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Pegasus appears ready to race into history

Fusaichi Pegasus proves Derby bettors right

Frozen Moment: Pegasus takes flight



Trainers agree, Fusaichi is royalty


Neil Drysdale
Neil Drysdale won't commit Fusaichi Pegasus to the Preakness until he sees his horse's second workout next week.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- After being bothered by flies on his walk to the paddock, Fusaichi Pegasus took flight in the Kentucky Derby, the first step of what some trainers think will be a Triple Crown journey.

"That's a Triple Crown horse right there," said Jenine Sahadi, trainer of The Deputy, 14th as the second favorite in a field of 19 at Churchill Downs.

"If you ask me, he's a Triple Crown winner," said Alex Hassinger, trainer of Anees, the 1999 2-year-old champion who finished 13th.

Trainer Neil Drysdale, however, refused on Sunday to commit Fusaichi Pegasus to the Preakness.

Told that Drysdale was undecided about the May 20 race, trainer D. Wayne Lukas, whose three starters were not among the first 10 finishers, said: "Count Neil in."

Fusaichi Pegasus can get feisty but was a cool professional in becoming the first favorite to win the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979. He did kick up his heels in front of the stands on his way to be saddled.

"He got a little hot going over," Drysdale said. "Some flies got on him and he got irritated with the flies. I threw a fly sheet over him and it annoyed him, so I took it off."

The colt finished 1½ lengths ahead of Aptitude. The time of 2:01 for 1¼ miles tied the sixth fastest in 126 Derbys.

"It was very rewarding," Drysdale said.

The colt was hand ridden by Kent Desormeaux through the stretch. Drysdale was asked if the margin of victory could have been greater.

"The winning margin is not as important as people make it out to be," he said. "The idea is to win the race."

That's something Fusaichi Pegasus has done in five starts since he finished second in his only start as a 2-year-old.

"When he's good, he's good," Lukas said. "I'm hoping he's not good every day."

Fusao Skeiguchi of Japan, who bought Fusaichi Pegasus as a yearling for $4 million, said he would like to aim for the Triple Crown.

"But this will depend on how Mr. Drysdale thinks about it," he said. "I will leave the decision up to him."

Drysdale said he probably won't make a decision until after the colt has two workouts at Churchill Downs. The second workout will be next week.

"I have to see how it comes out of this race before we go on to the next one," he said.

Drysdale also was undecided about the next race for War Chant, ninth in the Derby.

Should Fusaichi Pegasus go to Baltimore and win the Preakness, he would be the fourth straight Derby winner to have a shot at becoming the 12th Triple Crown champion.

Silver Charm (1997) and Real Quiet (1998) finished second in the Belmont Stakes and Charismatic finished third last year. The Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978.

Lukas, at a loss to explain the 15th-place finish of High Yield, said the Blue Grass winner will run in the Preakness. His other two Derby starters, Exchange Rate (11th) and Commendable (17th), will not.

"I haven't made up my mind yet," said Harold Rose, the 88-year-old owner-trainer of Florida Derby winner Hal's Hope, who finished 16th after leading for the first three-quarters of a mile. He said the colt stumbled leaving the gate and sustained some cuts on his left foreleg.

Hassinger said he did not know what is next for Anees, but Sahadi said The Deputy will go back to California and return to racing on the grass, a surface he raced on in his five starts in England last year and for his U.S. debut Jan. 2.

"That's not to say he won't run on dirt again," said Sahadi, who was trying to become the first female trainer to win a Kentucky Derby.

"Obviously, I'm disappointed, but I'm grateful the horse is fine. Chris (McCarron, the jockey) said he never was comfortable, that he never was really into it."

Trainer Bobby Frankel said the stretch-running Aptitude will skip the 1 3/16 Preakness and aim for the 1½-mile Belmont Stakes.

Impeachment, More Than Ready and Wheelaway, third through fifth, respectively, in the Derby, are possible Preakness starters.

Three colts, who did not run in Derby, but are being considered for the Preakness are Red Bullet, second to Fusaichi Pegasus in the Wood Memorial; Snuck In, runner-up in the Arkansas Derby; and Performing Magic, the Derby Trial winner.

Last year, Lukas was elected to National Racing Hall of Fame during Derby week, then won the race with Charismatic. On Tuesday, Drysdale was elected to the hall, as was A.P. Indy, the colt he had to scratch the morning of the 1992 Derby because of a foot problem. A.P. Indy went on to become Horse of the Year.

In beating Aptitude, Fusaichi Pegasus, a son of the great sire Mr. Prospector, defeated a son of A.P. Indy.


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