Undefeated Champion Essential Quality Headlines Field of Nine for Saturday’s $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass
At 0h03, on March 31, 2021 • By KEENELAND
Godolphin’s undefeated homebred Essential Quality, the champion 2-year-old male of 2020, is the 3-5 morning line choice in a field of nine 3-year-olds entered Tuesday for Saturday’s 97th running of the $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2) going 1 1/8 miles on the main track.
A major steppingstone for the $3 million Kentucky Derby to be run May 1 at Churchill Downs, the Toyota Blue Grass offers 170 points toward qualification to this year’s Derby on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the first- through fourth-place finishers. The Derby is limited to the top 20 point earners that pass the entry box.
The Toyota Blue Grass will go as the final race on Saturday’s 11-race program with a 6:35 p.m. post time. First post time for the card that features six graded stakes is 1:05 p.m.
Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality debuted Sept. 5 at Churchill on Kentucky Derby Day and followed that 6-furlong triumph with victories in Keeneland’s Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and the TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) to sew up the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old.
In his lone start of 2021, Essential Quality won the Southwest (G3) at Oaklawn Park by 4¼ lengths on Feb. 27.
On Tuesday morning, Essential Quality made his first appearance on the Keeneland main track since his Breeders’ Cup victory. He galloped about 1 3/8 miles under exercise rider Elver Vargas.
Luis Saez, who has been aboard for Essential Quality’s past three victories, has the mount Saturday and will break from post position four. Saez won the 2016 Toyota Blue Grass on Brody’s Cause.
