Essential Quality Lands Determined Blue Grass Score
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Photo: Keeneland/Coady Photography
Essential Quality gets past Highly Motivated to win the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland
Godolphin's Essential Quality kept his undefeated record intact and dug deep to turn back a determined foe in Highly Motivated en route to victory in the $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) April 3 at Keeneland.
The champion juvenile male of 2020 pressed pacesetter Highly Motivated from the start, then ran him down in a thrilling stretch duel, edging ahead under regular rider Luis Saez in the shadow of the wire.
Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality was sent off as the 1-2 favorite in a nine-horse field for the 1 1/8-mile Blue Grass, which awards Road to the Kentucky Derby points on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the top four finishers.
The final time was 1:48.50 on a fast track.
This story will be updated.