Eskendereya

Eskendereya retired; Jackson buys in:

By David Grening

Eskendereya, whose dominant victories in the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial would have made him the favorite for the Kentucky Derby, has been retired from racing due to a soft-tissue injury to his left foreleg, his connections announced Friday afternoon.

Owner Ahmed Zayat also announced that he has sold a portion of Eskendereya to Jess Jackson, who has campaigned reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. The two parties will look to stand him at stud at a farm next year.

"This is a-once-in-a-lifetime horse, it's going to take me a while to get over it," Zayat said by phone Friday evening. "I think he could have won the Triple Crown, not just the Kentucky Derby."

n a joint press release, Jackson said: "I am extremely pleased to partner with Zayat Stables in ownership of this magnificent Thoroughbred. Eskendereya is best of class and his progeny will only add to his legacy and that of American racing."

Zayat did not disclose what percentage of the colt he sold to Jackson. However, he said the reason he sold was because his stable is in bankruptcy and as part of his reorganization plan he needed "to create value and cash."

Eskendereya, who was trained by Todd Pletcher, was not entered in the Derby after it was announced on April 25 that the horse had swelling in his left foreleg. Earlier this week, Eskendereya was shipped to multiple clinics and examined by a "who's who" of veterinarians, Zayat said. In the end, the decision was made to retire the horse because he would need at least a year off and it was unlikely he could return to the performance level that he has shown, Zayat said.

"Todd and I discussed every other possibility before concluding that retirement was the only option and the right decision to protect Eskendereya's health," Zayat said in the release.

Zayat purchased Eskendereya for $250,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale in 2008. The colt, a son of Giant's Causeway out of the Seattle Slew mare Aldebaran Light, debuted on closing day of the Saratoga meet, finishing second in a 1 1/16-mile turf race. On Oct. 4, at Belmont Park, he won the Pilgrim Stakes - a race originally scheduled for the turf but run on dirt - by 7 1-4 lengths. He completed his 2-year-old season with a ninth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile over Santa Anita's synthetic surface.

Eskendereya kicked off his 3-year-old season on Jan. 7 with a 1 -length victory in a first-level allowance race at Gulfstream Park. He followed that up with an 8 1/2-length victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on Feb. 20, a race that was the "wow" performance in a Derby prep. That is, until Eskendereya won the Grade 1 Wood Memorial on April 3 by 9 3/4 lengths.

"I think he's as good as horses get," Pletcher said. "His Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial were as good as performances as we have had and as good as we've seen from a 3-year-old. I'd rank him up there as among the best we've had."

Rumors that something was amiss with Eskendereya began shortly after the Wood, a race in which the colt wore front bandages for the first time. Those rumors persisted after the colt worked at Palm Meadows in Florida on April 17 and continued through the time of his defection from the race a week later.

Asked if Eskendereya had reached his potential, Pletcher said, "He was continuing to develop and was getting better and better. And as I've said a mile and a quarter and a mile a half were distances that were going to suit him."

Eskendereya retires with a record of 4-1-0 from six starts and earnings of $725,700.

Horse Racing - Eskendereya

Eskendereya has tools of classic winner


By David Grening

Let others speculate how many horses trainer Todd Pletcher will bring to this year's Kentucky Derby. As far as Pletcher is concerned, it's not about quantity, it's about quality.

"Hopefully, we show up with one and with the right one," said Pletcher, who still seeks his first Derby trophy after having gone winless with 24 starters in nine previous attempts.

Given the results of the early Derby prep races and with several more preps remaining, it's not inconceivable that Pletcher could have as many as seven starters in the Churchill Downs starting gate on May 1.

Though Pletcher could never publicly rank his Derby prospects - which alphabetically include Aikenite, Discreetly Mine, Eskendereya, Interactif, Mission Impazible, Rule, and Super Saver - he said Tuesday that Eskendereya belongs at the top of any national list of prospects, behind only Lookin At Lucky, the 2009 juvenile champion.

Both horses will run this weekend, with Eskendereya starting in the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and the Bob Baffert-trained Lookin At Lucky in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.

Pletcher believes Eskendereya has all the tools to be effective in the Triple Crown races, which start with the Kentucky Derby at 1 1/4 miles and conclude with the Belmont Stakes at 1 1/2 miles.

"The one thing that we've been very confident in all along is he wants to run the distances of the classic races," Pletcher said. "I don't see a mile and a quarter or even a mile and a half being a problem. He has natural stamina, he's physically a strong horse. He holds up to his races."

Zayat

Zayat wears his heart on his sleeve

By Glenye Cain Oakford

LEXINGTON, Ky. - You couldn't make up a better story. Thoroughbred owner Ahmed Zayat, pursued by his bank for allegedly defaulting on $34 million in loans, files for bankruptcy and cheats the bank's attempt to take over his 200-horse stable, then turns up with Eskendereya, a hot prospect for the Kentucky Derby.
It's the kind of melodrama that's made Zayat one of Thoroughbred racing's most intriguing and controversial owners. He's also highly successful. A 47-year-old Egyptian entrepreneur, Zayat got into the game in 2005 and is North America's second-leading owner by earnings. He was among North America's top three leading owners in 2007 and 2009. Ask people who know him how they would describe Zayat, and the word you'll hear most often is "passionate." That's frequently followed by "tough," meant in both senses: strong but also potentially difficult to deal with.
Zayat, who resides in Teaneck, N.J., has countersued Fifth Third over their $34 million lawsuit. In interviews he's described the bank and its associates as "very bad people" trying to push him to financial ruin.

"My goal was to rise to the highest level of the sport by having the best-bred and best-raised horses, and I was going to commit a lot of my funds," Zayat said of his entry into racing. "And I put in a lot of money, tens of millions of dollars. People are mistaken about what happened to me. I was a very good businessman and still am. What happened to me financially was not a failure of Zayat Stable, it was a failure of the market. And there's a huge difference."

Eskendereya (pronounced es-ken-DARE-ee-uh) could make some of those problems fade. He is slated to run in the April 3 Wood Memorial in his final prep for the Derby. He cost Zayat $250,000 at the 2008 Keeneland September yearling sale, but his value jumped into the millions after his 8 1/2-length victory in the Feb. 20 Fountain of Youth. Rumored suitors have included Stonestreet Stables owner Jess Jackson and International Equine Acquisitions Holdings, but Zayat won't name names.

Bloodstock experts generally value Eskendereya, who is by Giant's Causeway, at $6 million to $8 million. The price would jump with a Wood victory, a Derby win, or, better yet, the Triple Crown. Horses with Derby chances still command top dollar, but a hard fall in prices for stallion prospects means Eskendereya would be a harder sell after the Triple Crown, unless he keeps winning and becomes a must-have for stud farms.

Horse Racing

February 21 2010

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP) -Eskendereya took the lead entering the final turn and pulled away for an 8 1/2-length victory Saturday in the $250,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Eskendereya, ridden by John Velazquez and trained by Todd Pletcher, covered the 1 1-8th miles in 1:48.87 for his third victory in five starts.
``You've got to be excited when they perform like that in these kinds of races at this time of year,'' Pletcher said. ``I was particularly pleased with the way he finished. I don't think we've ever gotten to the bottom of him.''
Jackson Bend was second, followed by Aikenite in third another three-quarters of a length back. Race favorite Buddy's Saint was bumped going around the first turn and finished ninth in the 10-horse field.
Pletcher said the Zayat Stable-owned Eskendereya, who also won across Gulfstream's main track Jan. 7 in a first-level allowance race, would likely run next March 20 in the $750,000 Florida Derby, a key prep for the Kentucky Derby.
``He's had two wins over the track now so the Florida Derby would seem logical for him,'' Pletcher said.
Ahmed Zayat called the victory ``heartwarming.''
Zayat filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 3 after his stable was sued Dec. 15 by Fifth Third Bancorp, claiming Zayat defaulted on two loans and owed the Cincinnati-based bank $34.2 million.
``I knew the distance would suit him,'' Zayat said. ``He does not get tired. This horse can run 1 1/2 miles. I was very impressed the way he took the lead early.''
Ninth in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile when he was steadied and bounced around going into the first turn, Eskendereya broke cleanly from the No. 8 post and was second around the first turn and down the backstretch, a length behind Lost Aptitude.
``I didn't want to take too good a hold of him out of the gate, and I got to a point early on the backstretch where I started to move forward with him,'' Velazquez said. ``I was hoping that I didn't take too much out of him.''
Approaching the final turn, Eskendereya carried Velazquez past Lost Aptitude, shook of a bold move by Jackson Bend, and opened up with each stride down the stretch. Velazquez hit the colt twice above the eighth pole then hand-rode him to the finish.
``It was a great feeling when he kicked in and accelerated away from them,'' Velazquez added. ``He galloped out really well, and I hope he can learn to relax just a bit more in the first part of the race. If he does, I don't think he'll have any trouble going further.''
In another 3-year-old prep race at Gulfstream, D'Funnybone moved three-wide along the turn before driving away from six others to win the $150,000 Hutcheson by a length while covering seven furlongs in 1:22.14.
Trainer Richard Dutrow said D'Funnybone, winner of last year's Saratoga Special and Belmont Futurity, would likely be pointed toward the Florida Derby.