Elusive Quality’s four-year-old son Quality Road notched his second G1 victory in emphatic style on February 6, breaking his own track record when landing the G1 Donn Handicap by twelve and three quarter lengths at Gulfstream Park.
Breaking smartly from the gate, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt was content to sit in second position behind Past The Point but moved alongside his rival with three furlongs left to run. Once entering the stretch, Quality Road eased clear of his rivals and opened up an unassailable lead, storming home to record a wide-margin victory in the one-and-one-eighth mile contest.
This was his fourth win in five appearances at the Florida track, also scene of his previous G1 victory last year when he established himself within the top flight, breaking the track record when winning the Florida Derby.
After a well-documented quarter crack that precluded him from a tilt at the Triple Crown, Quality Road returned in August to take the Amsterdam in record time at Saratoga. He returned to Gulfstream on his first start this year with a resounding two-and-three-quarter length win in the G3 Hal's Hope Stakes.
Owned and bred by Edward P Evans, Quality Road is out of the Strawberry Road mare Kobla – a full sister to champion three-year-old and triple G1 winner Ajina.
Elusive Quality (pictured), who stands at Darley America at a fee of $75,000 Stands and Nurses, is sire of six individual G1 winners including Smarty Jones and the record-breaking Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Raven’s Pass who now stands as a Darley stallion in Ireland. In 2009, Elusive Quality sired 14 Stakes winners – more than Empire Maker, Tale Of The Cat, Thunder Gulch, Tiznow and Unbridled’s Song.
