Essential Quality to stand for $75,000 as Darley America announces fees

Last year's champion two-year-old colt and this year's Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality will stand the 2022 season at a fee of $75,000 while 2019 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner Maxfield's fee will be set at $40,000, Darley announced on Sunday.

Essential Quality made his final career start a day earlier in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar, finishing third.

The three-year-old Tapit colt won eight of his ten starts, including the Breeders' Futurity and Breeders' Cup Juvenile at two and the Travers Stakes this past summer, and retires with earnings of $4,755,144.

"His body of work is just tremendous: an Eclipse Champion at two, a Classic winner at three, a son of Tapit with a fantastic female family. He's already generated quite a lot of interest and we couldn't be more excited about him retiring to Jonabell Farm," Darley sales manager Darren Fox said.

Maxfield, a four-year-old son of Darley stallion Street Sense, will make his final appearance in the Clark Stakes at Churchill Downs.

He will then head to Jonabell Farm, home of the Darley Stallions, to begin his next career. Maxfield's current record is 7-2-1 from ten starts and he has earnings of $1,550,902.

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