Eskendereya's half-sister graduates at second asking on Tampa turf



John Duca/Tom Cooley


Favored Wear Red, Eskendereya's two-year-old half-sister by first-crop sire Henny Hughes, rallied in the stretch of a one-mile maiden special weight turf test at Tampa Bay Downs today to prevail over nine rivals in her second start for conditioner Bill Mott.

The Kentucky-bred bay filly is the third winner from Seattle Slew's daughter, Aldebaran Light, who, in addition to Eskendereya, has also produced the graded stakes-winning Balmont (by Nureyev's son, Stravinsky), who captured the Shadwell Stud Middle Park Stakes-G1 and three other races in England.

Notably, each of Aldebaran Light's winners to-date is by a Northern Dancer-line stallion.  As such, they are all inbred to the influential foundation mare, Almahmoud, who is the second dam of Northern Dancer and the fifth dam of Aldebaran Light.

Wear Red's sire, Henny Hughes, is by Storm Cat's high-class son, Hennessy, whose last two-year-olds raced this year.  Henny Hughes himself was a top sprinter who captured the Grade I Vosburgh and King's Bishop but never won a race beyond seven furlongs.  To-date, he has sired two minor stakes-placed horses but has yet to get his first stakes winner.

Wear Red, who races in the colors of her breeder, Sanford R. Robertson, was offered at last year's Keeneland September sale before Eskendereya had made his first start, but was a buyback at $160,000.  In contrast, her half-sister by Giant's Causeway's son, First Samurai, sold for $525,000 at this year's Keeneland September auction, and was the top-priced yearling for her sire in 2010.

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