No Mistaking the Travers Favorite: Essential Quality

This has certainly been a chaotic racing season for 3-year-old males.

Nearly four months after the fact, the identity of the winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) is still in limbo pending the final ruling after the victorious Medina Spirit  failed two post-race drug tests.

Hot Rod Charlie  crossed the wire first in the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) but was disqualified and placed last for impeding Midnight Bourbon  and causing that runner to clip heels and unseat his rider.

Yet through it all, at the top of the pecking order, there has been Godolphin's Essential Quality , the division's 2-year-old champion.

He was the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, where he raced wide and suffered his lone defeat, losing by only a length.

He was favored in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), which he won, defeating runner-up Hot Rod Charlie.

He was a 2-5 choice last month at Saratoga Race Course in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) and posted a hard-fought victory to improve his record to seven wins in eight starts.

Now, with the 152nd running of the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds on tap Aug. 28 at the Spa (6:12 p.m. ET post time, FOX TV coverage from 5-6:30 p.m.), he's once again back in his familiar role as the horse to beat.

Landing post 2 at the Aug. 25 draw, the homebred son of Tapit   was installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite in a field of seven for the 1 1/4-mile test known as "The Midsummer Derby."

"He's at the head of the class right now," trainer Brad Cox said. "It crossed my mind the other day that if this horse had won the Kentucky Derby he probably would have been a Triple Crown winner, given the success he had against the horses who ran in the Preakness (G1). But it is what it is. He's a great horse and we're happy with what he's accomplished and hopefully we can keep him at the head of the class."

Essential Quality received a beneficial race over the track July 31 in the Jim Dandy under Luis Saez.

Despite racing wide around both turns in a five-horse field and looking quite vulnerable in the final sixteenth when Keepmeinmind  took a serious run at him, Essential Quality showed the determination of a champion in fending off that final bid and winning by a half-length in the 1 1/8-mile stakes at the Spa.

"Every time I watch the Jim Dandy, it gets more impressive," Cox said about the son of the Elusive Quality mare Delightful Quality . "You normally don't win races with trips like that on the dirt, or the turf for that matter. It was an incredible performance and Luis thought there was still more left."

Off his 1 1/4-length win in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes, the 1 1/4-mile distance of the Travers figures to be in Essential Quality's wheelhouse.

"The mile and a quarter is what he's looking for," Cox said.

Top to bottom, it would not appear that Saturday's race is a vintage Travers.

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon was pegged as the 9-2 second choice after his mishap in the Haskell when he was a close third in the stretch before stumbling and running riderless. Trained by North America's all-time wins leader Steve Asmussen, in his start before that the son of Tiznow  was second beaten 3 1/2 lengths in the Preakness, which followed a sixth beaten 8 1/4 lengths in the Kentucky Derby.

He will depart from the rail under jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., which promises to make him a prominent figure in the early pace, as he was in the Haskell and Preakness.

Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith, and Spendthrift Farm's Keepmeinmind drew post 3 as the 6-1 co-third-choice and will be ridden by Joel Rosario.

The son of Laoban   has faced Essential Quality five times and has yet to finish in front of him.

"We believe he's coming into the Travers a lot better, so let's see if we get lucky," said the colt's trainer, Robertino Diodoro. "We'll be keeping a close eye on (Essential Quality). He's a tough horse but we're overdue. We'll give it a try."

Though he owns a record of 1-3-2 from 10 starts with placings in grade 1, 2, and 3 stakes, Keepmeinmind's lone win came seven starts ago in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) as a 2-year-old.

Dynamic One  (6-1) also posted a win over the track last month, taking the Curlin Stakes, which was restricted to 3-year-olds who had not won a graded stakes beyond a mile this year. Owned by Repole Stable, Phipps Stable, and St. Elias Stable and trained by Todd Pletcher, the sport's all-time leader in earnings, the son of Union Rags   was narrowly beaten in the Wood Memorial Presented by Resorts World Casino (G2) before finishing a well-beaten 18th in the Kentucky Derby, his last start before the Curlin.

Dynamic One, bought for $725,000 from the Claiborne Farm consignment at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, will break from post 4 with Irad Ortiz Jr. He could provide Pletcher with a third Travers win.

"He obviously didn't fire in the Kentucky Derby, but his maiden races were pretty fast," Pletcher said. "He showed he belonged in the Wood. We were happy with the way he was training going into the Curlin, that appears to be his most professional race so far so hopefully he's going into his best."

Peter Brant and Robert LaPenta's Miles D  (12-1), a son of Curlin   trained by Chad Brown, was second in the Curlin in just his third career start and wound up with post 5.

"We always thought a lot of the horse. He's a well-bred, good-looking horse. His last run was very good but he's going to have take a huge step forward to be in the picture," Brown said. "I love his progression as we've stretched him out. He's really gotten better. And it's Saratoga. Anything can happen."

FTGGG Racing's Masqueparade  (8-1) battled for the early lead in the Jim Dandy, winding up third, beaten 2 3/4 lengths.

"I think he deserves a chance," trainer Al Stall Jr. said. "I think he's coming into (the Travers) completely different from the Jim Dandy draw. He can chase speed or can get very close if there's no speed. He's got natural speed so I like where we are (post 6)."

A son of Upstart  , Masqueparade won the Ohio Derby (G3) two starts ago, beating Travers starters King Fury  and Keepmeinmind.

It's been an eventful Saratoga meet for Three Chimneys Farm and Fern Creek Stables' King Fury and trainer Kenny McPeek. 

On July 15, opening day of the meet, it was announced a horse in the same barn as McPeek's horses (who was not trained by McPeek) was diagnosed with equine herpesvirus-1. Though none of McPeek's horses became ill from EVH-1, they were quarantined for 21 days, and King Fury, who was second beaten a half-length in the Ohio Derby, could not run as planned in the Jim Dandy.

Instead, McPeek opted for the Aug. 7 Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) on turf, which did not work out well. The son of Curlin had a wide trip from post 11 in his turf debut and was 10th.

"In hindsight, I should have scratched," McPeek said about the turf stakes.

McPeek is delighted to now get the $950,000 purchase from the Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency consignment at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's sale of selected yearlings in New York, back on the more friendly brown grounds of the main track.

"He's begging for a mile and a quarter," McPeek said about the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) winner. "We were unlucky in the spring. He got a fever the day before the Kentucky Derby. We felt that was going to be a big day. Saturday's a really big day to make amends."

King Fury was priced as the 15-1 outsider from post 7, which surprised McPeek.

"We were right there with (Masqueparade and Keepmeinmind) in the Ohio Derby, splitting those two," McPeek said. "I thought we could make a case that we should have won that day. We got shuffled back on the second turn and had to rally and still almost won the race.

"This is a good colt and he's going to make his presence felt."

Given McPeek's penchant for winning in major races at long odds, as he did last year at 11-1 with the filly Swiss Skydiver  in the Preakness and 70-1 with Sarava in the 2002 Belmont Stakes, plus Saratoga's fame for producing upsets, King Fury offers an intriguing presence in the field—even with Essential Quality towering over it.

"This won't be the first time I ran a longshot in a big race," McPeek said.

No, it won't.

Courtney Steps In for Serling

Acacia Courtney served as the emcee for Wednesday's post position draw after New York Racing Association analyst and host Andy Serling was diagnosed with COVID-19.

"I'm fine," Serling tweeted, where he added that he was vaccinated. "I had some mild symptoms and given the current situation, I felt I should get tested. Lousy timing to say the least."

NYRA spokesperson Pat McKenna said that as of 2:30 p.m. ET Wednesday no other person associated with the NYRA television and simulcast shows had tested positive for coronavirus or reported symptoms.

Entries: Runhappy Travers S. (G1)

Saratoga Race Course, Saturday, August 28, 2021, Race 12

• Grade I
• 1 1/4m
• Dirt
• $1,250,000
• 3 yo
• 6:12 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Midnight Bourbon (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	126	Steven M. Asmussen	9/2
2	2Essential Quality (KY)	Luis Saez	126	Brad H. Cox	4/5
3	3Keepmeinmind (KY)	Joel Rosario	126	Robertino Diodoro	6/1
4	4Dynamic One (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	126	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
5	5Miles D (KY)	Flavien Prat	126	Chad C. Brown	12/1
6	6Masqueparade (KY)	Miguel Mena	126	Albert M. Stall, Jr.	8/1
7	7King Fury (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	126	Kenneth G. McPeek	15/1