Quality Road, a contender for the Kentucky Derby, returned from a mile and three-quarter gallop on the Belmont Park training track April 26 with a tinge of blood from a newly-patched quarter crack, but his connections remain optimistic he will make the May 2 “Run for the Roses.”

A five-furlong breeze Monday morning will be the determining factor on whether the Elusive Quality colt makes the trip to Churchill Downs.

“He has to work to our liking and come out of it perfectly,” said Jimmy Jerkens, who trains Quality Road for owner-breeder Edward P. Evans. “If he takes one bad step anywhere, forget it.”

At about 7 a.m. Sunday, hoof specialist Ian McKinlay replaced a set of wires, inserted a drain, and then put an acrylic patch on the quarter crack on the inside of the colt’s right-front hoof