LEXINGTON, Ky. – Essential Quality will be carrying more than just his 123-pound assignment Saturday in the 97th Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. The homebred gray also will shoulder the fervent hopes of his owner, Godolphin, in taking a final step toward favoritism in the Kentucky Derby, a race the worldwide powerhouse stable has yet to win. He’ll also be trying to restore lost pride in the Blue Grass itself, a race that once produced Derby winners with regularity but has seen its stature diminish over the last 30 years. And he’ll have the backing of an untold number of horseplayers looking to hit their multi-race wagers by singling him as a huge favorite in the last race of a blockbuster 11-race card. Essential Quality, with Luis Saez riding, is the 3-5 morning-line choice in the Grade 2, $800,000 Blue Grass, a 1 1/8-mile race that offers qualifying points on a 100-40-20-10 scale toward the May 1 Derby at Churchill Downs. He’ll break from post 4 in a field of nine 3-year-olds in a race that’s part of a two-hour NBCSN broadcast (5:30-7:30 p.m. Eastern) that also will feature the Wood Memorial from Aqueduct and Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. Post time for the Blue Grass is 6:35. Godolphin, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, has made winning the Derby a major goal for nearly a quarter-century, to no avail. Essential Quality, as the reigning divisional champion, represents its best chance, perhaps ever, especially if the Tapit colt wins the Blue Grass comfortably under the familiar royal blue silks as many expect he will. :: DRF's Blue Grass Stakes Day headquarters – Previews, past performances, picks, and more The Derby is “what everybody that has a talented 3-year-old colt at this time of year is pointed to,” Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin’s U.S. operations, said on an NTRA teleconference this week. “If it’s meant to be, it will happen in time.” The Blue Grass was handpicked by his 2020 Eclipse Award-winning trainer, Brad Cox, over other final-round Derby preps in no small part because of the way the colt performed in two prior races here. After winning his six-furlong debut on the undercard of the 2020 Derby last September at Churchill, Essential Quality earned the divisional Eclipse by winning the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, both at Keeneland. The colt then won his only prior start at 3, the Feb. 27 Southwest at Oaklawn Park, drawing off with authority to earn a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure. “Obviously, he’s run big at Keeneland, and plus the timing fits very well into what we’d mapped out for him,” Cox said. “We said all along that two preps as a 3-year-old were what we wanted. Everything’s gone according to plan so far, fortunately.” Godolphin has been on quite a roll lately, winning the $12 million Dubai World Cup last Saturday with Mystic Guide, Saez up, while also having two other live Derby prospects in Prevalence and Proxy. “It’s been a pretty phenomenal 2021,” Bell said. Race tactics from Saez will certainly come into play Saturday, given the alarming dearth of early speed in the lineup. In fact, even though Essential Quality has developed a stretch-running style, he might well find himself among a forward flight down the backstretch. “He’s pretty handy, so we’ll let Luis play it by ear,” Cox said. The top upset chance rests with Highly Motivated (post 3, Javier Castellano), a Chad Brown-trained colt making his first start around two turns. The bay Into Mischief colt was a troubled third as an odds-on favorite in the March 6 Gotham at Aqueduct in his only start since he got a 96 Beyer in winning the 6 1/2-furlong Nyquist, the Breeders’ Cup Friday opener here in November. :: Get Marcus Hersh’s Betting Strategies for Saturday’s card at Keeneland Other considerations include Hidden Stash (post 1, Rafael Bejarano), a just-miss second behind Helium in the March 6 Tampa Bay Derby; Rombauer (post 5, Florent Geroux), a late-closing colt in from California for Michael McCarthy; and Keepmeinmind (post 9, David Cohen), the 2020 Kentucky Jockey Club winner looking to rebound off a disappointing sophomore debut in the March 13 Rebel at Oaklawn. Rounding out the cast are Untreated, Leblon, Hush of a Storm, and Sittin On Go. Untreated is trained by Todd Pletcher, already a three-time Blue Grass winner. Success in the Blue Grass and the Derby were closely intertwined for years, with Northern Dancer (1964), Riva Ridge (1972), and Spectacular Bid (1979) among the greats to win both. But the last Derby winner to compete in the Blue Grass was Street Sense (2007), while the last Blue Grass winner to also capture the Derby was Strike the Gold (1991). The Blue Grass will be run over a fast track, with the Saturday forecast calling for sunny skies and a high of 59. First post is 1:05. The Blue Grass is the last of six straight graded stakes to end the day, with the others being the Grade 2 Appalachian (race 6), Grade 3 Commonwealth (race 7), Grade 2 Shakertown (race 8), Grade 1 Ashland (race 9), and Grade 1 Madison (race 10). All are linked together in a multitude of horizontal wagers. The 15-day spring meet opened Friday and runs through April 23. The track is dark Sunday because of the Easter holiday.