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Drysdale still grounded as Pegasus soars
By Don Wade
Scripps Howard News Service
|  | | Neil Drysdale is enjoying his success, but makes sure the focus remains on his horse Fusaichi Pegasus. |
LOUISVILLE, Ky -- Mr. Drysdale.
That's what Fusao Sekiguchi, owner of Kentucky Derby-winning Fusaichi Pegasus, calls trainer Neil Drysdale. It is the Japanese way, it is a matter of respect.
Jockey Kent Desormeaux calls the trainer Mr. Drysdale, too. Desormeaux is not from Japan; he's from Louisiana, from Cajun country.
But respect is respect, isn't it?
And even before Fusaichi Pegasus breezed to victory in the Kentucky Derby this past Saturday, Mr. Drysdale had it.
He went into racing's Hall of Fame just days before the Derby. And after Saturday's big victory the trainer, who was born in England in 1947, neatly summed up the whole thing by chirping, "I'm just so delighted for the horse."
This is the way you speak when you're a dignified Mr. Drysdale. You remember the horse comes before the trainer, and you respect the fact that today's high could soon enough turn into tomorrow's low.
Rewind eight years: Neil Drysdale was here for the Derby with A.P. Indy, and the horse was considered one of the favorites. But when A.P. Indy suffered a bruised foot, Drysdale pulled him from the race.
A high had become a sub-basement low. Drysdale skipped the Preakness Stakes -- something he hopes he doesn't have to do with the Triple-Crown potential of Fusaichi Pegasus -- and then won the Belmont
Stakes with A.P. Indy.
"I think that's a Triple Crown horse," Jenine Sahadi, trainer of The Deputy, said Sunday morning, referring to Fusaichi Pegasus. "It was a brilliant, brilliant (training) job."
Outside Barn 41 on the Churchill Downs backside, the man of brilliance leaned against a car and took questions. And he took them the way he always takes them: with one-part caution, one-part amusement.
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I'm willing to bet you
(winning the Triple Crown) doesn't change my life. ” |
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— Neil Drysdale, trainer of Fusaichi Pegasus |
Reporters wanted to know now, right this moment, if Fusaichi Pegasus, who ran one of the faster times in Derby history, would run in the Preakness in two weeks.
"These are fragile animals," said Drysdale, explaining that he wouldn't make a decision for at least several days, and possibly not until he inspects the track surface for himself at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course.
So this trainer will go about his job as he always has: emphasizing patience, planning, and more patience. Many people believe Drysdale's horse has a legitimate shot to become the first Triple-Crown winner since 1978 when Affirmed followed Secretariat (1973) and Seattle Slew (1977) in what was a golden decade for racing.
More recently, the Derby has made stars of trainers Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas. Other trainers and owners have said winning the Derby changed their lives, too, sometimes beginning with an over-the-top post-race celebration.
But anyone expecting this trainer to embrace the shining light will be disappointed. Consider his celebration on Derby night.
"I had dinner, went to bed, and then I was coughing during the night, if you really want to know," Drysdale said.
The name fits, doesn't it? Drysdale. Sometimes, the guy can be as dry as a desert martini.
But there is a time and a place for everything. Sekiguchi paid $4 million for Fusaichi Pegasus, and for that kind of money you don't want just anybody training a colt that had breeder Arthur Hancock III predicting greatness since the horse's birth.
"One of (Sekiguchi's) managers approached me and asked if I'd accept the horse," recalled Drysdale. "I said I'd be delighted."
The delighted -- and when he wants to be, delightful -- Mr. Drysdale pointed this horse toward the first Saturday in May. Along the way were four other victories this year and thousands of questions about the horse's animated ways.
Everything Mr. Drysdale wasn't, Fusaichi Pegasus was.
"Neil's a good match with about any horse," Lukas said Sunday. "But especially with this one."
Now, though, comes the question of how Drysdale will match up with a larger measure of fame and attention that, quite honestly, he does not want. Winning the Derby is a life-changing experience.
But don't tell him that.
"I'm willing to bet you it doesn't change my life," he said with his most serious look.
Care to give odds on that, sir?
"Even," he said, letting slip a small smile.
Yes, even. As in even-keeled, as in Mr. Drysdale.
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