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The Jim Dandy is often used by top tier three-year-old horses as a prep race for the prestigious G1 Travers. That’s exactly what trainer Brad Cox did with his Belmont winner on Saturday. Essential Quality faced a light field of only four other horses and did just enough to win 55% of the $600,000 purse.
Jockey Luis Saez earned every penny he made in that mile and an eighth race, as he had to really ride his Tapit colt for what looked like an eternity to get the job done. After the race, Cox said he thought Essential Quality got a lot out of the effort, which would set him up nicely for the mile and a quarter Travers on.August 28th.
Essential Quality has now won seven of his eight starts, with his only loss coming here at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Derby. The doggedly-determined gray colt has earned over 3.5 million dollars.
Essential Quality had a very wide trip in the Jim Dandy, traveling 38 feet farther than the second place finisher, Keepmeinmind. His half- length victory in 1:49.92 earned him a 98 Beyer speed figure and a definite place in the Travers starting gate if all goes well between now and then.
I did not think Essential Quality looked particularly comfortable getting over the Saratoga surface on Saturday. I also did not think that hard-earned, half-length victory over Keepmeinmind would deter many trainers with accomplished three-year-old colts from taking him on in the Travers. A couple of the analysts on Fox Sports apparently saw it the same way, as they remarked as such following the race.
Can he win the Travers? ABSOLUTELY! He will relish the extra distance, and is an incredibly talented athlete. He will likely be the post-time favorite. And, leaving him out of your exotics would be a major mistake.
