|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Down the stretch they came Red Bullet out-legs Fusaichi Pegasus at muddy Pimlico
Posted: Sunday May 21, 2000 01:39 AM
By Mark Beech, Sports Illustrated BALTIMORE -- There were two keys to Red Bullet's commanding victory in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday. First, the sturdy red colt ran through his bridle in a career-best performance. And second, odds-on favorite Fusaichi Pegasus was never able to get rolling over a wet track. Those facts were most apparent as the field came spinning out of the turn for home. Red Bullet and Fusaichi Pegasus had run side-by-side through the first half of the far turn, then took different paths to get around the tiring Hal's Hope. With just a little more than a quarter of a mile left to run, Fusaichi Pegasus went outside, and Red Bullet went inside. When the two colts hit the top of the stretch together, Red Bullet left no doubt about which horse had the most giddyup. "The track was a little greasy today," said Kent Desormeaux, who rode Fusaichi Pegasus. "It might have made a difference. But Red Bullet and I were right together all the way down the backside. We pushed the button at the same time, but Red Bullet had a bigger button. He just ran wild. Today was their day." "[Fusaichi Pegasus] couldn't handle the track," said Neil Drysdale, the colt's trainer. "That's the way I saw it." Not that the big bay ran poorly. Indeed, he turned in a very game performance to holding on for second place in front of Impeachment and Captain Steve, who both made valiant stretch runs. Nobody's charge to the wire, however, was as impressive as Red Bullet's, whose burst into the clear was unearthly in its quickness. "I knew coming through the lane, that once my horse went to his right lead we were going to be okay," said Joe Orseno, the Bullet's trainer. "I knew we had it won coming out of the turn, when I saw Fusaichi Pegasus go out a little bit more than I think he wanted to, and we had the jump on him. I know, when my horse changes leads, he's got great acceleration. My horse just outran him." Red Bullet's move to the inside had concerned Orseno when he first saw it, but that kind of decision making is one reason that he had selected Jerry Bailey for his jockey after Red Bullet's regular rider, Alex Solis, committed to ride Kentucky Derby runner-up Aptitude through the remainder of the Triple Crown. "My biggest concern was to get the jump on Fusaichi Pegasus," said Jerry Bailey. "I was inside of him and I felt if we could beat him to the quarter pole, we could beat him to the wire." That's exactly what Bailey and his chestnut charger did, winning by 3 3/4 widening lengths. In the process, they showed everyone that there may be another superhorse in the three-year-old division this year. Mark Beech is a Sports Illustrated reporter.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
