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Derby dreams Trainer of 2-year-old champ hopes to buck Derby history
Posted: Tuesday May 02, 2000 06:35 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- As the summer of '98 was winding down and his stable had dwindled to two horses, trainer Alex Hassinger was ready for a career change. "It wasn't working out for me with the caliber of horses I wanted to train," Hassinger said Monday, "and I felt it might be time to make a change, maybe go back to the farm circuit in Lexington." Then came a phone call that put Hassinger back in business in a big way -- as the private trainer for Prince Ahmed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who runs The Thoroughbred Corp. On Saturday, the 37-year-old California-based trainer from New Jersey will saddle 2-year-old champion Anees in the Kentucky Derby. "I'd say I'm anxious, not nervous," Hassinger, the nephew of Gainesway Farm founder John Gaines, said after Anees breezed five furlongs in 1:00 2-5 in his final Derby workout. "I've dreamed about winning the Derby ever since I was a kid and watched Secretariat." In Anees, Hassinger has a 3-year-old colt by Unbridled who has failed to win in two races this year, finishing fourth in the Santa Anita Derby and third in the San Felipe. At 2, Anees gave Hassinger his biggest win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Anees also must overcome several jinxes to win a Derby that is expecting a full 20-horse field: The last 2-year-old champion to win the Derby was Spectacular Bid in 1979; and a Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner has never won the Derby. And there's this: Since 1955 only one horse with two starts as a 3-year-old has won the Derby -- Sunny's Halo in 1983. Nonetheless, Hassinger believes Anees is ready to run back to the form that made him a champion last year. "He's not the kind of horse that relished the Santa Anita track; it's not the kind of track you can make up ground," Hassinger said. "As far as I'm concerned, he's run two good races after coming off a long layoff and he's come here and trained well and seems to like this racetrack." Anees bruised a foot at the start of this year and didn't return to the races until the San Felipe in March. Hassinger, who saddled Breeders' Cup Filly champion Eliza for Paulson in 1992, works closely with racing manager Richard Mulhall in planning the future for the 30-40 horses he trains in California. Worldwide, The Thoroughbred Corp., has about 90 horses in training, many in England. "Alex is easy to work with and he's a good horseman," said Mulhall, who then explained how The Thoroughbred Corp., operates: "The prince has the final say in everything, I have the say in the day-to-day operation and Alex trains, he doesn't have to ask me. Then we discuss the future of the horses." Working his new job, Hassinger also has a new assistant in Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who rode Anees as a 2-year-old but retired with chronic knee problems. Stevens climbs aboard for Anees' workouts. "Having Gary is an added bonus, he's our secret weapon," Hassinger said. "He's a top class horseman and when he comes back and gives a thumbs up, I know we're fine." Hassinger came aboard The Thoroughbred Corp., as its trainer in Kentucky, Florida and at Saratoga in the summer. But when Wally Dollase was fired as the group's private trainer in California, Hassinger was shipped out west. And now that he's back in Kentucky, Hassinger feels comfortable at his old Barn 17. "Things are a little different," he said, smiling. Something hasn't changed, though. "I still have my lucky green jacket, the one I've worn for two straight years," Hassinger said of his fleece pullover. "Yes ... I will have it on Saturday."
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