Quality Road shows no problems during Belmont breeze

Florida Derby (G1) hero QUALITY ROAD (Elusive Quality), one of the favorites

for the 135th Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs on May 2, gave proof Friday

morning that his right-hind quarter crack is no longer a major concern, as he

breezed five furlongs in 1:02 on Belmont Park's fast training track.

It was Quality Road's first breeze since winning the nine-furlong Florida

Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 28 in a track-record time of 1:47.72, and it

ranked 10th out of 18 at the distance Friday morning.

"(With) a big race coming up, this gives us something to go by," said trainer

Jimmy Jerkens, who had spotted the quarter crack in the Florida Derby winners'

circle. "You just can't keep guessing or kidding yourself, 'Oh, he's all right,

he's all right.' Everyone says he's dead fit. Sure, he's dead fit -- but you

want to see it with your own eyes.

"He didn't go too fast or too slow. (Hopefully) he'll be OK from here on.

Quarter cracks can always resurface. We'll stay on top of it."

A quarter crack is a crack that appears in the wall of the hoof, often

starting at the coronet band, where the hoof meets the hair, and growing down.

It can also start in the wall and move upward. It can be very painful if it gets

infected.

A patch and bar shoe were placed on Quality Road, but Monday morning, there

was a trickle of blood following a morning gallop at Belmont Park. Hoof

specialist Ian McKinlay, whose past clients include 1997 Belmont S. (G1) winner

Touch Gold and 2008 Kentucky Derby/Preakness (G1) winner Big Brown, placed a new

patch on Quality Road Wednesday morning and said he foresees no future problems.

"We laid a drain in there, and there was a little bit of drainage

(Wednesday), but nothing significant," McKinlay said. "This morning, everything

was ice cold. I would say that, from what I saw, it's a done deal."

Jerkens planned to work either Friday or Saturday, but opted for the early

work to avoid the rain that was expected on Friday afternoon. Jerkens will keep

Quality Road at Belmont Park until April 28, and plans to move his works to the

main track.

"He shouldn't need a whole lot," Jerkens said. "He's coming from Florida. You

can see he's big and tall and doesn't carry a lot of flesh. Ian (McKinlay) says

he's a little shell-y in his hind feet. But he has a nice real big round foot.

"He looked like he always did. He went pretty easy, I thought."