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The Paulick Report is pleased to once again offer the pedigree insights of Edwin Anthony in the weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby. Ed has lifelong experience in the Thoroughbred industry, has practical experience planning matings for his family’s stable and formerly as a pedigree adviser to Three Chimneys Farm. His perspective is straightforward and refreshingly opinionated, and I advise anyone interested in Thoroughbred pedigrees to pick up a copy of his book, “The American Thoroughbred (Volume One)”—available for purchase here.

In this first of a series of articles, he looks at the pedigree of Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth winner Eskendereya. – Ray Paulick

ESKENDEREYA (Giant’s Causeway—Aldebaran Light, by Seattle Slew)
By Edwin Anthony
I wrote a series of eight pedigree profiles for horses on the “Triple Crown trail” starting about this time last year, and recent Fountain of Youth (G2) winner Eskendereya will serve as the first horse in our series this season. It’s interesting to look back at the horses we profiled last year (Friesan Fire, Quality Road, Pioneerof the Nile, Dunkirk, I Want Revenge, Papa Clem, Chocolate Candy, Rachel Alexandra) to see how they fared.

Quality Road is obviously a top horse (he missed the Triple Crown with quarter cracks), while Dunkirk and Pioneerof the Nile were each able to place in one classic race, and I wrote a token piece about Rachel Alexandra because she looked like a very special filly, even though she had not won anything more than a G2 race at that stage.  Only a fortune teller could have predicted Rachel Alexandra’s Horse of the Year campaign after changing hands or the rapid ascension of Birdstone (sire of longshot classic winners Mine That Bird and Summer Bird) as a major classic influence.

Even though I have studied Thoroughbred pedigrees for going on 25 years, no one can get around the folly of bad luck, injuries in training, or the fact that many horses look dominant going nine furlongs (a mile-and-an-eighth) but simply aren’t up to the demanding task of running classic distances at a competitive speed.

That’s the mystery of stamina and genetics that we’re constantly trying to figure out.  Of course, even a horse that is capable of competing at classic distances still needs to put out the effort, and sometimes horses have off-days just like people.

If nothing else, we strive to learn about the strengths and limitations of the stallions and ancestors under discussion and hope to come out smarter on the other side.  At the very least, we want to learn what strategies are working in pedigrees, even if some of them aren’t up to the classic standard.  Who are the soundest horses, where is the stamina coming from, and what ancestors are best to inbreed to?  These are the answers we’re looking for.

Pedigree analysts (like myself) try to identify patterns in graded stakes results as a way of predicting the future.  Given that the Storm Cat line has been a poor source of classic winners, then you probably wouldn’t want to lean heavily on Storm Cat’s sons (or stallions out of Storm Cat mares) in your stallion recommendations for breeders that want to breed for the classics.  The Storm Cat line hasn’t had a winner of a Triple Crown race since Tabasco Cat in 1994, although Bluegrass Cat was second in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and Travers in 2006.  You should note that Bluegrass Cat is out of a mare by classic influence A.P. Indy and his dam is heavily inbred to the foundation mare La Troienne, including being from the Numbered Account (champion 2YO filly by Buckpasser) branch of that important family.

So, while the Storm Cat line is dominant in 2-year-old racing and in races contested at distances of 9 furlongs or shorter, it does not appear capable of producing classic types, unless there is a LOT of help on the dam side of the equation.  Of course, when you start to speak in these kinds of absolutes, a special horse can come along and provide us with the exception to the rule.

Storm Cat’s son Giant’s Causeway was a tough campaigner in Europe out of a good racemare by Rahy, with a second dam by English Derby winner and classic influence Roberto.  He was undeniably consistent and high class, winning a series of Group 1 races at more than a mile. In his final start, he gave classic distance specialist Tiznow a real run for his money in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, that being his only start on dirt.  So, Giant’s Causeway was sound, very fast, and capable of competing with top horses at the American classic distance of 10 furlongs (a mile-and-a-quarter).  This makes him an exception among sons of Storm Cat, as most of his sons that have found any measure of success at stud were much better at a mile or less and have passed on this penchant for speed among their progeny.

Giant’s Causeway has already sired Grade 1 winners in America over 10 furlongs like Heatseeker (Santa Anita Handicap), Frost Giant (Suburban), and Red Giant (NWR, Clement L. Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship), so you can see that if there is a son of Storm Cat capable of siring an American classic winner, then Giant’s Causeway is probably the one.

The runaway win by Eskendereya (by Giant’s Causeway) in the Fountain of Youth (G2) was more than visually impressive.  You could see that the horse really relished the opportunity to go two turns, and he is now 3 for 3 on the dirt, his only losses coming in his first start (a maiden event on turf at Saratoga) and a poor effort in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), contested over the synthetic surface at Santa Anita.  He was reported to have a troubled trip in that race as well.

I have often thought that a true classic type horse is able to simply get into a steady gallop and carve out “12’s,” which is to say that he can consistently complete each furlong of a race in 12 seconds.  It becomes increasingly difficult to do with each furlong, as the muscles begin to tire, and Secretariat’s world record time of 2:24 in the 1973 Belmont (over 12 furlongs) is the best example of a horse being able to accomplish this feat over such a distance.  It’s not about an explosive move or “turn of foot” with classic horses; it’s steady horsepower over a distance.  Classic horses “stay” (as the Europeans like to say), while horses more suited to shorter distances simply run out of gas, unable to maintain a steady stream of “12’s” on the toteboard teletimer.

This is exactly what Eskendereya did to the field in the Fountain of Youth (G2)—he galloped them into submission.  After taking over after a half-mile in a soft 47.92, he completed six furlongs in 1:12.41, a mile in 1:36.54, with a final time for nine furlongs of 1:48.87, echoing the many 12-second furlongs before the last one.  So, like several other sons of Giant’s Causeway, Eskendereya looks capable of running a distance of ground as far as 10 furlongs at a competitive rate of speed.  Let’s look at the bottom side of his pedigree to check for more stamina.

Eskendereya’s damsire, Seattle Slew, won the Triple Crown and has been a very successful classic influence, with descendants like A.P. Indy (Belmont, Breeders’ Cup Classic), Bernardini (Preakness, Travers), Cigar (Breeders’ Cup Classic, Dubai World Cup), Lemon Drop Kid (Belmont, Travers), Mineshaft (Jockey Club Gold Cup, Suburban), and Slew o’ Gold (Jockey Club Gold Cup twice) serving as notable examples.

Alydar (second in all 3 Triple Crown races to Affirmed) is the sire of Eskendereya’s second dam, and beyond the fact that he sired two Kentucky Derby winners (Alysheba and Strike the Gold) and a Belmont winner (Easy Goer), Horse of the Year Point Given (Preakness, Belmont, Travers) was produced by a mare by champion Turkoman, he being a son of Alydar.

We know that inbreeding to the family of Almahmoud (second dam of both Halo and Northern Dancer) has been quite successful, and Giant’s Causeway is a very good example of this, as Storm Cat is a grandson of Northern Dancer and Rahy (his damsire) is out of a mare by Halo.  The pedigree of Eskendereya shows why a six-generation computer program is a good investment, as his third dam carries intensive inbreeding to the Almahmoud family as well.  His third dam is by Northern Dancer himself (giving Eskendereya “balanced” inbreeding to Northern Dancer—through a son and a daughter), and while his fourth dam was sired by the stout stamina influence Ribot (winner of the 12-furlong “Arc” twice) his fifth dam is actually the mare Cosmah, she being the dam of Halo and a daughter of Almahmoud. Thus, Eskendereya is not only inbred to Northern Dancer through  a son and a daughter, he is inbred to Halo’s dam, Cosmah, 6 x 5 and carries four total crosses of Almahmoud.

As the ancestors Northern Dancer, Halo, and their granddam Almahmoud get further back in pedigrees, this reinforcement strategy of crossing horses inbred to Almahmoud should continue to find success and revive their influence in classic pedigrees.  My parents bred and raced Preakness winner Pine Bluff (inbred 4 x 4 to Almahmoud), and I have noticed him working well with reinforcement of Almahmoud’s genes, crossing successfully with stallions like More Than Ready (by Southern Halo—closely inbred to Almahmoud), Menifee (by Harlan—closely inbred to Almahmoud), and Jules (from the Northern Dancer family and carrying Halo in his pedigree).  So, it seems to be a strategy that is paying dividends with stallions and mares already carrying inbreeding to Almahmoud.

Given the fact that Giant’s Causeway has already proven capable of siring runners that excel at classic distances, and the fact that Eskendereya carries a number of other classic influences in his pedigree (Seattle Slew, Alydar, Ribot, and intensive inbreeding to the influential Almahmoud family), I’d say that his classic prospects look very bright indeed.  His clear preference for dirt racing and ability to string together one 12 second furlong after another only boosts his stock, in my opinion.  If Eskenereya can arrive in Louisville with a solid Florida Derby (G1) effort under his belt, he should be a very strong contender.
 
Edwin Anthony was the staff pedigree consultant at Three Chimneys Farm for six years and has penned dozens of articles on pedigree research.  He also published The American Thoroughbred (Volume I) in 2008, which can be ordered via the banner ad link on this web page or on his web site at www.thoroughbredadvisor.com.

By Ray Paulick

Reigning Horse of the Year Curlin edged past a stubborn pacesetter, Past the Point, to win the Grade 1 Woodward by a length and a quarter at Saratoga Saturday and move closer to Cigar’s earnings record of $9,999,815 for a North America-based Thoroughbred.

(VIDEO, Equibase charts for Saratoga)

Under regular rider Robby Albarado, Curlin broke well, but was jostled and carried out a bit wide into the first turn of the nine-furlong Woodward, then settled into fourth position as Edgar Prado guided Past the Point through quick early fractions of :22.89, :46.20 and 1:09.61. Wanderin Boy prompted the early pace.

Albarado asked Curlin for more run approaching the far turn, passed Wanderin Boy at the head of the stretch and set his sights on Past the Point, who came into the Woodward with just one graded stakes appearance (a third in last year’s Grade 2 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs) in nine starts. But the Eoin Harty-trained son of Indian Charlie racing for Darley Stable made Curlin work for the win. Albarado went to the whip a half-dozen times, getting up in the final furlong to grind out a hard-earned victory. Past the Point was second, with Wanderin Boy third. Final time of the race on a fast track was 1:49.34 after a mile split of 1:35.33. All starters carried 126 pounds.

It was Curlin’s first race at Saratoga and his 10th win in 14 lifetime starts. The 4-year-old son of Smart Strike races for Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and is trained by Steve Asmussen. The win in the $500,000 Woodward moved his career earnings to $9,796,800, putting him just over $200,000 shy of Cigar’s record. 

The Woodward was Curlin’s fourth win in five starts this year, his only defeat coming last time out in the Grade 1 Man o’ War at Belmont Park when Jackson wanted to try the horse on grass before a possible trip to France for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. That idea was scrapped when Curlin finished second to Red Rocks and now Jackson is thought to be considering the Japan Cup Dirt the first week of December. He has indicated that Curlin will not defend his title in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, won last year on a very sloppy track at Monmouth Park but scheduled on Santa Anita Park’s untested Pro-Ride synthetic track this year.

Curlin paid $2.70 as the heavy betting favorite.

FIRST DEFENCE went wire to wire to win the Grade 1 Forego after heavy favorite Lucky Island stumbled badly and was pinched back at the start. Under jockey Channing HIll, the 4-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song fought off an early duel with Eternal Star, setting fractions of :22.53, :44.61, and 1:08.49, then drawing off to win by 6 3/4 lengths, completing seven furlongs on a fast track in 1:21.55. Greeley’s Conquest finished second, with Ferocious Fires third. Lucky Island, who came into the Forego off four straight victories, moved into contention at the top of the stretch after falling back to last, but was unable to sustain his rally and wound up sixth.

The Forego winner runs for his breeder, Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms, and is trained by Robert Frankel. He was winning for the sixth time in 12 starts, but his only previous graded stakes victory came in the Grade 3 Jaipur. First Defence paid $17.60.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick

Garrett Gomez capped a huge weekend Sunday at Del Mar, winning the $1-million Pacific Classic aboard Peter Vegso’s Go Between, who wore down Well Armed in the final sixteenth of a mile to win by a neck. Mast Track finished third and Zappa was fourth in the 18th running of the mile and a quarter contest, whose winner gained an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic by taking one of the "Win and You’re In" challenge races.

(VIDEO)

(DEL MAR’S SUNDAY EQUIBASE CHARTS)

Gomez won Saturday’s $1-million Travers Stakes at Saratoga by a nose aboard Colonel John for WinStar Farm, then beat WinStar, the owner of Well Armed, in the Pacific Classic.

 Barcola took the early lead in the Pacific Classic under Corey Nakatani, setting fractions of :23.40 for the quarter-mile, :47.36 for the half, and 1:12.20 for six furlongs. Well Armed sat to Barcola’s outside flank for most of the running, with Surf Cat to his inside. Go Between was taken well off the early pace, racing third from last in the field of 10 older horses (after the scratch of McCann’s Mojave due to a minor injury).

When the field straightened for home, the mile clocked in 1:37.06, jockey Aaron Gryder moved Well Armed to the front, but Go Between was in full stride out in the middle of the track, circling the field and steadily cutting into the lead. The 5-year-old Florida-bred son of Point Given caught Well Armed inside the sixteenth pole and began to edge away for the win, his eighth in 26 starts. Time for the 10 furlongs on Polytrack was 2:01.18.

The winner is a well-traveled horse who has excelled on turf and synthetic tracks for Vegso and Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott. He won the Grade 3 Fayette on Keeneland’s Polytrack last October and the Sunshine Millions Classic at Santa Anita on Cushion Track in January. He was narrowly beaten by Heatseeker in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and second to Mast Track in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup June 28 (also on Cushion Track) in his most recent start. Between those two races, Go Between finished  second in Keeneland’s Grade 2 Ben Ali.

Go Between trained up to the Pacific Classic at Churchill Downs.

It was the fourth Pacific Classic victory for jockey Gomez and the first for Mott, who is best remembered at Del Mar for bringing Allen Paulson’s Cigar to the 1996 Pacific Classic in search of his record 17th consecutive victory. But Cigar’s streak ended that day when he was upset by the Richard Mandella-trained Dare and Go. This was Mott’s first Pacific Classic runner since 1996.

Go Between earned $600,000 for owner-breeder Vegso, the publisher of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" inspirational book series. It boosted his lifetime earnings to $2,783,880. Go Between paid $7.60 for the win as the 5-2 favorite.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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Del Mar racetrack on opening day is a little like that restaurant Yogi Berra used to talk about: "No one goes there anymore; it’s too crowded," he has often been quoted as saying.

There were 43,459 on-hand Wednesday, the largest opening in the track’s history and the second-largest crowd ever behind the 44,181 who turned out for the 1996 Pacific Classic when Cigar was upset by Dare And Go.

Many of the daily regulars at the track where the turf meets the surf stay home on opening day to avoid the gridlock that begins on the city streets and extends to the admission gates and throughout the facility. 

Some of the attendees might have been aware there was horse racing going on throughout the day, but as always more people were at the Del Mar opening to see and be seen rather than watch Thoroughbreds racing. Some also might have noticed that the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club doubled the price of clubhouse admission just for opening day from $10 to $20, but that had no apparent effect on attendance. Neither did the $4.75 per gallon gas prices or the foreclosure crisis that has hit California particularly hard.

The decision to raise opening day prices was made before some of the problems in the economy surfaced, said Joe Harper, the longtime president of Del Mar. "As someone who takes nine kids to Sea World, coming to Del Mar is still a pretty good deal," Harper said.

The track’s marketing team said past surveys indicated to them that a majority of the opening day fans weren’t aware of admission prices. Track regulars who are in the Diamond Club rewards program pay just $3 for grandstand admission and $6 for the clubhouse.

This was the second year for the synthetic Polytrack surface, and Del Mar has changed its maintenance procedures to speed up the track in the afternoons. There were numerous complaints by horsemen in 2007 that the surface became too slow in the afternoon heat, especially compared to its condition during morning training hours. The temperature of the surface is now being monitored throughout the day, and water is added to cool it down whenever necessary. That process began shortly after training hours on Wednesday.

The result was a much faster track, with several track records set throughout the day.

No opening day would be complete without the "One and Only Truly Fabulous Hats Contest," which has become a popular tradition at the track. Some of the hats are fashionable and others are outrageous and ridiculous. Some of them come with message. One of the day’s winners, in the "best flowers" division, was Crystal Chessher, whose pink floral hat was a tribute to the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure breast cancer awareness charity. Dozens of ribbons attached to the flying saucer-sized hat had the names of breast cancer patients who were an inspiration for Chessher.

On a far lighter note, one of the finalists in the "funniest or most outrageous" category wore a Batman costume topped off by a bizarre horse’s head hat. He was accompanied by someone dressed as the Joker. Batman was chased out of the winner’s circle area by track officials before the post parade for the day’s seventh race for fear he might scare the horses.

It’s a good thing there weren’t any young children around.

By Ray Paulick

Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report

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