Defeats previously unbeaten Red Bullet in the Wood Memorial and will go to Churchill Downs

In the 90 seconds after the gates flew open for the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes (G2), Fusao Sekiguchi's Fusaichi Pegasus answered every question put to him by jockey Kent Desormeaux.

Wood Memorial S. (G2)
Aqueduct, April 15, $750,000, 11/8 miles, wet fast, 1:47.92
1-FUSAICHI PEGASUS, c. 3, Mr. Prospector-Angel Fever, by Danzig.
2-Red Bullet, c. 3, Unbridled-Cargo, by Caro (Ire).
3-Aptitude, c. 3, A.P. Indy-Dokki, by Northern Dancer.

He handled the field of 11 other three-year-olds with aplomb. He took the sting of wet sand between his eyes without so much as a hitch in his powerful stride. He sprinted up to gain position, relaxed, sprinted again to split tiring horses, and took the turn running so fluidly Desormeaux feared he had put him to sleep.

There was just one question left now, and Desormeaux asked it of the $4-million colt as he hit the apex of the turn: "Just how good are you?"

Surging against the bit, Fusaichi Pegasus responded with a stretch run so dominant that it was as if it were superimposed on the race everyone else was running. Flipping his ears forward, he took off after pacesetters Red Bullet and Country Only, running them down with 220 yards to go and then drawing clear to win by 4 1/4 lengths in 1:47.92 on a wet-fast track-the fourth-fastest time in 76 editions of the race.

"The only question left is whether he can go 1 1/4 miles, and we'll find that out on the first Saturday in May," said Desormeaux with a wide smile. "Be there."

If his performance during the Wood only affirmed his status as the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby, his performance just before and after the race affirmed his role as a bit of a rascal.

While the others in the field were circling behind the starting gate ready to load, Fusaichi Pegasus delayed the start by about three minutes as he gazed with great interest at the 15,684 who had turned out to see why Sekiguchi was willing to spend $4-million for him. He joined the field only after much verbal urging from Desormeaux and a pair of outriders, one of whom dismounted and led him toward the gate.

After the race, he pulled up on the clubhouse turn and just stood there, looking out at the parking lot and imperiously ignoring attempts to coax him back to the winner's circle. Finally, a groom led him back the nearly quarter-mile to where trainer Neil Drysdale was waiting with Yukari Sekiguchi, daughter of the Japanese entrepreneur.

"He's a rebel with a cause," Desormeaux called down to the connections when Fusaichi Pegasus deigned to return, some five minutes later.

"He was very calm about the whole thing," said Drysdale. "He just likes to do things in his own time."

"You just have to be patient with him," Desormeaux added. "I was trying to encourage him and coax him and I got to talking to him and went through some different things that I thought might help, and finally he said, 'Let's go get them.' "

Always in control

Breaking cleanly, Fusaichi Pegasus sprinted into good position and Desormeaux settled him in fifth, not far off Country Only and Red Bullet, who was snugged up alongside the front-runner. On the backstretch, as Heberto Castillo Jr. slowed the pace down on Country Only, Desormeaux took a firm grip on Fusaichi Pegasus, sending him up to slide between Cat's At Home and Exchange Rate into perfect striking position behind the pacesetters on the turn.

"This was a major, major step for him," said the jockey. "What a maturing job he did today. When the doors opened he was very attentive, very businesslike. I was able to sprint into a spot, hit cruise, sprint again, hit cruise, and then shower on him in the stretch, just to keep his attention focused. I gave him some underhanded slashes under the girth, but that was just to get his attention. I wanted him to keep reaching late and to keep reaching until we said, 'OK, big fella, you've done enough.'

"There were so many questions-the wet track, the big field, and most of all, 'How good are you?' " said Desormeaux. "And he answered, 'I'm the best.' "

"I liked seeing him relax behind horses," Drysdale said. "When he asked him to go, he went, and that's very encouraging. We decided to wait until fairly late in the race. Kent set him down on the eighth pole. The whole thing unfolded like a little fairy story."

In which Fusaichi Pegasus was well aware of his lead role. Since arriving ten days earlier at Aqueduct, where he was stabled in stall number one in barn number one, the striking bay colt had been the focus of much attention, with trainer Rick Violette fielding a steady stream of visitors to his barn.

"Maybe I should start charging admission," Violette mused.

When Drysdale arrived the Sunday before the race, Fusaichi Pegasus turned on the full force of his personality. Set to go six furlongs on Monday morning, Fusaichi Pegasus elected to stand on the track for some time, staring down the maiden in whose company he was to work and looking around for almost ten minutes. He then turned in an exemplary work in 1:14 over a track that had a lot of moisture in it from the previous day's freak snowfall.

"He would stand there and the track would close down around him," Drysdale said.

With the weather report calling for unsettled weather through the week, Drysdale was pleased with the way Fusaichi Pegasus handled the wet track during his workout, which boded well for race day. On April 15, steady but light rain turned the racing strip extremely wet through the first five races, but in the hour or two after the rain let up the track dried out considerably.

"What a marvelous racing surface this is," enthused Drysdale, who will be heading to the Kentucky Derby (G1) for only the second time. His only other contender was A.P. Indy, who was scratched as the 7-to-2 choice behind Arazi in the 1992 Derby the morning of the race.

Drysdale is also very much aware that no favorite has won the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979.

"Is that good or bad? Maybe we shouldn't mention that," said Drysdale with a wry smile.

Fusaichi Pegasus was the 9-to-10 betting favorite and earned $450,00 to boost his bankroll to $666,000. He was to leave for Churchill Downs two days after the Wood on the same flight as Red Bullet, who suffered his first loss in four starts while running a credible race.

Also on the flight will be Aptitude, who closed from eighth to finish a fast-closing third, a neck ahead of Country Only, in a field of 12.

"I wanted to be back further but it is such a short run to the turn and we were already five lengths behind," said Alex Solis, who was aboard Red Bullet. "I didn't want to give up position and then be caught in traffic on the turn. I thought my horse ran a very good race, and I really liked the fact he didn't quit in the stretch. He kept wanting to run, and I think he can definitely move forward."

"I didn't think he would be as far back as he was," said trainer Bobby Frankel of Aptitude. "He was a little fussy in the gate. We'll have to work with him on that. Otherwise, he ran a good race."

As for Fusaichi Pegasus, who could earn a $250,000 bonus should he go on to become the first horse since Pleasant Colony in1981 to complete the Wood-Derby double, Drysdale has just one change planned.

"I sent him with a different pony today," said Drysdale, a Racing Hall of Fame nominee. "We won't do that again. He likes to kick and bite his regular pony. We'll make sure we have every advantage. But I do like where we are sitting."

Precise End's Bay Shore

Harry Mangurian Jr.'s homebred Precise End accelerated away from his competition at the top of Aqueduct's stretch in the $110,000 Bay Shore Stakes (G3), opened an insurmountable seven-length lead at the furlong pole, and came home with an easy 5 1/4-length win. The End Sweep colt ran seven furlongs in 1:22.27 on a track rated as good in the Bay Shore, formerly a Wood prep but now a supporting stakes for three-year-olds on the Wood program.

Bay Shore S. (G3)
Aqueduct, April 15, $110,000, 7 furlongs, good, 1:22.27
1-PRECISE END, c. 3, End Sweep-Precisely, by Summing.
2-Turnofthecentury, c. 3, Holy Bull-Greening, by Greinton (GB).
3-Port Herman, c. 3, Rahy-Dixie Luck, by Dixieland Band.

Precise End and jockey Jorge Chavez broke from the outside post position in the field of seven but quickly seized the lead and laid down a torrid pace-:22.13 for the first quarter-mile and :44.35 for the half. He shook off his challengers on the backstretch, drew away in early stretch, and reached the furlong pole in 1:08.99 for six furlongs. Turnofthecentury closed modestly to finish second, 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Port Herman. Mass Market, the 2-to-1 favorite, finished fifth while carrying the high weight of 120 pounds. Making his first start of the year, Precise End went off as the 6.30-to-1 fifth betting choice and raised his career earnings to $195,941.

Brutally Frank's Bold Ruler

Sunny Meadow Farm's Brutally Frank, an 8.10-to-1 longshot despite winning the Toboggan Handicap in his prior start, wore down .95-to-1 favorite Kelly Kip in Aqueduct's stretch to take the $109,800 Bold Ruler Handicap (G3) by a head. Kashatreya, another longshot at 12.60-to-1, finished third in the field of seven older sprinters on April 15.

Bold Ruler H. (G3)
Aqueduct, April 15, $109,800, 6 furlongs, good, 1:08.64
1-BRUTALLY FRANK, g. 6, Groovy-Rare Touch, by Rare Performer.
2-Kelly Kip, h. 6, Kipper Kelly-Marianne Theresa, by John's Gold.
3-Kashatreya, g. 6, Daring Groom-Douce Carotte, by Caro (Ire).

Ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, Brutally Frank ran the Bold Ruler's six furlongs in 1:08.64 after pressing a torrid early pace set by Kelly Kip, who whistled through the first quarter-mile in :21.53 and the half in :44.03.

The fast pace on the track listed as good began to take its toll on Kelly Kip in the stretch, and Bridgmohan went to the outside for his attack. Brutally Frank drew within a head at the furlong pole, after five furlongs in :56.06, and slowly overtook a game Kelly Kip. A six-year-old gelding by Groovy out of Rare Touch, by Rare Performer, Brutally Frank increased his career earnings to $434,284.