THE heavy snows through the southern American states delayed Oaklawn’s Grade 3 Soutwest Stakes, one of the most interesting Kentucky Derby trial, but even running two weeks later and torrential rain did not stop the 2020 champion juvenile Essential Quality making an impressive winning three-year-old debut last Saturday.
The Tapit colt defeated Spielberg and Jackie’s Warrior by four and a quarter lengths and the same over a sloppy track for the first time as he made it four wins from four in the mile-and-a-sixteenth Southwest.
Racing off the rail under jockey Luis Saez, Essential Quality raced in fourth as Jackie’s Warrior went to the lead with a half mile in a steady 48.11secs over a sloppy track.
After six furlongs Essential Quality had moved to the lead while the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity winner Spielberg made a four-side move. Essential Quality found plenty under hand riding from Saez, drawing away from Spielberg, who was well clear of third-place Jackie’s Warrior, in a final time of 1m 45.48secs.
“Everything came together. At the five-eighths pole he took the bridle and was really pulling me, but I was waiting, just trying to wait with him. We came to the stretch just so easy. What a nice horse. He finished very strong and I still had a lot of horse,” Luis Saez said.
Essential Quality moved his earnings to more than $1.7 million following wins in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and has 40 points on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, in third place behind Greatest Honour and Mandaloun.
“He certainly acted like he had in the morning, but you never know till they show up in the afternoon,” Cox said afterwards. “And he definitely looked like he did move forward.”
Jackie’s Warrior, winner of three graded races last year, including two Grade 1s, again could not keep pace with Essential Quality over this distance.
Spielberg rebounded from a fourth-place finish in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, where he was more than 11 lengths behind stable companion Medina Spirit (who runs tonight). Bob Baffert said: “You have to give credit to the winner. He’s a good horse.”
Brad Cox later stated the Grade 2 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on April 3rd at Keeneland or the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on April 10th at Oaklawn are the most likely next-race targets.
Sunday
On the Sunday card, champion mare Monomoy Girl returned with an easy win in the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes.
Under Florent Geroux, the now six-year-old, who went through the sales ring for €9.5 million at Fasig-Tipton last November, picked up frontrunners Finite and Our Super Freak off the turn and pulled clear.
The Tapizar mare is now the winner of 14 of 16 races and more than $4.5 million, and she again did only what was necessary to maintain a two-length lead in the final furlong for her owners Spendthrift Farm LLC , My Racehorse.com and Madaket Stables LLC.
“It was a great trip. It set up great from the start with the outside post and short field. I let the horse in front of me do the dirty work and I just tucked in behind.
“When I asked her turning for home, she gave me what she has all the time. She always delivers so it’s easy to appreciate a champion.
“I’m the luckiest jockey in the world right now.” Geroux said.