A Weekend to Savour for Godolphin as Essential Quality Captures Belmont Stakes

Mark Smith - Sunday June 6

Not content with a 1-3 finish in the Derby at Epsom, Godolphin went 1-2 in Saturday's Grade 1 Longines Just a Game Stakes at Belmont Park before the Brad Cox-trained Essential Quality put the cherry on top in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes.

 Making his first start since finishing fourth as favourite in the Kentucky Derby, Essential Quality made a long, sweeping run four wide, before gradually wearing down a brave Hot Rode Charlie for a hard-fought one and a quarter length victory.  Rombauer was eleven and a quarter lengths back in third.

Essential Quality (image World Horse Racing twitter)

Essential Quality defeated Hot Rod Charlie in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile but was one behind his old foe in the Kentucky Derby.

Essential Quality becomes the fourth winner of the Belmont for champion sire Tapit after Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), and Tapwrit (2017).

Advertisement

Tapit's promising young stallion Frosted (USA) finished runner-up to Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (USA) in the 2015 Belmont Stakes.

With a record of six wins from seven starts, Essential Quality looks well on his way to adding Champion 3yo honours to his Champion 2yo colt title.

"This is my second home. This is the race I wanted to win. We made history," winning rider Luis Saez said.

"I had a lot of horse and the good thing about Essential (Quality) is that he always fights. He doesn't care who it is, he's going to want to beat them, so I knew he was going to show up at the top of the stretch."

Brad Cox said the frantic early pace suited his charge.

"With the Tapit on top, we really thought he would get the mile and a half when given the opportunity," he said.

"We always thought he had the ability. After the Derby, you just have to see what it takes out of them. It's a demanding race as well as the Belmont. We were watching him for a week or so. We put our heads together and felt like if we are going to keep him in training we might as well run him. I really didn't think I could keep his feet on the ground the next couple of months without keeping him on some type of breeze schedule. He's a very smart horse. He has a lot of energy, but he lets you know when he's ready to run."

Essential Quality is the lone winner from two to race out of the stakes-placed Elusive Quality (USA) mare Delightful Quality whose unraced dam Contrive (Storm Cat) for $3million at the 1005 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Delightful Quality produced the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and Grade 1 Matron Stakes winner Folklore (Tiznow), whose daughter Rhodochrosite (Unbridled's Song) is the dam of the Japanese Triple Crown hero Contrail (Deep Impact).

Tapit (Gainesway Farm)

Advertisment
More Reading...
Winning Hat Trick for So You Think Filly
So You Think has ticked over $12million in seasonal earnings with 150 plus winners including seven stakes-winners and while Covert Thinking is not among the luminaries by her sire, this tenacious 3YO has won three on the trot and landed her first metro victory on Wednesday.
So You Think 3YO Wins $100,000 Inglis Xtra Bonus
Good placement from the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable for progressive three year-old So You Think gelding Aloysius, who cast off maiden status at Hawkesbury on Thursday in a race that featured a lucrative Inglis Xtra maiden bonus.
Sires With Winners - Thursday July 3
Here is the full list of 27 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
One to Watch – Hawkesbury
Super Seth has had three G1 winners in Australia this season and John O’Shea and Tom Charlton have trained two of them, so when they produce a lightly raced maiden winner by this exciting young sire we want to know more.
Lisa Kennedy Recognized for Thoroughbred Welfare
Lisa Kennedy has always had a passion for thoroughbreds, and her efforts in guiding retired racehorses into new careers through EventStars were celebrated at Entain’s Industry Excellence Awards last Sunday as the winner of the Care and Welfare Excellence Award.
G1 Winning Champion 2YO Velocious to be Offered on Inglis Digital
The G1-winning Champion 2YO Velocious (Written Tycoon) will be offered for auction in the Inglis Digital July (Late) Online Sale.
Quality Cambridge Stud draft in National Online Breeding Stock Sale
The need for Cambridge Stud to control the size of their star-studded broodmare band has opened up some special opportunities in the 2025 National Online Breeding Stock Sale on Gavelhouse Plus.
Sword Poised to Strike
When the first crop yearlings by a young stallion are well received and go into the right stables that’s always a good sign and then a few months after that is when things start to get really interesting.
2026 Golden Slipper Entries – Sortable, Sale Mail – Find Out More
The new season is nearly upon us and that means all over the country a new crop of rising two year-olds are taking baby steps in the best stables in the land with the Australian Turf Club announcing this week they had received 1927 entries for the 2026 Golden Slipper, so who is in the race?
Sires With Winners - Wednesday July 2
Here is the full list of 44 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.