Eskendereya in the Wood Memorial

Eskendereya, the Zayat Stables colt who was scratched from the Derby six days before the running because of an injury, has been retired from racing.

Owner Ahmed Zayat will retain a significant ownership stake in partnership with Jess Jackson of Kendall Jackson Wine Estates and the owner of  Curlin and Rachel Alexandra. Together, Zayat said, they “will work to develop the best progeny for American racing.”

They have not decided where the colt will stand. According to Zayat, the decision to retire Eskendereya was made after “exhausting all possible options.”

“We sent him to two clinics for diagnostics and I wanted to send him to one more to get a third opinion, because I wasn’t willing to give up,” Zayat said. “But with a soft tissue injury, we pretty much knew he was done. The horse was sound as could be and had been training extremely well at Palm Meadows. Everything was ideal until it started going downhill when he went to Churchill.
 
“I cannot tell you how heartbroken I am and how hard it was for my whole family every time they showed the Wood Memorial (gr. I) on TV. We were all tearing up watching such a breathtaking performance. I can’t express my sadness, but there is also joy to have been so close to a horse like this and picking him out at the sale. I broke the news to my son Justin and he is totally crushed.”  

Trainer Todd Pletcher finds in Eskendereya a special significance.

“Eskendereya is as good a horse as I’ve ever brought to the Triple Crown races,” Pletcher said. “Mr. Zayat and I investigated every possible avenue to get him back into racing form at the level that his fans expect, but after leaving no stone unturned, it became clear that this was the best decision to make for Eskendereya. His Fountain of Youth (gr. II) and Wood Memorial victories were the most impressive prep races that we have ever had and we had tremendous confidence in his ability to excel at the distances of a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half. We look forward to this next stage of his career as a sire and creating the next generation of racing stars.”

According to Zayat, Eskendereya helped him bond with Pletcher.

“I feel Todd and I developed an emotional touch, with our baby, Eskendereya, the common bond,” Zayat said. “He thought the world of him and he expressed his feelings about how he could be a Triple Crown winner. The affection he had for the horse and the dreams he had for him, it was like we had lost a family member, God forbid. It was very painful. I kept text messaging Todd to keep his chin up. He said he knew he had to focus on the Derby, but it wasn’t going to be the same. He sent me a text after the Derby and said, ‘Sorry, I couldn’t win it for you.’

“The scary part is that the horse was getting better. He is a once in a lifetime horse. Todd and I discussed every other possibility before concluding that retirement was the only option and the right decision to protect Eskendereya’s health. This will probably take me a very long time to get over, but I am comforted by the fact that I will have the chance to see his offspring follow in his racing footsteps.

“We are excited about the future and are confident that he will continue to thrill the racing world by siring the best future progeny. Mr. Jackson is the perfect partner for such a beloved horse and I look forward to working with him as he has proven to be a true sportsman and a credit to our industry. He has tried to create the best breed and bring back the legacy of American racing. He has over 100 broodmares and I have 50, all top broodmares. Between us we are trying to bring stamina back in racing, not just speed. It’s very important that I’m staying in, both emotionally and financially.”

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.”

Eskendereya, which is Arabic for the city Alexandria, was bred in Kentucky by Sanford R. Robertson. He retires with four victories from six starts, with one second, for earnings of $725,700.

Eskendereya, with John Velazquez up, won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct with ease last weekend and is considered a favorite in the May 1 Kentucky Derby.

The anticipated favorite going into the Kentucky Derby, will not be participating in the Run for the Roses on May 1st, due to a slight filling in his left front leg.

Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Zayat Stable’s 3 year old son of Giant’s Causeway, made the announcement on Sunday, April 25th at a press conference at 9:30 AM.

“Yesterday morning I noticed a little bit of filling in his left front leg,” Pletcher said. “We looked at and worked on it overnight but didn’t see any improvement. He’s too special of a horse to take any chances.

“Basically his left leg is filled from his ankle up to the knee,” he said. “We need to get some of that edema out of there before we can do any diagnostics. He’s not uncomfortable. I got him out early this morning on the asphalt and jogged him, and for me, he was slightly off.

“I spoke with Mr. (Ahmed) Zayat and we decided to stop here. The horse is not lame. The horse is slightly off. I haven’t felt like his last couple of gallops have been up to what we normally see. I was hoping that maybe it was attributed to the sloppy track but we’re going to do some more diagnostics later in the week when some of the swelling and filling goes down in his leg. Hopefully it’s nothing that would be career ending, but at this point it’s too premature for me to speculate.”

Eskendereya galloped on April 24th on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs, but did not put in a work.

It was discovered earlier in the morning that Eskendereya  would not be putting in his scheduled workout. Churchill Downs officials put together a press conference soon after.

Pletcher has plenty of possibilities for the Derby, though, what with the colts Super Saver, Rule, Discreetly Mine, and Mission Impazible, and the filly Devil May Care. Interactiff may also run.

“I don’t know if it (Eskendereya’s declaration) changes Interactif’s status,” Pletcher said. “I was hoping to work him this morning but felt the track was still drying out. Even though it may have looked better from a distance it wasn’t as good as it was yesterday. He’ll breeze tomorrow.

“I’d say the biggest impact will potentially be with the filly,” he said. “Obviously that opens up (jockey) John Velazquez which was one of our biggest concerns. Mr. (John) Greathouse is going to come over tomorrow and we’re going to look at it. It swings the pendulum toward her running, but that’s without any confirmation from Mr. Greathouse.”

Devil May Care, owned by the Greathouse family’s Glencrest Farm, became a consideration for the Derby last week. The daughter of Malibu Moon may be entered in both the Derby and the April 30 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I). She won the nine-furlong Bonnie Miss Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park March 20 in her last start.

“Perfect,” says Borel, who won the Kentucky Derby on Mine That Bird, a son of the upset Belmont winner of  the 2004 Belmont Stakes. “He’s ready. We’re going to win. No questions asked.He’s ready. We’re going to win. No questions asked.”

Borel’s boast was similar to the one he made before the BlackBerry Preakness when he won on Rachel Alexandra. Mine That Bird had come in 2nd then, with jockey Mike Smith in the saddle. Borel was freed up to ride Mine The Bird in the Belmont after Rachel Alexandra’s owners, Jess Jackson and Harold McCormick had announced on May 29th that she would not be running in it. Her next start has not been announced, but she galloped five furlongs in 1:01 3/5 on June 1st.

Churchill clockers timed Mine That Bird and Calvin Borel in fractional splits of :13 4/5, :26 3/5, and :38 2/5. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:02 1/5 and was ridden out six furlongs in 1:15.

“I didn’t go fast, but he didn’t need to go fast,” Borel said of the workout. “He gets more from galloping than he does from a work. He did everything the same, just like before the Derby.”

Borel said he believes one reason the Derby and Preakness did not take much out of Mine That Bird is his patented late running style. “They might go a mile and a half, but he is going to gallop the first mile and only run the last three-eighths (of a mile).”

Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr., Mine That Bird’s trainer said he was pleased with the workout; he had wanted him to run the half-mile in about :49 2/5.  “He galloped out real strong,” Woolley said. “He looked real sharp to me.”

“I was thinking last week he is training better right now than he did going into the Derby,” he said. “He has held his weight really good and  he came off the track today just dancing. He came back from Pimlico a little bit rattled, but he has settled in right here and is doing good.”

“I can’t tell you what’s going to happen,” Borel said of anticipating how the Belmont will unfold. “When the gates break (open), I will read the race and will go from there. If we haven’t got much speed, we will liable to be close. If we’ve got speed, we will stay back. He’s got a good turn of foot.”

“You don’t want him as far back as he was in the other two (races) because the pace is going to be slower,” Woolley said of Belmont strategy. “We want him to run his same race, which will put him a little closer to the pace when they slow it down. It’s going to be hard to close in this, I’m sure of that. We’re not going to change his running style. We’re going to try to run the same race and see what happens. We will try to run our race and if our race is good enough, we will win, and if it’s not, we will run where we do. One thing about it, the distance suits my horse awful well. ”

Woolley says the colt will be shipped to New York on Wednesday, June 3rd. He also mentioned he did not see any benfit to training the horse over the unique Belmont track surface.

“My horse gets over the ground really easy… he just kind of bounces over the top of it,” Woolley said. “I really don’t have too much concern about it. If he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t like it. Training him on it isn’t going to make him like it any better. It would just give him more time to hate it worse. I don’t believe in going up there and training and believing it’s going to improve his chances.”

“They said he might not walk again, it didn’t look like,” Cooper said. “He’ll probably have use of his upper body, but they gave it to me straight that he’s not likely to walk. They won’t be a million percent sure until after the swelling goes down in about 10 to 14 days, but it doesn’t look good.”

Douglas will remain in ICU for two weeks, until he moves to rehab.

According to Cooper, “It’s devastating.”

A team of specialists worked on Douglas’ compressed vertebrae, and the damage to the rider’s neck, but the main concern was his neck, which may have been damaged by a fragment of splintered bone, Cooper said.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital said that Douglas was in fair condition following his surgery. Neither the hospital nor Arlington Park officials would release any details about his injuries, Associated Press reported.

“All of our thoughts and prayers are obviously with Rene and his family, and we continue to hope for the best,” David Zenner, Arlington Park spokesman, said.

Douglas was thrown from Born to Be, the four year old filly he rode in the Arlington MAtron Handicap (gr. III). The filly was bumped by Sky Mom, clipped heels with Boudoir, and fell in the upper stretch. Born to be flipped and threw Douglas over her head before landing on top of the rider. The daughter of AP Indy had to be dragged off of him before he could be transferred to a backboard. Both Douglas and Born to Be were removed from the track via ambulance.

Cooper said that the horse, trained by Eric Coatreiux, had recovered from the incident.  A spokesperson for Arlington Park said the filly returned to the barn and had not been euthanized on the day of the accident.

“She went straight down head over heels just like in slow motion,” Cooper said. “She hit him with her whole body, dropped there on top of him and just laid there.”

A naitve of Panama, Douglas has been the leading rider at Arlington six times (2001-2004 and 2007-2008) and holds the record for most consecutive titles at the Chicago track with four (2001-2004). This season, he was tied with E.T. Baird in the early contest for leading rider honors at the track with 15 wins going into the May 23 card.

Douglas has nearly 3,600 North American victories, including the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I)  with Dreaming of Anna and the 1996 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on Editor’s Note. His mounts have earned more than $102 million through May 23.

Once they had broken from the gate, Musket man took the lead at first, with Freisian Fire showing early speed, and Rachel Alexandra coming up on the far outside. Coming into the first turn, Rachel Alexandra took the lead. She kept it up during the entire race. Mine That Bird was in a similar position as in the running of the Derby, all the way in the back. Papa Clem was in fourth, with Freisian Fire in third, and Big Drama in second to Rachel Alexandra. Pioneerof The Nile was running in fifth. With three furlongs to go, however, Mine That Bird shot around the outside and started moving up. With only one furlong left, Musket Man moved up in second with Mine That Bird third on the outside and Rachel Alexandra still holding a convincing lead. Under the wire, Rachel Alexandra was ahead by a length with Mine That Bird in second and Musket Man in third. The final time was 1:55 flat.

“It came down to the facts that he (Borel) knows and loves this horse, that he knows how to get the most from her, and he knows how to win,’’ said Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables and proprietor of Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates. “They were an amazing team at the Kentucky Oaks—winning by over 20 lengths. We think this is a perfect match of rider and horse.’’

Rachel Alexandra will continue her workout schedule under trainer Steve Asmussen.

“If she continues to be in perfect condition, our intention will be to run her in the Preakness,” Jackson said, adding that the final decision would be made next week.

Calvin Borel and Mine That Bird win the Kentucky Derby, 2009

Saturday, May 2nd, was a huge upset for everyone. Mine That Bird, a horse purchased for $9,500, beat the rest of the field by lengths. With Pioneerof  The Nile in second, Musket Man in third, and Papa Clem in fourth, the race was strong and fast the whole way. Join In The Dance led for most of the way, but finished in seventh. The favorite, Friesian Fire, was back in eighteenth place.

The X-ray and ultrasound showed nothing, but a flex test showed tenderness. With the track promising to be sloppy (as it was through the Eight Belles) Mullins and owner David Lanzman did not want to chance the colt’s wellbeing.

“When the word came out that running could hurt the horse, I looked at both doctors and said, ‘Then this is no debate,”’ Lanzman said. “‘What are we talking about? We’ll fight another day.”’

With I Want Revenge out of the Derby, Friesian Fire takes over as the morning favorite.

I Want Revenge ridden by Joe Talamo were going to break from post number 13. I have actually had the opportunity to meet Talamo, at Santa Anita last year.

“I’m just glad the horse is OK,” Talamo said. “It could have been a lot worse. Something could have happened on the track. I’m just glad it happened in the stall.”

Mullins does not believe the injury to be career threatening, but they are going to give the colt some time off before deciding what to do next.

“I’ve been in this business kind of all my life,” he said. “Most of the things I’ve learned in this business I’ve learned by hard knocks in more ways than one. Your biggest dream is to get here, but the biggest nightmare is to get to race day and have to scratch. Right now I don’t think it’s really sunk in that much, but pretty disappointing.”

Win Willy, the winner of the March 14 Rebel Stakes (gr. II) at Oaklawn Park, was declared not entering the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) on the morning of April 29th by trainer Mac Robertson. The declaration was made hours before entries were to be taken for the race taking place at Churchill Downs on May 2nd.

According to Robertson, an x-ray showed a “line” in his left front ankle. Just to be safe, the connections decided not to run him in the race, but to give him some time off instead. It is by no means a career-threatening injury. The colt felt well enough to be galloped a mile over the muddy track at Churchill Downs before the decision was made.

“He’s not sore,” Robertson said outside Barn 45. “He went to the track today and I jogged him a mile. The vets came this morning with the X-rays and there was something a little suspicious. If it is a small fracture, it’s not displaced. You can barely see it on one view. You can barely see a line from the ankle to the pastern.

“It may the start of something; it might be something he’s had since he was a yearling,” he said. “I’d never X-rayed his ankles. I’ve X-rayed his knees, but never his ankles.”

His final Derby workout was on Monday; he got got the five furlongs in a time of 1:02 2/5.

Robertson said he had the x-rays taken just to be sure nothing was wrong. The trainer said he was not disappointed that Win Willy will not make the Derby field, saying, “the horse is more important.

“Going a mile and a quarter against those kind of horses when there might be something there? I’m not going to do that to the horse,” Robertson said.

“I’ll keep him here and pull his shoes and let him walk 30 days. If it is the start of a fracture, I don’t want him running around. In 60 days we’ll X-ray him and see if it’s healing or doing the same. If it’s the same, then he’s probably had it. If it’s healing, it’s probably something he did in the Arkansas Derby (gr. II) or his work here.”

Win Willy won two of his first three starts, then created a huge upset when he beat Old Fashioned, the then-Derby favorite, by 2 1/4 lengths at odds of 57-1. Then he finished fourth in Papa Clem’s Arkansas Derby (gr. II) victory.

“He’s a beautiful horse,” Robertson said. “When he gets a break, he’ll get a little wider because basically he’s been going for a long time between 14-15 months. You take a horse like this and give him a break, who knows?”

Pioneerof the Nile wins the Santa Anita Derby

He gallops effortlessly over the track, working five furlongs in 1:01. It is hard to believe that this Zayat Stables homebred was a sickly foal, who almost didn’t make it. Sobhy Sonbol explains the story of this Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I) contender.

“He got colic, and he had surgery a few weeks after he was born,” says Sonbol, who serves as the vice president of Zayat Stables. “He almost died, and then he had to have another operation a few months later. He had some adhesions in there from the first surgery, so they had to go back in there again.”

Pioneerof the Nile was consigned by Darby Dan Farm to the 2006 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, but the son of Empire Maker was scratched. Hill ‘n’ Dales Sales Agency, as agent, offered the colt the following year at the Keeneland September yearling sale, but Sonbol, acting on behalf of Ahmed Zayat, Zayat Stable’s owner, bought back Pioneerof the Nile for $290,000.

“Everybody says these horses that go through colic surgery, it takes them awhile until they get back, and they told me he was going to be late (in developing),” says Sonbol. “We put him in the Keeneland yearling sale and at that point, Mr. Zayat had never seen him. When he saw him at the sale, he said, ‘What the hell are we putting that horse in the sale for; buy him back,’ so I kept on bidding until I bought him back.”

Though Sonbol still had some concerns about the surgeries’ lingering effects, Pioneerof the Nile showed early precociousness that chased those worries away.

“The last workout on the farm before he left for the racetrack, he worked with another horse,” Sonbol said. “You usually try to keep them together, and they go a quarter (mile) in about :24 because you don’t want to ask them to go too fast. But he just dusted the other horse that was right next to him. That was kind of the first time he had shown a separation between himself and the other horses.

“Then, when he was up at Saratoga, he was my first 2-year-old to be ready (to run) even though everybody had told me those belly surgeries would hinder his progress a little bit. He’s also a May foal and by Empire Maker, so he wasn’t supposed to be an early horse.”

Pioneerof the Nile broke his maiden in his second career start, and became one of the top 2-year-olds in 2008. He won the CashCall Futurity (gr. I) and finished third in the Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity (gr. I). This year he has placed in all three of his starts so far, capturing the Robert B. Lewis (gr. II) and San Felipe (gr. II) Stakes along with the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I).

The colt, who had two colic surgeries as a foal, has earned $1,234,200 so far.

According to Sonbol, “He’s probably one of the best horses we’ve ever had, and he might be one of the best ones that we ever will have.”