Strength of Breeders' Cup Juvenile Reflected in Travers

Something rare for this era could happen in the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1).

At a time when grade 1 success at 2 and grade 1 success at 3 usually do not go hand-in-hand in Thoroughbred racing, Essential Quality  could hammer home a rather profound point about the unusually high amount of talent and durability among a certain few 3-year-olds.

Should Godolphin's homebred classic winner capture the Aug. 28 Travers at Saratoga Race Course—and he's a 4-5 morning-line favorite to do just that—Essential Quality would become just the fourth horse to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), the 2-year-old championship, and the Travers. That feat would put the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) victor in the company of just Chief's Crown (1985 Travers), Rhythm (1990), and Street Sense   (2007) over the course of the last 37 years.

Taking it a step further, should Essential Quality ultimately become the champion 3-year-old, he would be the first horse to pull off both a trifecta of a Breeders' Cup Juvenile win, a 2-year-old title, and a 3-year-old crown.

"It's odd these days that a horse can win the Juvenile and be a champion at 2 and then win a Triple Crown race and be favored in the Travers. Whether it's a stallion deal that takes them away from us early or soundness issues, it doesn't happen much," said Brad Cox, who trains Essential Quality, a son of Tapit   who has won seven of eight starts with earnings of $3.5 million. "We're proud of the colt and the campaign he has had, and the success he has enjoyed. Our team has done a great job with him. I'm happy for Godolphin and thankful for the opportunity to train a horse like him."

As brightly as the spotlight may be shining on Essential Quality, he's not the only 3-year-old who has displayed a remarkable amount of durability and consistency over the course of the last 10 months.

Just as startling as the way Essential Quality has stayed atop the 3-year-old crop is that the two horses who finished directly behind him in the Nov. 6 TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) also rank among the division's best runners.

"These 3-year-olds are durable and it's good for horse racing," Cox said. "What's happening is unheard of these days."

What's happening is that fans are getting a chance to enjoy some good, old-fashioned rivalries. After spotting the talent in the horses at 2, they have been treated to some exciting showdowns this year.

In the Juvenile, Essential Quality prevailed by three-quarters of a length over Hot Rod Charlie  with Keepmeinmind  another 1 1/4 lengths back in third. That victory signed, sealed, and delivered an Eclipse Award as the champion 2-year-old male for the undefeated Essential Quality and pegged him as a favorite on the Triple Crown trail. Yet with Hot Rod Charlie sent off at 94-1 and Keepmeinmind 30-1 in the Juvenile, those two seemed destined to become part of a long list of 2-year-old sensations who become the answers to trivia questions at 3.

As it turned out, the Juvenile was indeed the real deal.

Seven months after the Juvenile, Essential Quality defeated Hot Rod Charlie by 1 1/4 lengths in the Belmont Stakes, making it the first time a 1-2 finish in the Juvenile was duplicated in a Triple Crown race.

Beyond that, the 2020 Juvenile seems to have taken a page from the 1970s when four colts were both the 2-year-old and 3-year-old champion. It was the first one since the 1994 Juvenile and third overall to have one of its top three finishers win a Triple Crown race and another grab second in the same classic.

"It's amazing to hear that," said Doug O'Neill who trains Hot Rod Charlie for Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and Bill Strauss.

Hot Rod Charlie, a son of Oxbow  , will not be running in the Travers. Disqualified from first last month in the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1), he's likely to target the Sept. 25 $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1), where he will be among the favorites with a 2-2-3 record in 10 career starts with earnings of nearly $1.6 million.

"It's nice having a little rivalry among several horses," O'Neill said. "It's great having those familiar faces popping up. It's a good way to get people to follow the sport and give them horses to follow and root for. It's been a beautiful thing."

Given how infrequently some top horses race, Essential Quality and Keepmeinmind might be considered a modern-day Affirmed and Alydar, albeit without Alydar's occasional wins. Keepmeinmind is winless in six appearances at 3.

The two familiar foes will meet for the sixth time Saturday in the 1 1/4-mile Travers, and while Keepmeinmind, a son of Laoban  , has yet to finish in front of Essential Quality, he's been close to that rival a few times.

Owned by Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith, and Spendthrift Farm, Keepmeinmind was second to Essential Quality in the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at 2 and most recently was ground-saving second by a half-length to the 2-year-old champ in the July 31 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga, the grounds for him being made the 6-1 co-third-choice in Saturday's Travers, which doesn't have the top-to-bottom strength of prior renewals. He and Essential Quality are the only entrants with wins at or above the grade 2 level.

"He's a horse who is still maturing and I think he's finally starting to fill into himself," trainer Robertino Diodoro said about Keepmeinmind, a grade 2-winning earner of $654,987. "I kept saying he was going to be a better late 3-year-old because of his physical appearance. One thing that separates good horses from average horses is that they love to train. This horse, when he goes out in the morning to train, he's a machine. He pulls and pulls. He's as tough as they come."

Like Cox and O'Neill, Diodoro has been impressed with the way the Juvenile runners have continued to thrive.

"It's a compliment to everyone how well these horses have run since the Breeders' Cup," he said. "The people behind them and the trainers have done a great job. I always say anyone can train a good horse but to manage them you have to pick your spots, when to train, when to run, when you should ship. There's a lot more to it than just throwing a saddle on a horse."

In noting how unusual it is for young horses to stay in top form for so long, O'Neill praised a patient approach by all involved.

"It's a credit to the connections, the patience of the owners and the trainers and everyone who surrounds the horses," O'Neill said. "With top racing year-round, it makes people take a bit of a breather and not run in every one of the classics unless you win the first one. A lot of good fortune has come our way with our horse and Brad's in keeping the horses injury-free and that's a key part of it."

There have indeed been some fortune and exciting matchups, easing some of the division's sting from the drug positive involving Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Medina Spirit . Even beyond the top three finishers, the 2020 Juvenile has proven to be a highly fertile ground for 3-year-old standouts with a second classic winner in the field of 14. Preakness Stakes (G1) victor Rombauer  was fifth in the Nov. 6 stakes at Keeneland. Also, Jackie's Warrior , who was fourth, was a multiple grade 1 winner before the Juvenile and is a multiple grade 2 winner this year as well as the even-money favorite Saturday at Saratoga in the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1). King Fury , seventh in the Juvenile, won the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) in April and is the 15-1 outsider in the Travers.

"It's good for the game to see a good group of 1-2-3 Breeders' Cup finishers carry it on at 3," Cox said. "It would be great if that can continue."

On Saturday, a few of those horses will try to do just that.