BALTIMORE – There is no joy in Mudville. Mighty Fusaichi Pegasus has struck out.
The hero of the Kentucky Derby, who seemed destined to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, got drilled yesterday by a speeding Red Bullet, who ran away in the stretch under Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey to win the 125th Preakness Stakes by 33/4 lengths over an off-track on a cold, rainy day at Pimlico.
Sent off at 1-5 by the crowd of 98,304, Fusaichi Pegasus was the heaviest Preakness favorite since Spectacular Bid in 1979. He became the fourth odds-on choice in a row to lose the middle jewel of the Triple Crown and ended the streak of three straight Derby-Preakness winners who headed to the Belmont with a chance for the sweep.
Red Bullet, a Belmont Park-based son of 1990 Derby winner Unbridled, paid $14.40 as the second choice. Fusaichi Pegasus, after ducking in down the stretch, barely held for second, a head in front of late-charging Impeachment, to complete a $24 exacta. Captain Steve was another neck back in fourth.
The trifecta returned $115.80; the superfecta, $471. The time for the 1 3/16 miles was a slow 1:56 over a track upgraded during the afternoon from “sloppy” to “good.”
The victory was sweet revenge for Red Bullet, who was unbeaten in three starts before finishing second to Fusaichi Pegasus in the Wood Memorial five weeks ago. He skipped the Kentucky Derby to await the Preakness, went through a “growth spurt” in the interim, according to trainer Joe Orseno, and became the first horse to win the Preakness without running in the Derby since 1983.
“I always knew in my heart this was a great horse,” said the chestnut colt’s owner, Frank Stronach. “Anytime a horse doesn’t finish well (in the Wood), it takes more out of him than you think. If I’d run him in the Derby, I would have said to myself how stupid I was.”
Stronach, born in Austria, lives in Canada and is one of the most powerful men in horse racing. His Stronach Stable is among the largest breeding and racing operations in North America, and the company he founded and runs, Magna Corp., owns six racetracks, including Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park.
Fusaichi Pegasus is the second Triple Crown hopeful a Stronach horse has derailed in the last four years. In 1997, his Touch Gold upset Derby-Preakness winner Silver Charm in the Belmont Stakes.
“I was happy Touch Gold won, but maybe a little sad too,” he said. “If I didn’t own him I would have been rooting for Silver Charm to win the Triple Crown. But you cannot give it to someone on a silver platter. Otherwise the sport loses its credibility.”
Red Bullet’s victory in the Preakness capped a big week here for Stronach and Orseno. Last Saturday their Golden Missile won the Pimlico Special.
“Give Frank Stronach all the credit you can,” Orseno said. “It was a tough decision to pass the Kentucky Derby. But we knew we had a horse with a lot of talent, and we knew to pick our spot and point for the 3-year-old championship.”
Hugh Hefner, High Yield and Hal’s Hope ran as a team for the first six furlongs, carving out a quick pace (:23.1, :46.3, 1:11.1). Fusaichi Pegasus was several lengths back on the outside under jockey Kent Desormeaux after being pinched at the start, with Red Bullet tucked in right behind him.
“I wasn’t sure how I’d ride him until the break,” said Bailey, who picked up the mount after Alex Solis, Red Bullet’s rider in the Wood, committed to ride Aptitude in the Belmont. “I knew I’d be off the pace but wasn’t sure whether I’d be in front or behind the favorite. I took him back and parked him right behind Fusaichi Pegasus. It had been my intention to try to get the jump on the favorite. So I took a spot in front of him at the half-mile pole, and when I went inside he went around.
“I was able to wiggle my way through horses, and he was no more than a half-length off my flank turning for home. Then Red Bullet just took off and really showed what he was made of.”
Desormeaux saw his Triple Crown hopes dashed for the second time in the last three years after winning the 1998 Derby and Preakness on Real Quiet, then losing the Belmont by a nose.
“The track was a little greasy (yesterday),” he said. “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.”
Fusaichi Pegasus’s trainer Neil Drysdale said, “He couldn’t handle the track. That’s the way I saw it. I’m disappointed for the horse. I like to see him do well with everything he can.
“Remember, I’ve been doing this all my life. This is not the first odds-on horse of mine that has lost.”
Drysdale said Fusaichi Pegasus still would be sent to New York for the June 10 Belmont Stakes if he came out of the race in good shape, but Orseno would not commit to a rubber match.
“I really have to take a few days and look at the horse,” he said. “Believe me, this horse will tell us what to do.”