Kentucky Derby Contenders Run Deep

With less than three weeks until the running of the 126th Kentucky Derby, the race is still a maze. Fusaichi Pegasus, who now has beaten the best in California and New York, is a legitimate favorite, but to win at Churchill Downs he’ll have to outrun the deepest Derby field in years.

The Derby is May 6, and a case can be made for at least 10 of the contenders. Saturday’s semifinals--the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in New York, the Blue Grass at Keeneland in Lexington, and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs--produced the three requisite winners, but also whetted the appetites of some of the runners-up. One man’s opinion of the top 10:

1. Fusaichi Pegasus--He beat The Deputy, the eventual Santa Anita Derby winner, before going to New York to beat the previously undefeated Red Bullet. Handling the opposition in Kentucky includes handling the crowd of more than 100,000. Trainer Neil Drysdale is confident that his horse won’t be beaten in the post parade, but there’s no dry run that can be simulated to ready him for the throng.

2. The Deputy--Since losing to Fusaichi Pegasus by less than a length, this Irish-bred colt has beaten a solid field in the Santa Anita Derby. Combining Fusaichi Pegasus’ size and talent with The Deputy’s disposition would produce a paragon. The Deputy is as unflappable as Fusaichi Pegasus is edgy. Fire a cannon next to The Deputy and he’d yawn. Stand Fusaichi Pegasus in front of a cannon and he’d look at it for five minutes before moving out of the way.

3. Anees--The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner is winless this year, but since recovering from a bruised foot he has run two encouraging races and is eligible to improve in Louisville. His far-back running style makes a clean trip imperative in the Derby.

4. Aptitude--The future-book bet on this colt should be for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes in June, but the 1 1/4 miles at the Derby won’t hurt him either. He has chased Red Bullet and Fusaichi Pegasus home in two races at Aqueduct. Like Anees, he doesn’t find his best foot until late. In a year with a stellar field, can a Derby winner be a horse whose only win was over maidens?

5. High Yield--His gritty Blue Grass win was another remarkable race in a consistent career: 12 starts, four wins, four seconds, three thirds. Jockey Pat Day should be able to sit slightly off the pace with him in the Derby. The question going into the race will be whether High Yield’s worst outing--a sixth-place finish at Churchill Downs in November--was just an off day or a signal that that isn’t his kind of racetrack. Remember Skip Away? The only track that troubled him was Churchill Downs.

6. More Than Ready--He has already run 10 races at seven tracks, and his consistency is a lot like High Yield’s: six wins, two seconds, one third. Like High Yield, he will do better if he can settle behind horses in the Derby.

7. Red Bullet--In the Wood, jockey Alex Solis had to place him closer than he wanted, or risk running into heavy traffic, which seems to accompany this colt in every race. The Wood was Red Bullet’s first try around two turns, and he didn’t seem to tire, but was still 4 1/4 lengths behind Fusaichi Pegasus at the end. Trainer Joe Orseno said Monday that Red Bullet will not run in the Kentucky Derby but is being pointed to the Preakness at Pimlico on May 20.

8. Captain Steve--Trainer Bob Baffert, winner of two of the last three Derbies, can tiptoe into this one with the low-profile Captain Steve, who has had three consecutive thirds since winning the Hollywood Futurity in December. His only race at Churchill Downs was a corker--a 5 3/4-length win around two turns in November.

9. War Chant--With Fusaichi Pegasus and War Chant, trainer Neil Drysdale is loaded with talented runners. War Chant has run only four times and has the bad habits of an unseasoned horse. Drysdale will add blinkers. The Derby seems to be coming up a tad too soon for this talented colt.

10. Mighty--The Louisiana Derby winner is a reliable horse anyplace but Keeneland. After the Blue Grass, he now has two sevenths to show for two starts there. Throw out Saturday’s disaster. Historically, the Blue Grass is the worst Derby barometer. Thunder Gulch and Sea Hero are other horses that bombed at Keeneland and still won the Derby.

That’s the short list. More than 20 horses will probably be entered in this Derby. The limit is 20, and with an overflow at the entry box, money earned in graded stakes determines preference. A horse that might be precluded is Wheelaway, who made a nice late run to finish third in the Blue Grass. He gets no purse credit for winning the Tampa Bay Derby, an ungraded race.

Several trainers looking for more Derby encouragement, as well as earnings, will enter horses in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland this Saturday. Globalize, Commendable and Rollin With Nolan are among the probables. Last year’s Lexington winner, Charismatic, also won the Derby. The 1984 Lexington runner-up, Swale, won the Derby. Going from Keeneland to Churchill Downs, you just never know.

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Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll

The National Thoroughbred Racing Assn.’s 3-year-old poll, ranking leading contenders through April 16. The top 10, ranked on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point scale, is based on the votes of thoroughbred racing media representatives with first-place votes in parentheses, 2000 record, total points and previous rank (Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, F-filly):

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S St 1 2 3 Pts Pvs 1. Fusaichi Pegasus (16) C 4 4 0 0 194 2 2. The Deputy (4) C 4 3 1 0 179 1 3. High Yield C 4 2 2 0 145 6 4. War Chant C 3 2 1 0 127 4 5. More Than Ready C 3 1 2 0 88 9 6. Red Bullet C 4 3 1 0 84 7 7. Anees C 2 0 0 1 58 8 8. Mighty C 4 1 2 0 48 3 9. Aptitude C 3 1 1 1 43 -- 10. Captain Steve C 3 0 0 3 35 10

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Others receiving votes: Wheelaway 19, Surfside 16, Trippi 15, Globalize 14, Graeme Hall 3, Hal’s Hope 10, Snuck In 6, Impeachment 4, Rings A Chime 2.