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Pegasus' place Derby favorite to break from 15th post
Posted: Friday May 05, 2000 05:09 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- With the 12th selection in the post position draw, Neil Drysdale tried to find a safe place for his frisky favorite in the $1 million Kentucky Derby. So the Hall of Fame trainer put Fusaichi Pegasus in the auxiliary gate -- in the No. 16 post -- as a full field of 20 3-year-olds was entered for Saturday's 126th Derby. "I thought we'd leave him on the outside to stay out of trouble," Drysdale said Wednesday night in explaining why he passed up posts 1, 2, 11 and 12 in regular loading gate when his turn to pick came around. "I didn't want him to stay in the gate too long. It's a very big field." The field was reduced to 19 and post positions were altered early Thursday when Globalize, who drew the No. 1 post, was withdrawn after his escort pony kicked him in the left hind leg coming off the track. Fusaichi Pegasus will now start from the No. 15 post, with the other horses all moving in one post. Outside posts have been lucky lately. D. Wayne Lukas won last year with Charismatic and in '95 with Thunder Gulch from the 16 hole. Lukas won the '96 Derby with Grindstone from the No. 15 spot. Fusaichi Pegasus, the "playful" $4 million dollar colt owned by Fusao Sekiguchi, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite. The Deputy, trained by Jenine Sahadi, is the second choice at 4-1, and the four-horse entry of Commendable, High Yield, Impeachment and Trippi is third at 5-1. War Chant, also trained by Drysdale, is 6-1. High Yield and Commendable are trained by D. Wayne Lukas; Impeachment and Trippi by Todd Pletcher. The coupling was made because of common ownership involving Bob and Beverly Lewis, who own Commendable and are co-owners in the other three. There were some who didn't want to be near Fusaichi Pegasus. Barry Irwin of Team Valor, which owns The Deputy, went for the No. 11 post instead of the No. 17 post -- on the outside of Fusaichi Pegasus "We thought about 17, but backed away to avoid being next to that keg of dynamite," Irwin said. The Deputy will start from the No. 10 post on Saturday. Lukas, along with Sheik Mohammed al Maktoum of Dubai, may have gotten the worst of the draw, while trainer Bob Baffert had the No. 1 pick and went for the No. 8 post for Captain Steve, who now goes from the No. 7 post. "This is a horse that breaks with the field so I wanted to choose somewhere in the middle," Baffert, who won the '97 Derby with Silver Charm and '98 Derby with Real Quiet, said. Blue Grass winner High Yield leaves from the No. 17 post and Commendable from the No. 12 post. Lukas' other entry, Exchange Rate, has the No. 16 post. Sheik Mohammed, back for his second try at winning the Derby after his Worldly Manner was seventh last year, has China Visit in the No. 11 post and Curule in the No. 18 post. The entry is 50-1 for the 1 1/4-mile Derby. Sahadi, bidding to become the first woman to train a Derby winner, has no problem with The Deputy's starting spot. "No. 11 (now No. 10) is fine," she said. "It worked out great. He's a well-behaved horse and the gate shouldn't be a problem with him." Hal's Hope, the Florida Derby winner owned and trained by 88-year-old Harold Rose, was 20-1 and will leave from the No. 4 post. "The key is to be in contending position, and that's where we intend to be," Rose said. The three-horse mutuel field consists of Deputy Warlock, Ronton and Wheelaway at 30-1. With the odds set and post positions decided, the talk about Fusaichi Pegasus' behavior is sure to return as he tries to become the first favorite since Spectacular Bid in 1979 to win the Derby. The $4 million colt's behavior has all but overshadowed his four-race winning streak that includes a dominating 4 1/4-length victory in the Wood Memorial. The colt also beat the best of the west, including The Deputy, in the San Felipe at Santa Anita. Before the Wood, though, he took his sweet time getting to the gate, apparently staring at something -- Drysdale thinks it was an ambulance on the track behind the starting gate -- before handlers finally led him to the start. After the race, he stood at the first turn at Aqueduct gazing at photographers on the track. Last week, he threw his exercise rider and then reared up and fell to the track. On Wednesday, he reared up and bucked after a morning gallop. "He was bit fresh after two days off," Drysdale said. "He was on the bit and had a strong gallop with a good pull on the rider. He was bucking and playing because he's feeling so well." John Kimmel, who trains Wheelaway, said Fusaichi Pegasus is the clear favorite but "you just don't know with all the little quirks." Asked if his colt might have a tough time getting into the gate in a timely fashion, Drysdale said: "He's got two furlongs to go in 12 minutes to load into the gate. I think he can make it that far. "He's been doing this playing around and bucking and rearing and all sorts of things. He just has a good time. He's really enjoying himself. Meanwhile, he's racing well." The field, from the rail out with jockey and odds, is: Anees (Corey Nakatani, 20-1); Aptitude (Alex Solis, 20-1); Wheelaway (Richard Migliore, 30-1); Hal's Hope (Roger Velez, 20-1); Trippi (Jorge Chavez, 5-1); Deputy Warlock (Mark Guidry, 30-1); Captain Steve (Robby Albarado, 8-1); War Chant (Jerry Bailey, 6-1); More Than Ready (John Velazquez, 10-1); The Deputy (Chris McCarron, 4-1); China Visit (Frankie Dettori, 50-1); Commendable (Edgar Prado, 5-1); Graeme Hall (Shane Sellers, 20-1); Impeachment (Craig Perret, 5-1); Fusaichi Pegasus (Kent Desormeaux, 9-5); Exchange Rate (Calvin Borel, 30-1); High Yield (Pat Day, 5-1); Curule (Marlon St. Julien, 50-1); and Ronton (Brice Blanc, 30-1).
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