third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and a victory in the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill.

“Obviously, we don’t have enough points (18), and what’s next – that’s the million-dollar question,” trainer Robertino Diodoro said.

COADY PHOTOGRAPHY Essential Quality (No. 4) is still unbeaten but was asked hard by Luis Saez in the Blue Grass.