Bountiful talent and good fortune were key elements in Fusaichi Pegasus's breathtaking Kentucky Derby performance

The racing industry has turned itself inside out in recent years searching for that most elusive of marketing entities-the superstar horse. But the Triple Crown has become the main stage for a series of teases and tragedies.

Arazi seemed to be about to give the sport a superstar to market to the masses, but his meteoric rise in the 1991 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) led not to superstardom but to a total eclipse in the '92 Kentucky Derby (G1).

Then there were Holy Bull and Unbridled's Song, sublimely talented three-year-olds who, for varied reasons, failed to exhibit their best form on the first Saturday in May.

Then came the past three years. Silver Charm, Real Quiet, and Charismatic all possessed intangible qualities for stardom, either through their backgrounds or through the personalities of their connections. All three reached the Belmont Stakes (G1) with a Triple Crown within their reach, and an eager sports public prepared to bestow the deserved accolades on them if they succeeded. For varied reasons, all three failed.

The racing gods, it seemed, were sending a sign. Racing heroes must be carefully nurtured and allowed to find flight on their own. They cannot be marketed into stardom.

So in the context of all that had occurred before the 126th renewal of the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs, it was easy to see why some cynics cast a skeptical eye toward Fusaichi Pegasus. The colt gave every indication of being a star in the making, perhaps even a superstar. But everything had to go just right for Fusaichi Pegasus, who did not reach the races until mid-December of his two-year-old season and was facing 18 other three-year-olds in a 1 1/4-mile race that would test his temper, tractability, and ability to weave in and out of traffic.

It turned out that everything, from the time he stepped on the track in December at Hollywood Park until he entered the winner's circle on Derby day, went just right.

He never took a bad step, according to trainer Neil Drysdale. He also got a break. A late scratch in the Derby moved Fusaichi Pegasus to starting post 15, the inside of the auxiliary gate, and gave jockey Kent Desormeaux plenty of early maneuverability.

Desormeaux took advantage. He hugged the rail, picked off rivals one by one, then swung wide coming out of the final turn, found an opening, and cruised to a 1 1/2-length victory over Aptitude. Impeachment closed on the rail to take third from More Than Ready. Wheelaway was fifth and Godolphin Racing's China Visit finished sixth.

Highly regarded The Deputy (Ire), and High Yield both ran disappointing races to finish 14th and 15th, respectively.

When Fusaichi Pegasus crossed the finish line first, he became the first favorite to win the Derby in 21 years, the first to do so without winning at age two in 33 years, the first to win the Derby off just one two-year-old start in 35 years, and only the third three-year-old in the past 80 years to win the Derby in just his sixth career start.

"With 20 horses you do need to have racing luck," Drysdale said. "It's good to have the horse, but you've got to have the breaks. We didn't miss a beat, and that's what it takes to win a Derby. Everything went smoothly. History does repeat itself but, at the same time, new things do happen."

The racing gods may have been sending us all a sign about Fusaichi Pegasus. That may have been telling on Drysdale's mind when a man approached him on the track an hour after the race as he walked back to the barn and asked him to sign a hand-held Fusaichi Pegasus fan. Drysdale asked his name, peered toward the stable area pondering what to write, then broke out in a sly smile.

"To Mike," Drysdale wrote. "Good luck, Neil."

Born to run

By the late Mr. Prospector out of Angel Fever, a stakes-placed Danzig mare and a full sister to 1992 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Pine Bluff, Fusaichi Pegasus was bred by Arthur B. Hancock III and Stonerside Ltd. and represents the finest elements of Central Kentucky's breeding industry.

When Hancock sent him through the sales ring at Keeneland during the 1998 July selected yearling sale, Japanese entrepreneur Fusao Sekiguchi was entranced. Two years earlier, he had purchased seven yearlings at the July sale for $5.7-million but defaulted on the payments after encountering business problems in Japan. Restored to full standing with Keeneland, Sekiguchi went to $4-million to purchase Fusaichi Pegasus, the most spent for a horse at the July sale since the buying orgies of the 1980s ended with the '85 sale.

It could have been another example of a talented American-bred horse leaving for Japan, where the purses are significantly greater, but the 64-year-old Sekiguchi had other ideas. Having already won the Japanese Derby (1996), he wanted to win a Kentucky Derby.

"To me, racing is a hobby, it's not my business," Sekiguchi said through his interpreter, Mikki Tsuge. "The income and the outgoing money is not really my concern as a business, so I really didn't think about it. As soon as I acquired the colt, I intended to keep him in the States and knew he should run in the States. There is the challenge and the romance of racing, which I love."

The next step was to find a trainer, and Sekiguchi took a contrarian view when he selected Drysdale. The taciturn disciple of legendary trainer Charlie Whittingham had Racing Hall of Fame credentials-he would, in fact, be announced as a 2000 inductee four days before the Derby-but had never saddled a Kentucky Derby starter. The closest he had ever gotten was with A.P. Indy, who was scratched from the 1992 Derby on race morning because of a bruised foot.

"I asked people in the industry, pinhookers and people in that area, and they all said Mr. Drysdale was very difficult, very strict, very correct," Sekiguchi said. "My impression was that Mr. Drysdale was the most disliked trainer among all those people, and I knew he would be the right person to train my horse."

The master and his plan

When the colt arrived in Drysdale's barn in March of 1999 as a strapping two-year-old who had grown significantly since his yearling sale, Drysdale immediately knew that the path to the Derby would require patience. He did not even take Fusaichi Pegasus to Del Mar last summer, preferring to leave him in training at San Luis Rey Downs. He kept another unraced but promising two-year-old named War Chant at San Luis Rey. A May foal, War Chant would also get his career off to a late start but would also make it to the Derby for Drysdale.

"The $4-million equation goes out the door (when a horse arrives)," Drysdale said. "When a horse comes in, you look at him as an individual as to what to do and where to go with him and try to think what's the best for him. We thought he was big and needed maturing and would come good later on in the year."

Fusaichi Pegasus made his career debut at Hollywood Park on December 11, finishing second to David Copperfield in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race after dueling down the lane. Victor Espinoza was in the saddle. Kent Desormeaux slipped into the saddle for Fusaichi Pegasus's three-year-old debut on January 2 at Santa Anita Park, which he won by two widening lengths. Desormeaux would stay with the colt all the way into the Derby, riding him to victories in all of his next three starts: a 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Santa Anita on February 19, the San Felipe Stakes (G2) on March 19, and the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct on April 15.

The withering burst of acceleration Fusaichi Pegasus displayed in the Wood Memorial had many wondering if the colt was a superstar in the making. But the naysayers were out, too. They watched Fusaichi Pegasus stop on the far turn, intent on staring at a parking lot, before loading in the starting gate. They wondered if 150,000 people at Churchill Downs might send him into a frenzy on Derby day, ‡ la Unbridled's Song in 1996.

Meanwhile, Drysdale remained nonplussed. He would train the horse his way. Even when Fusaichi Pegasus dumped his exercise rider, fell on the track, and rolled over following a morning jog on April 27, Drysdale refused to panic, simply bringing in another exercise rider from his Southern California base. Two days before the Derby, Drysdale schooled Fusaichi Pegasus and War Chant in the paddock during racing. Fusaichi Pegasus lathered up between his hind legs heading over to the paddock, but he relaxed and was as chilly as Michael Jordan at the basketball free-throw line once he entered his stall.

Drysdale remembered this on Derby day. The colt again lathered up on the way over to the paddock, even bucking at one point when Drysdale put a nylon blanket on him to shoo away flies. Once inside the paddock, Drysdale and four attendants doused Fusaichi Pegasus with ice water, patted him, and spoke lovingly to him. He stayed in the stall from the time he entered the paddock until it was time for riders up, and he never turned a hair.

"He schooled well the other day and was quite happy to stand there," Drysdale said. "So we just let him stand there (on Derby day). The flies irritated him a bit going over and got him a bit annoyed, but there weren't any flies in the paddock, so he settled. Once we put the ice water on, it cooled off. It was bloody hot in the paddock."

The quantity-quality match

A full field of 20 was entered in this year's Derby. It was not so much a matter that no one was scared of the 2.30-to-1 favorite, it was just that a lot of the starters earned their Derby spots on merit.

Second choice at 4.60-to-1 was The Deputy (Ire), who had won the Santa Anita Derby (G1) on April 8 in just his third start over dirt after beginning his racing career in England. It was generally acknowledged that trainer Jenine Sahadi had an outstanding chance of becoming the first female trainer to ever win the Derby.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas was back for the 20th consecutive year, this time with three runners. The linchpin of his quest for a fifth Derby victory was High Yield, who had won the Blue Grass (G1) and Fountain of Youth (G1) Stakes, though some questioned whether he had benefited from tracks that favored inside speed in those races. He would end up breaking from post 17, however, which would prove testing.

High Yield and another Lukas runner, Commendable, were part of an entry sent off the third choice at 6.20-to-1. The entry also included Trippi and Impeachment from the barn of former Lukas assistant Todd Pletcher, who was also sending out Arkansas Derby (G2) winner Graeme Hall and Blue Grass runner-up More Than Ready. Pletcher was the first trainer in Derby history to send out four starters in his Derby debut.

Trainer Bob Baffert was also back, seeking his third Derby victory in four years with 8.10-to-1 shot Captain Steve. The Fly So Free colt had been one of the leading two-year-olds in the country last year, winning three Grade 1 or 2 stakes. He was 0-for-3 as a three-year-old but had trained sharply at Churchill Downs. Still, lingering doubts nagged about his ability to get 1 1/4 miles. There were others of note in the field, including champion two-year-old and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Anees, who had been restricted to two starts at three, had put in two so-so workouts in the days leading up to the Derby, and was 17.10-to-1.

Godolphin Racing launched Year Two of its campaign to win the Kentucky Derby with a ship-in from Dubai, sending out the entry of United Arab Emirates Derby winner China Visit and Curule at 23.70-to-1.

Aptitude had closed strong to finish third in the Wood Memorial and had become the Derby's annual "wise-guy" horse at 11.80-to-1.

Clear sailing

Drysdale selected post position 16 for Fusaichi Pegasus in the draw three days before the race. When Turfway Spiral Stakes (G2) winner Globalize was kicked by his pony and suffered a cut that necessitated scratching him from the race, Fusaichi Pegasus slid over to post 15, the inside of the auxiliary gate. That gave him plenty of room to maneuver at the break, which would prove favorable.

Kentucky Derby (G1)
Churchill Downs, May 6, $1,338,400, 11/4 miles, fast, 2:01.12
1-FUSAICHI PEGASUS, c. 3, Mr. Prospector-Angel Fever, by Danzig.
2-Aptitude, c. 3, A.P. Indy-Dokki, by Northern Dancer.
3-Impeachment, c. 3, Deputy Minister-Misconduct, by Criminal Type.

"We were fortunate to move into that post position," Drysdale said. "That was really bad luck for Jerry (Hollendorfer, Globalize's trainer), and I really felt for him because that's the second time it's happened to him. It's happened to me (with A.P. Indy) so I felt for him."

Desormeaux, who won his first Derby two years ago aboard Real Quiet, used that experience to his advantage at the break. Fusaichi Pegasus, normally a sharp gate horse, was slightly flat-footed at the break and found himself briefly sandwiched between Graeme Hall and Exchange Rate. The colt was farther back than usual as the field jockeyed for position the first time down the track. But a path opened that allowed Desormeaux to shift Fusaichi Pegasus over to the rail, which had been the place to be during the early part of the Derby day card.

Around the seventh-eighths pole, Aptitude came off the rail slightly, giving Desormeaux riding room on the rail. He began to work the colt up through the field. Up front, Florida Derby (G1) winner Hal's Hope and Flamingo Stakes (G3) winner Trippi, who broke from neighboring posts, carried on an anticipated early duel, zipping through an opening quarter in :22.47 and a half in :45.99, both among the fastest in Derby history.

By the time the field reached the far turn after three-quarters in 1:09.99 (co-second-fastest of all time), Fusaichi Pegasus was still on the rail, tucked in with the pack immediately behind Hal's Hope and Trippi. Both colts were ready to fade, but that would not happen until the top of the lane. With several stalkers ready to pounce on the pacesetters, including More Than Ready, Captain Steve, and field horse Wheelaway, the rail was becoming a less attractive proposition for Desormeaux.

Then the decisive path that often opens up somewhere between the five-sixteenths and three-sixteenths pole on Derby day appeared for Fusaichi Pegasus. China Visit had commenced rallying outside Fusaichi Pegasus but, as the field swung out of the far turn, Desormeaux glanced at Frankie Dettori and saw that he had gone to the whip on China Visit, who was not accelerating to fill a gap that was opening on the outside. Desormeaux sent the colt into the breach and, as the field hit the top of the lane, Fusaichi Pegasus had clear sailing.

By this point, More Than Ready, Captain Steve, and Wheelaway were fighting to assert their authority. Captain Steve had poked his nose in front at the top of the lane, but Richard Migliore hit Wheelaway right-handed and he hung a left, crowding Captain Steve into More Than Ready and causing the colt to weaken.

But Desormeaux and Fusaichi Pegasus were making all that a moot point. With Desormeaux giving his mount just a couple of right-handed taps near the eighth pole, Fusaichi Pegasus smoothly took the lead and drew off. Aptitude and Alex Solis followed the same path that Fusaichi Pegasus took at the top of the lane and gave chase, but it was futile. Desormeaux hand-rode Fusaichi Pegasus the final 200 yards, and he crossed the finish line in 2:01.12, .06 of a second slower than Grindstone in 1996 and the seventh-fastest Derby of all time.

Aptitude finished second, giving Solis his third second-place finish in the past four Derbys. It was four lengths back to Impeachment, who was last for more than a half-mile before unleashing a solid late kick under Craig Perret. More Than Ready outlasted Wheelaway for fourth, with China Visit, Curule, Captain Steve, War Chant, Deputy Warlock, Trippi, Exchange Rate, Anees, The Deputy (Ire), High Yield, Hal's Hope, Commendable, Ronton, and Graeme Hall filling out the field in that order.

The Deputy and High Yield both ran wide for most of the race and never seriously reached contention. Anees, breaking from the inside post, took a left coming out of the gate, had to be jerked to his right by jockey Corey Nakatani to keep him from hitting the rail, and was never a factor. Meanwhile, Desormeaux said he and Fusaichi Pegasus are bonding more and more as they go.

"Each time I ride him, I ride him an additional furlong since my first time I rode him," Desormeaux said. "And every time I ride him he becomes more attentive and more like a pony. He understands what my calls are and seems to be easier and easier to ride. I think we've become one."

The next chapter starts when?

Fusaichi Pegasus's victory vindicated Sekiguchi's faith in the colt and ensured that he would make his $4-million back. He earned $1,038,400, including a $150,000 bonus from the New York Racing Association for winning the Wood and Derby, the first time a Derby winner has earned more than $1-million in the race. Drysdale got a $100,000 bonus.

The Derby purse increased Fusaichi Pegasus's career earnings to $1,704,400 from five victories in six starts. The colt's residual value when he retires to stud-in the United States, Sekiguchi said following the race-figures to add plenty of profitable numbers to the ledger.

The day after the Derby, Drysdale maintained his reserved, cool demeanor. No, he did not get much sleep Derby night, but that was because of a cough, not excessive celebrations. Yes, it would be great to win the Triple Crown, but he would not even commit to running in the Preakness Stakes (G1) on May 20, though he said Fusaichi Pegasus would ship to Baltimore three days before the race if he runs.

"We have to see how he comes out of this race first, before we go on to the next," he said. "These, as you well know, are fragile animals. Things look easy, and sometimes things show up in the wash, whatever it might be. Literally, we'll go just one step at a time."

Taking it one day at a time is a tack the racing gods will appreciate, perhaps enough to let the sport have its superstar at last.

Kent Desormeaux collects second Derby victory

He had left so quickly last year.

No interviews. No interest. No champagne. It seemed like just moments after finishing fifth aboard a horse named Excellent Meeting in the Kentucky Derby (G1) that Kent Desormeaux was "whisked out of here," as he would recall. He was swept away to another city, another track, another feature event. In short, back to the grind.

"But this year," smiled Desormeaux moments after winning the 126th Kentucky Derby, "we're going to do something a little different."

There was no reason to leave Churchill Downs so quickly this time. As dusk was snuffing out a warm and humid afternoon in Louisville, Desormeaux felt like he could fly-as though he could climb the signature spires of the historic old track, "look around, and enjoy some bubbles."

Desormeaux did not need wings on May 6 because, after guiding Fusaichi Pegasus to victory in the 126th Derby, Desormeaux suddenly felt he had "wings of my own."

As stunning a performance as Fusaichi Pegasus put forth in this Derby, Desormeaux deserved credit for giving the colt a sensational ride. In fact, it could be argued that Desormeaux's ride aboard racing's newest star was the best the Derby has seen since Bill Shoemaker steered Ferdinand around 15 horses in 1986.

Desormeaux, who won the 1998 Derby aboard Real Quiet, had ridden Fusaichi Pegasus in all but his 1999 career debut, including victories in the San Felipe (G2) and Wood Memorial (G2) Stakes. He came into this Derby feeling a bond developing between him and the curious, sometimes temperamental colt.

"Every time I ride him he becomes more attentive and more like a pony," Desormeaux said. "He understands what my calls are and seems to be easier and easier to ride. I think we've become one."

So when he dropped back to 15th in the 19-horse Derby-when dirt and sand were being kicked in his face as had occurred on April 15 in the Wood-Fusaichi Pegasus galloped smoothly into the first turn.

"He floated around there and was completely unconcerned with anything," Desormeaux said.

But Desormeaux's boldest move, and ultimately the right move, was hugging the rail down the backstretch instead of guiding Fusaichi Pegasus to the outside. It could have been a disaster. Other riders might have panicked while riding the heavy favorite and steered him to the outside. But, with racing fortune smiling on them, Desormeaux and Fusaichi Pegasus found clear sailing down the backstretch, around the final turn, and ultimately into Churchill's homestretch.

For Desormeaux, a 30-year-old who grew up in the heart of Cajun country in Maurice, Louisiana, and began his career at age 16 at Evangeline Downs, his second Derby victory was yet another career milestone. This is, after all, a three-time Eclipse Award winner, a recipient of the George Woolf Memorial Award, and a man who rode a record 598 winners in 1989.

After making a name for himself in Maryland and then shifting his tack to California, Desormeaux has ridden such horses as Puerto Madero (Chi), Best Pal, Soul of the Matter, champion turf filly Fiji (GB), and Breeders' Cup winners Desert Stormer and Kotashaan (Fr).

But after his ride aboard Fusaichi Pegasus, Desormeaux said, "He's the best horse I've been involved with at this stage of my career."

"A brilliant horse," Desormeaux added.

No wonder Desormeaux thought he could fly on the evening of the Derby. No wonder he was considering staying right there in Kentucky "for a couple (extra) days."

On this day, Kent Desormeaux had wings-just like Fusaichi Pegasus.

-Dave Joseph

A remarkable week for trainer Neil Drysdale

HE REACHED the Kentucky Derby (G1) with patience, planning, and old-fashioned horsemanship. Now that he has won America's most famous race just days after he was recognized with the most prestigious honor a Thoroughbred trainer can receive, Neil Drysdale said he departs Churchill Downs with a large dose of humility.

The introverted Englishman with a unique dry wit and sometimes serious demeanor did not admit to being awed by the performance of Fusao Sekiguchi's Fusaichi Pegasus, who won the Derby on May 6 in the seventh-fastest time in the race's 126-year history. But he did admit to being humbled by the experience of winning the Derby the same week he was elected to Racing's Hall of Fame.

"It's a very humbling week; very rewarding and very humbling," said the 52-year-old Drysdale, who was born in Haselmore, Surrey, England. "The horses put out huge efforts for you, and that's humbling. And when you train horses, you lose a lot."

One race that Drysdale had not lost was the Derby-because he had never started a horse in the classic. The closest he came was in 1992 when he brought another talented colt with Japanese owners to Louisville but missed his chance when A.P. Indy suffered a bruised foot and was scratched the morning of the race.

A.P. Indy went on to win the Belmont Stakes (G1) and eventually the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and that year's Horse of the Year title. A.P. Indy is one of five champions trained by Drysdale, who also conditioned Princess Rooney, Tasso, Hollywood Wildcat, and Fiji (GB), along with major stakes winners Bold 'n Determined, Prized, Gorgeous, Rahy, Labeeb (GB), and Hawksley Hill (Ire) during his career.

After working with show horses in his native country and in Venezuela, Drysdale started his career in the Thoroughbred industry as an assistant to John Hartigan at Tartan Farm in the late 1960s. He later worked as an assistant to Roger Laurin in New York and then took a similar position with the late Charlie Whittingham in 1970.

The association with Whittingham, a two-time Derby winner and Racing Hall of Fame trainer, lasted four years and left an indelible mark. Drysdale is quick to give credit to Whittingham, who was blessed with similar fortitude and is widely regarded as one of the best conditioners in racing history. From Whittingham, Drysdale said, he learned patience and planning.

Drysdale also played a key role in the development of such champions as Ack Ack, *Cougar II, Turkish Trousers, and Grade 1 winner Quack during his time with Whittingham. He eventually went out on his own, operating a private stable for Corbin Robertson's Saron Farm in 1974, nine years before he started a public stable.

The patience and planning he learned from Whittingham played a vitally important role in the preparation of Fusaichi Pegasus for the Derby. Winning jockey Kent Desormeaux and owner Fusao Sekiguchi praised Drysdale in the weeks and days leading up to the Derby and were quick to do it again after the son of Mr. Prospector rolled to a 1 1/2-length victory over Aptitude.

"Neil did a wonderful job. He was a new horse each time I rode him, and he needed to be as each start got a little longer," said Desormeaux, who won the Derby in 1998 aboard Real Quiet.

"I had full faith in Mr. Drysdale. He's a remarkable horseman, and whatever he does, I know it's the right thing to do," Sekiguchi said through an interpreter.

Now Drysdale will set a new plan in motion, one designed to get Fusaichi Pegasus through the Preakness Stakes (G1) and possibly on to New York for a chance at the Triple Crown.

Until then, Drysdale will keep his emotions in check and continue to praise the horses that have carried him into the Racing Hall of Fame. "You know, I don't answer touchy-feely questions," Drysdale said when asked to describe his emotions. "I'm delighted for the horse. He deserves it. He's so talented."

-Tom Law