Paulson, Lundy Have ‘Abrupt’ Split : Business: Owner, concerned about the lack of progress by his 2-year-olds, says he will distribute his stock among several trainers.

Allen Paulson, who has spent hundreds of millions of dollars since he began buying bloodstock at Kentucky yearling sales 10 years ago, has made a major change in his racing operation.

Dick Lundy, Paulson’s exclusive American trainer for the last 3 1/2 years, has resigned, according to Paulson, and Paulson’s horses will be divided among several prominent trainers, a system the owner-breeder used before hiring Lundy.

“I’ve got to do something to get my 2-year-olds going,” Paulson said at Hollywood Park on Sunday. “A trainer can concentrate on the super horses and forget all the rest.”

There were rumors a year ago that Paulson and Lundy might be splitting up, but on Sunday Paulson discounted them. He said that the break last week with Lundy was “abrupt.”

Lundy could not be reached at his home in New York. The 44-year-old trainer, a former assistant to Charlie Whittingham, won an Eclipse Award in 1989 with Paulson’s Blushing John, who was voted best older horse, and last November he saddled Opening Verse to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs.

With several trainers doing the work, Paulson’s stable earned $3.2 million in purses in 1986, finishing third nationally, and his outfit was fourth the next year with $3.5 million. This year, however, Paulson’s horses have earned less than $1 million and won only three stakes.

Compounding Paulson’s frustration has been Arazi, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and North America’s champion 2-year-old colt. Arazi, who is trained by Paulson’s French trainer, Francois Boutin, was eighth as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby and since then has been unable to regain his brilliant 2-year-old form in Europe.

Paulson said that the 25 horses he has in training in the United States will be distributed among Bill Mott, Whittingham, Bill Shoemaker, Gary Jones, John Sadler and perhaps a few other trainers. On Sunday, Mott saddled Fraise, a colt who races in the name of Paulson’s wife, Madeleine, for a second-place finish, a head behind Wall Street Dancer, in the $200,000 Bowling Green Handicap at Belmont Park.

In 1987, Mott won the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Hollywood Park with Theatrical, clinching an Eclipse Award for a horse owned in partnership by Paulson and Bert Firestone.

In the sixth race Sunday at Hollywood, Alex Hassinger, who had been Lundy’s assistant, saddled Paulson’s Porgy for his first training victory. In the next race, Hassinger barely missed another winner when Paulson’s Yendaka rallied through the stretch but was unable to catch Balleroy.

Paulson indicated that Hassinger would immediately concentrate on sorting out the stock at his Brookside Farm in Bonsall. Lundy operated from Brookside, training the horses there and shipping them to the California tracks for their races.

After Hassinger’s victory Sunday, Paulson said: “Who knows? I might have the best trainer here and not even know it.”

Hassinger, 29, is a nephew of John Gaines, once the owner of powerful Gainesway Farm in Kentucky. Hassinger has worked under Whittingham, Richard Cross and Lundy since coming to California 7 1/2 years ago.

“This is a great experience,” Hassinger said. “It’s a great day for me. Mr. Paulson called me Monday evening and asked me to represent him for a couple of days until we could talk over the situation. The split (between Lundy and Paulson) is a shock to everybody. I enjoyed working with Dick. He is my friend, and we talked on the phone. I wish him all the luck in the world.”