Essential Quality (USA)

Graded-class colt; dam US Graded stakes-placed 6f/7f winner, half-sister to BC Juvenile Fillies winner Folklore and 1m1f Listed winner Divided Attention; 4l winner of 6f special weight maiden at Churchill Downs in September 2020, which was followed by a Grade 1 success at Keeneland; then won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at the same venue over 1m 110yds in November; maintained impressive unbeaten record on 2021 return at Oaklawn Park in February, this time in a Grade 3 over 8.5f, before landing the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes (1m1f) at Keeneland; lost his unbeaten record in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby (10f) after being bumped at the start but still finished a creditable fourth; regained the winning thread when landing the Belmont Stakes (1m4f) in June and followed up in Grade 2 at Saratoga (9f) in July, making it seven wins from eight starts; made in eight from nine in Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga (10f) next time; highly creditable effort behind Knicks Go in Breeders' Cup Classic next time, finishing third of eight in what was his final race.