Columnist Ralph Siraco: Winged horse was but a myth in Preakness

Ralph Siraco

Monday, May 22, 2000 | 9:03 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday, and his Southern California selections run Tuesday through Friday on the scoreboard page. Reach him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 800 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89107.

Saturday's Preakness Stakes was supposed to have been a jaunt around the oval for Fusaichi Pegasus, this year's Kentucky Derby winner.

His overwhelming victory at Churchill Downs supposedly served as a warning that a "superhorse" was in the making. A walkover in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown was in order, then on to Belmont to accept the three-pronged trophy.

But the superhorse who had wings at Louisville was just a myth by sunset in Baltimore.

Fusaichi Pegasus became flesh and bones when he turned for home on a gloomy afternoon Saturday, while a son of 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled shot like a bullet -- a Red Bullet, to be exact -- through Pegasus' hopes for a Triple Crown.

Red Bullet went stride-for-stride with Fusaichi Pegasus through most of the 1 3/16-miles race and outkicked the prohibitive favorite down the stretch.

Mother Nature may have played a role in the race's outcome, as the skies opened up to drench Ol' Hilltop on Friday. Conditions for the track were sloppy on the eve of the Preakness card.

Jockey Kent Desormeaux, the regular rider of Fusaichi Pegasus, has been in "the zone" since his second career Kentucky Derby victory two weeks ago. And the Louisiana native was no stranger to Maryland racing, where earlier in his career he broke most of the circuit's riding records that Hall of Famer Chris McCarron established before him.

Desormeaux went home to capture the Pimlico Special on May 13 with Golden Missile -- for the same owner as Preakness victor Red Bullet -- and kept his hot streak going on Friday with a victory in the Black-Eyed Susan (the Preakness counterpart for fillies) aboard Jostle.

While the rains came and went throughout most of Saturday, by the time the Preakness Stakes rolled around -- the 10th of 12 races on the card -- the track was slick with a solid bottom.

Fusaichi Pegasus had raced on a wet-fast surface when he captured the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. That April 15 Kentucky Derby prep was the race in which he handed Red Bullet his first-round defeat.

It is interesting to note that Fusaichi Pegasus did not wear "stickers" in the Preakness. Stickers are small extensions that are attached to the horse's shoes -- somewhat like cleats to a human athlete's shoes -- for additional traction on muddy tracks.

That information did not deter the public's faith in the Kentucky Derby winner as Fusaichi Pegasus' price continued to plummet as the horses drew closer to the starting gate. By the time the betting had concluded, Fusaichi Pegasus was sent off at 1-5, the shortest priced favorite since Linkage, 1-2 in 1982.

However, like Easy Goer at 3-5 in 1989, Swale at 4-5 in 1984 and Linkage, Fusaichi Pegasus failed to return on the investment.

Although the Triple Crown bubble was burst, a future rivalry may have been born. A courageous but defeated Fusaichi Pegasus displayed his will and class in finishing second to Red Bullet. Impeachment checked in third, Captain Steve fourth.

The victory was especially satisfying to the connections of Red Bullet. They made a decision soon after the Wood Memorial to pass the Kentucky Derby in favor of the Preakness. Owner Frank Stonach and trainer Joe Orseno huddled after Red Bullet suffered his first career defeat and decided that the temptation to run in the Derby was not as strong as giving their stable star more time to mature.

He rewarded them with the most valuable trophy in all of sports -- the Preakness Stakes Woodlawn Vase.

Stronach, owner of several race tracks, joked that the victory by Red Bullet would allow him to afford to buy Bay Meadows in Northern California -- which he purchased just last week. Then he turned to Pimlico owner Joseph De Francis and asked if his track was for sale. Stronach now owns and operates Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate (also in Northern California), Remington Park and Thistledown in the Midwest and is rumored to be the leading bidder to buy Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

The June 10 Belmont Stakes will not have a $5 million Visa Triple Crown bonus on the line, but it may feature a rubber match.

Early indications have the connections of Fusaichi Pegasus and Red Bullet considering the Belmont, the 1 1/2-mile "Test of Champions."

Racing will have to wait until next year for another chance at a Triple Crown. It seems that after three consecutive years of failed Triple Crown attempts -- by Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in '98 and Charismatic last year -- it was almost a given that Fusaichi Pegasus would march into New York with the Triple Crown at stake.

Many racing fans felt like they were kicked in the stomach after Pegasus' Preakness loss. It's a feeling that comes from expectations not realized.

But while fate will determine the next Triple Crown winner, we will dare to dream about the next superstar -- even at the risk of finding out that he might not be the winged wonder we so desperately wanted him to be.

That's racing.