Trainer Only One Not Talking Triple Crown

The only place you didn’t hear the T-word Sunday at Churchill Downs was the Kentucky Derby winner’s barn.

Everywhere else, those magic words were on everybody’s lips.

Triple Crown. It was the topic of the day.

Neil Drysdale, the trainer of Kentucky Derby Fusaichi Pegasus, won’t speak the words, won’t even commit to the next leg, the Preakness Stakes on May 20.

But Jenine Sahadi is a believer. She’ll say Triple Crown winner even if Drysdale won’t.

“I think you’re probably as close at this point to having seen one,” Sahadi said, and she should know. She’s trainer of The Deputy, who was second choice to Fusaichi Pegasus but ran 14th. Now, The Deputy will get a month off.

Though Fusaichi Pegasus had to run from farther back than he’s ever raced, he moved up steadily on the rail from 15th in the first quarter-mile. He overwhelmed his opposition after swinging outside turning for home, beating Aptitude by 1-1/2 lengths.

His time of 2:01.12 was the seventh fastest in Derby history. He ate up the ground with powerful strides that made him look like a bargain at the $4million that his owner paid for him.

He became the highest-priced Derby winner sold at auction, and he was also the highest-priced participant in the history of the race. What’s he worth now for Fusao Sekiguchi, the Tokyo entrepreneur who owns him?

“A rule of thumb, without considering pedigree, is that any horse is a $10 million horse for winning the Kentucky Derby,” said trainer D. Wayne Lukas. “Then if you add the pedigree, which this horse really has, you can start building from there.

“This horse is way up there,” Lukas said.

A group of international horse buyers who are clients of Lukas was outbid on Fusaichi Pegasus at the Keeneland July Sales two years ago, and Lukas said wistfully, “I wish we’d kept bidding.”

His clients did not run out of money. “There was some hesitation,” Lukas said. That was enough to stop the action. Sekiguchi got the son of Mr. Prospector, out of the mare Angel Fever, whose sire, Danzig, is a son of Northern Dancer. Sekiguchi said later he would have gone to $5million to buy him if he’d had to.

“I don’t think we’d have bought the horse,” Lukas said.

Now Lukas must position his troops for the next move. He said that for the Preakness he is considering only High Yield of his three who ran in the Derby. High Yield ran 15th, and the other two, Exchange Rate and Commendable, were 12th and 17th.

The task of beating Fusaichi Pegasus could be daunting. But eight or nine are expected to try him in the Preakness, at the slightly shorter distance of 1-3/16 miles.

Possible Preakness starters include High Yield, Captain Steve, Hal’s Hope, Impeachment and More Than Ready, along with and some who did not run in the Derby: Snuck In, Red Bullet and perhaps Sun Cat. Aptitude is not going to the Preakness but will race in the Belmont Stakes.