# Quality Road

Quality Road (foaled March 23, 2006, in Virginia) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse and successful sire.

## Background

Quality Road was bred and owned by Edward P. Evans. He was sired by Elusive Quality, who also sired 2004 Kentucky Derby/Preakness Stakes winner Smarty Jones and 2008 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Raven's Pass. His dam is Kobla, a daughter of 1983 Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year Strawberry Road.
At maturity, he reached 16.3 hands (67 inches, 170 cm) high.

## Racing career
### 2009: three-year-old season

Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, Quality Road raced in Florida in early 2009, where his wins in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and Grade 1 Florida Derby made him a favorite for the Kentucky Derby. However, he suffered two injuries. The first was a quarter crack on his right hind foot the day he won the Florida Derby. In April, he suffered a second quarter crack on his right front foot. As a result, he missed all three legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series.
In mid June, owner Edward Evans transferred the colt to the care of trainer Todd Pletcher. On August 3, 2009, Quality Road made his first start since his injury, winning the Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in a track record time of 1:13.74 for six and a half furlongs.
On August 29, 2009, Quality Road finished third to Summer Bird in the Travers Stakes. He followed that with a second to Summer Bird in the October 10 Jockey Gold Cup. Later that month, Quality Road was pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Classic, in the hopes that his running style would be well-suited to the polytrack at Santa Anita Park.
On November 7, 2009, Quality Road became the first horse to scratch at the gate in the Breeders' Cup Classic. After he refused to load into the starting gate, kicking with his hind legs on two or three occasions, the track crew blindfolded him and he kicked wildly, scraping his hocks on the gate and forcing the scratch.

### 2010: four-year-old season

On January 3, Quality Road made his 4-year-old debut in the Grade III Hal's Hope Stakes as the odds-on favorite. He won by 2+3⁄4 lengths.
On February 6, he broke his own track record when he won the Donn Handicap with John Velazquez riding. Quality Road finished the race in 1:47.49 to break the record of 1:47.72, which he set when he won the 2009 Florida Derby. He took control of the race at the stretch and began to pull away at the eighth pole. Dry Martini, the 2009 Suburban Handicap winner, was second.
In an interview with the Thoroughbred Times after the race, Pletcher said he would point the colt for the Metropolitan Handicap and the "big races" at Saratoga Race Course "before the Breeders' Cup Classic" in fall 2010. He also complimented Quality Road's performance, saying, “He’s got a very high cruising speed and can go :46 and 1:09 and still keep going. Not many horses can do that and he was spotting weight to all those horses, six pounds or more.
Quality Road earned a 121 Beyer Speed Figure in the Donn Handicap, then the highest speed figure awarded for a race over one mile since 2005.
In the May 31 Metropolitan Handicap, Quality Road was installed as favorite and held off Musket Man to win in a very fast time of 1:33.11. On August 7, 2010, he ran 2nd in the Whitney Handicap, beaten a head by eventual Breeders' Cup Classic winner Blame. On September 4, 2010, he won the Woodward Stakes by 4+3⁄4 lengths.
Quality Road ran only once more. On November 6, 2010, he started in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. Breaking from the 1 post, he remained on the rail throughout the race and finished 12th and last behind Blame. After the race, it was determined that the horse had an abscess and that was the reason he was pulled up.

## Stud record

Quality Road was then retired to Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky. His stud fee for 2011 was $35,000. His first crop raced in 2014, most notable runners were 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Hootenanny, multiple graded stakes winner Blofeld, and stakes winner Overprepared. He was the leading first crop sire by earnings in 2014.
He was not as successful with his second crop that started racing in 2015, but in 2016 he rebounded by leading the third crop sire list. His outstanding runner of 2016 was Abel Tasman, who went on to win the 2017 Kentucky Oaks.
Quality Road's top progeny includes

### Notable progeny

c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding
| Foaled | Name | Sex | Major wins |
| 2012 | Hootenanny | c | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (2014) |
| 2012 | Illuminant | f | Gamely Stakes (2016 ) |
| 2012 | Spring Quality | g | Manhattan Handicap (2018) |
| 2014 | Abel Tasman | f | Starlet Stakes (2016), 2017 Kentucky Oaks (2017), Coaching Club American Oaks (2017), Acorn Stakes (2017), Ogden Phipps Stakes (2018) and Personal Ensign Stakes (2018) |
| 2014 | Klimt | c | Del Mar Futurity (2016) |
| 2014 | City of Light | c | Malibu Stakes (2017), Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (2018), Triple Bend Handicap (2018), Pegasus World Cup (2019) |
| 2014 | Salty | f | La Troienne Stakes (2018) |
| 2015 | Caledonia Road | f | Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (2017) |
| 2016 | Bellafina | f | Del Mar Debutante Stakes (2018), Chandelier Stakes (2018), Santa Anita Oaks (2019) |
| 2016 | Dunbar Road | f | Alabama Stakes (2019) |
| 2016 | Roadster | c | Santa Anita Derby (2019) |
| 2018 | Bleecker Street | f | New York Stakes (2022) |
| 2019 | Corniche | c | Breeders' Cup Juvenile (2021), American Pharoah Stakes (2021) |
| 2020 | National Treasure | c | Preakness Stakes (2023), Pegasus World Cup (2024), Metropolitan Handicap (2024) |

## Racing record

| Finish | Race | Distance | Jockey | Time | Grade | Runner up/Winner | Track |
| 12th | Breeders' Cup Classic | 1+1⁄4 mi | John Velazquez | 2:02.28 | I | Blame (1st) | Churchill Downs |
| 1st | Woodward Stakes | 1+1⁄8 mi | John Velazquez | 1:50.00 | I | Mythical Power | Saratoga Race Track |
| 2nd | Whitney Handicap | 1+1⁄8 mi | John Velazquez | 1:48.88 | I | Blame (1st) | Saratoga Race Track |
| 1st | Metropolitan Handicap | 1 mi | John Velazquez | 1:33.11 | I | Musket Man | Belmont Park |
| 1st | Donn Handicap | 1+1⁄8 mi | John Velazquez | 1:47.49 | I | Dry Martini | Gulfstream Park |
| 1st | Hal's Hope Handicap | 1 mi | John Velazquez | 1:36.33 | III | You and I Forever | Gulfstream Park |
| 2nd | Jockey Club Gold Cup | 1+1⁄4 mi | John Velazquez | 2:02.51 | I | Summer Bird (1st) | Belmont Park |
| 3rd | Travers Stakes | 1+1⁄4 mi | John Velazquez | 2:02.83 | I | Summer Bird (1st) | Saratoga Race Track |
| 1st | Amsterdam Stakes | 6+1⁄2 fur | John Velazquez | 1:13.45 | II | Capt. Candyman Can | Saratoga Race Track |
| 1st | Florida Derby | 1+1⁄8 mi | John Velazquez | 1:47.41 | I | Dunkirk | Gulfstream Park |
| 1st | Fountain of Youth Stakes | 1 mi | John Velazquez | 1:35.01 | II | Theregoesjojo | Gulfstream Park |
| 2nd | Allowance | 7 fur | Alan Garcia | 1:22.23 | None | Theregoesjojo (1st) | Gulfstream Park |
| 1st | Maiden | 6+1⁄2 fur | Alan Garcia | 1:16.11 | None | Toulouse Lautec | Aqueduct Race Track |

## Pedigree

Pedigree of Quality Road :
| Sire Elusive Quality | Gone West | Mr. Prospector | Raise a Native |
| Sire Elusive Quality | Gone West | Mr. Prospector | Gold Digger |
| Sire Elusive Quality | Gone West | Secrettame | Secretariat |
| Sire Elusive Quality | Gone West | Secrettame | Tamerett |
| Sire Elusive Quality | Touch of Greatness | Hero's Honor | Northern Dancer |
| Sire Elusive Quality | Touch of Greatness | Hero's Honor | Glowing Tribute |
| Sire Elusive Quality | Touch of Greatness | Ivory Wand | Sir Ivor |
| Sire Elusive Quality | Touch of Greatness | Ivory Wand | Natashka |
| Dam Kobla | Strawberry Road | Whiskey Road | Nijinsky |
| Dam Kobla | Strawberry Road | Whiskey Road | Bowl of Flowers |
| Dam Kobla | Strawberry Road | Giftisa | Rich Gift |
| Dam Kobla | Strawberry Road | Giftisa | Wahkeena |
| Dam Kobla | Winglet | Alydar | Raise a Native |
| Dam Kobla | Winglet | Alydar | Sweet Tooth |
| Dam Kobla | Winglet | Highest Trump | Bold Bidder |
| Dam Kobla | Winglet | Highest Trump | Dear April |