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

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 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).

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.

&quo

t;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).