One
day shy of his true third birthday, Eskendereya dominated
the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G-2) by the same winning margin as Spectacular
Bid’s 8 ½ length win in 1979. Saturday, Eskendereya emulated his damsire
Seattle Slew, winning in the comparable time of 1:49.4/5. While Seattle Slew won by a comfortable 2 ½
lengths, his grandson dazzled the field galloping under the wire by 9 ¾
lengths.
Eskendereya (Giant's Causeway
- Aldebaran Light, by Seattle Slew) sold for $250,000 at the 2008 Keeneland
September Yearling sale to Zayat Stables.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Eskendereya was second in his debut last
September going 1 1/6 miles on the turf. A month later, he easily won the Pilgrim
Stakes going a mile, over a sloppy track. In November, Eskendereya was thrown into deep waters in the the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where he
finished ninth. He can be forgiven the
race, since not only was he shipping, trying a new distance and new surface
against a large field, he was doing so with only two starts under his girth and
found trouble during the race. After a two month layoff, Eskendereya won an allowance race at a mile race over the
Gulfstream dirt surface then turned in spectaular performances in the Fountain
of Youth and Wood Memorial. Along the way he has handily demolished the first
two finishers of the Florida Derby (G-1), Ice Box and Pleasant Prince, the Sam F. Davis Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby
(G-3) runner-up Schoolyard
Dreams, Holy Bull (G-3) runner-up Jackson Bend, and
Gotham Stakes (G-3) winner Awesome Act.
After
his two compelling victories in the Fountain of Youth and Wood Memorial,
Eskendereya must be considered a legitimate Kentucky Derby favorite and his
performances have vaulted him to the top of many lists. He appears to have it
all, talent, conformation, pedigree and temperament. Let's delve further into
his pedigree to see where this striking chestnut colt gets his talent.
Eskendereya’s
sire Giant's Causeway,
nicknamed “The Iron Horse” for his marvelous durability, was the Champion Three
Year Old in England and Ireland, and
Horse of the Year in Europe. Although he only raced for two years, he
accumulated a 13-9-4-0 race record and $3,078,989 in earnings. His only
race in the U.S.
became a nail-biting classic. Racing over dirt and left-handed for the first
time in his life, he came within a desperate nose of winning the 2000 Breeders’
Cup Classic, handing the winner Tiznow all he could
handle. Giant’s Causeway
went on to become an international sensation at stud. He passes his durability, determination to
win and ability to run over every surface to his offspring. Their exploits have
made him the number one stallion standing in the U.S. He has sired six stakes winners at the
classic distance of ten furlongs, two of which include Seattle Slew on their
distaff side.
Eskendereya’s
dam sire Seattle Slew
needs no introduction. Besides being the first and only previously undefeated
Triple Crown winner, he was a prolific sire, and one of the very best of his
generation. His genes live on through a
large number of his sons and daughters. His
daughters have produced fifteen offspring that have won at ten furlongs or
farther.
Eskendereya
is descended from one of the most successful and noted female families in
history. His dam Aldebaran Light won
three of five races. Besides Eskendereya, she has produced the Group 1 winning
turf sprinter Balmont (by Stravinsky). Aldebaran
Light is a half sister to Blazonry, sire and winner of the 2003 Lazaro Barrera
Memorial Stakes. Eskendereya's fourth dam is Queen Sucree, a
Reine de Course (superior female). She is a half sister to champion filly Tosmah and Halo, a Grade 1 winner who
was a two time leading sire and produced two Kentucky Derby winners, Sunday
Silence and Sunny’s Halo. Eskendereya’s
fifth dam, Cosmah was
the 1974 Broodmare of the year. His sixth dam Almahmoud is the
grand-dam of two major sires, the aforementioned Halo and Northern Dancer.
Additionally, her daughter Bubbling Beauty
produced one lesser known sire in the U.S., Arctic Tern.
While
it is not considered a Rasmussen Factor breeding (inbred to a superior female
within five generations), Eskendereya has breeding top and bottom to the
foundation mare Almahmoud through Queen Sucree's dam Cosmah and Natalma, the
dam of Northern Dancer, who is the third sire of Giant's Causeway. Also,
Northern Dancer was bred to Queen Sucree, producing Eskendereya's third dam,
Stellar Odyssey, giving a second inbreeding to Almahmoud.
Before
his win in the Fountain of Youth, Eskendereya’s bloodline cross or "nick"
of Giant's Causeway/Seattle Slew received a Grade of B from Werk Enicks, but
only a D grade from Truenicks. Since his win in the Wood Memorial, the
bloodline cross has been upgraded to a B+ by Enicks and receives a B from Truenicks.
Nineteen of twenty-seven Giant's
Causeway/Seattle Slew foals have reached the races (70%), with ten of them (37%)
winning. Two of them are stakes winners (7%) and three are stakes placed (12%).
Eskendereya
is a colt with a spectacular future. He has the pedigree, conformation and
racing style to be a serious 2010
Kentucky Derby contender. The buzz on the internet has him compared
favorably with Kentucky Derby winners Barbaro and Big Brown. Indeed, he has a similar approach to running
and has conquered his competition with the same ease and style.
Find
more great Pedigree Analysis and Derby coverage at Iron Maidens Thoroughbreds.