Injured star Eskendereya’s racing career over, will be sold to Jess Jackson

Eskendereya retired, sold

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Injured Wood Memorial winner Eskendereya has been retired due to a leg injury.

Owner Ahmed Zayat said Friday tests showed the 3-year-old colt’s had a soft tissue injury in his left front leg. The likely Kentucky Derby favorite was pulled a week before the race with swelling in the same leg.

Zayat also announced he’s selling a share of the horse to winemaker Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables. The sale price was not disclosed.

Eskendereya (Es-ken-DRAY-ah) stamped himself as the likely favorite in the Kentucky Derby after winning two major prep races by a combined 18¼ lengths. He was pulled from the Derby six days before the Run for the Roses due to swelling in the injured leg.

The horse underwent diagnostic testing in Lexington this week. Zayat said the injury is career-ending.

“We had numerous doctors look at him and putting all the things together, it was the right call,” he said.

Zayat agreed to sell a portion of Eskendereya as part of a reorganization plan after his racing operation declared bankruptcy. The horse’s value was based on his performance in the Wood and the Fountain of Youth, and Zayat the horse sold for more than the valuation price.

“Eskendereya make our (reorganization) plan much more appealing to be confirmed,” he said.

Fifth Third Bank alleged in a lawsuit filed in December in U.S. District Court in Lexington that Zayat Stables defaulted on $34 million in loans. Zayat filed for bankruptcy protection on behalf of the stable Feb. 3 and filed a reorganization plan last month.

Zayat called the sale “bittersweet” but said it was important for him to retain a share of the horse. He did not give specifics of the sale, only saying that his ownership was “significant.”

“He’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse,” Zayat said.

Eskendereya is the latest high-profile acquisition by Jackson. He purchased superstar filly Rachel Alexandra shortly after she won the Kentucky Oaks last spring and immediately entered her in the Preakness, where she became the first filly in 83 years to beat the boys.

Rachel Alexandra went on to become the Horse of the Year. She has struggled at age 4, finishing second in each of her two races following a long layoff.

Jackson also owns two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. Zayat said he’s not sure where Eskendereya will stand at stud.

“Eskendereya is best of class and his progeny will only add to his legacy and that of American racing,” Jackson said in a statement.

Eskendereya certainly appeared to be the best of the 3-year-old crop this spring.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the Derby with Super Saver, called Eskendereya the best 3-year-old he’s ever trained and lamented the abrupt end of the colt’s career.

“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,” Pletcher said.

Eskendereya was unbeaten in four starts on dirt and just appeared to be blossoming this spring after ending his 2-year-old campaign with a disappointing ninth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita last November.

He grew up over the winter, winning an allowance race at Gulfstream Park in January then serving notice that he arrived with an 8½-length win in the Fountain of Youth. He backed it up with a dazzling victory in the Wood, where he broke away from the field at the top of the stretch in a 9¾-length romp with no urging from jockey John Velazquez.

“We’ve been fortunate to have some really, really good horses over the years,” he said. “I don’t think we ever had one at this stage of his development that’s this good. … He’s special.”

Pletcher, however, became alarmed when he noticed inflammation in the leg after Eskendereya’s gallop over a sloppy track April 24, a week before the Derby.

The swelling grew worse overnight, and Pletcher sent Zayat a text at 4:30 a.m. on April 25 expressing his concerns. Two hours later, Eskendereya was out of the Derby and his career was over.

It remains a difficult subject for Zayat, who finished second in the Derby last year with Pioneerof the Nile.

“It still hurts and it will take awhile,” he said. “I’m being comforted these days. Thank god the horse is here, he’s still healthy. I might see his babies and have joy from them. That would be some sort of consolation.”