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All the right moves Skipping Derby helped Red Bullet at Preakness
Posted: Saturday May 20, 2000 09:07 PM
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Joe Orseno was right. For the better part of three weeks, the trainer of Red Bullet told anyone who would listen that Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus was not unbeatable. On Saturday, his lightly raced colt proved him right. Red Bullet pulled off to a 3 3-4-length victory over Fusaichi Pegasus in the $1 million Preakness on Saturday and ended the $4 million colt's bid for a Triple Crown. "I'm excited, glowing, I feel real good," Orseno said. "I'm not one to hide my emotions. I'm happy." Orseno, who trains privately for Frank Stronach, perhaps the most influential man in racing, decided 30 minutes after a 4 1/4-length loss to Fusaichi Pegasus in the Wood Memorial to skip the Derby and get ready for the Preakness. "It just seemed like the right thing to do for the colt," Orseno said. "And it paid off today." Although there were many who believed Orseno was ducking Fusaichi Pegasus, Orseno simply said his colt was not experienced enough to move on and needed time off. Five weeks after his only loss, the son of Unbridled made it four wins in five career starts. "This was unbelievable," said Orseno, who last week saddled Pimlico Special winner Golden Missile. "Turning for home he put in the move I thought he could put in. He just needed another opportunity to go out and do it." The 44-year-old Orseno has been a leading trainer at five race meetings at East coast tracks, including Atlantic City, Garden State, the Meadowlands and Delaware Park. He got his big break when Stronach, who owns Santa Anita, Gulfstream, Golden Gate Fields and Thistledown, brought him to New York last year. He worked across the street from Garden State in high school, parking cars at a restaurant, and took out his trainer's license in 1977. When Red Bullet came along, Orseno knew he had a special colt. "I truly believed this was a really good horse," Orseno said, adding he would know in a few days whether Red Bullet would run in the Belmont Stakes on June 10. But when Red Bullet was unable to finish strongly in the Wood, Orseno knew time off was a must. Stronach, who now has his first Preakness winner, agreed. "The five-week layoff could have been tricky," he said. "Sometimes, the horse can be short on you. But you just let him go through a growth spurt and then get him fit enough to run in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. "He handled everything I asked him to do. He's truly a gifted horse, and was fit enough to get to the wire." Red Bullet, ridden by Jerry Bailey, became the first non-Derby runner to win the Preakness since Deputed Testamony in 1983. And now it looks like it's on to the Belmont, the final leg of the Triple Crown. "The horse will tell me," Orseno said. "If the horse comes out of this in great shape, we'll probably run him back in three weeks. The horse will truly tell me." If Red Bullet meets Fusaichi Pegasus in the Belmont, it will be the third meeting between the two colts. "He was second?" Orseno asked. "I don't know if it's a rubber match. I really thought there were seven other horses to beat. A lot of people said we were running for second. I didn't believe any of it."
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