Kimmel Takes On Derby Winner

The reemergence of Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus may have chased a couple of horses in other directions, but John Kimmel, who trains Hook And Ladder, seems to relish the challenge.

Kimmel, representing owners Chester and Mary Broman, bought Hook And Ladder for $800,000 at an auction in California in July, and the colt will try to spoil Fusaichi Pegasus’ comeback party when Belmont Park runs the $150,000 Jerome Handicap today.

Fusaichi Pegasus, whose career has been punctuated by big numbers--a $4-million yearling more recently sold as a stallion for an estimated $60 million to $70 million--hasn’t run since his second-place finish behind Red Bullet in the Preakness on May 20. But when trainer Neil Drysdale zeroed in on the Jerome, trainers of other horses went elsewhere. Mighty, the Louisiana Derby winner and also returning from a long layoff, ran fifth in a $48,000 allowance at Belmont Friday, and Trippi’s trainer, Todd Pletcher, is bypassing the Jerome for the Vosburgh Stakes for sprinters today at Belmont. The Vosburgh comes with twice the purse of the Jerome, and there’s no Fusaichi Pegasus in the mix.

Kimmel, however, is undaunted by the assignment for Hook And Ladder in the Jerome, which at a mile will be Fusaichi Pegasus’ first start at less than 1 1/16 miles since January.

“I really don’t feel that Neil will be asking him for everything in this race,” Kimmel said. “He’s running him here while he’s looking at some mile-and-a-quarter races down the road. I don’t think he’ll have him cranked up for this one, and it might be the best time to meet him. The winner of this race is going to have to run a sub-1:34 mile, and I don’t think this horse is going to be sharp enough to do that.”

The goal for Fusaichi Pegasus, with the horse-of-the-year title on the line, is the $4-million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4. Drysdale isn’t saying--he never does--but after the Jerome, Fusaichi Pegasus is likely to run in the $1-million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont on Oct. 14. That race and the Breeders’ Cup are both at 1 1/4 miles.

When the New York-based Kimmel traveled to California two months ago, his sole purpose was to bid on one horse--Hook And Ladder, who was consigned to the dispersal sale of the late Marshall Naify’s 505 Farms.

Trained by John Shirreffs for Naify, Hook And Ladder made only one start as a 2-year-old, demolishing a field of maidens at Hollywood Park last November. In his only race this year, two weeks before the sale, the son of Dixieland Band was a close-up second at Hollywood.

“We were enthusiastic about his first race,” Kimmel said. “He probably ran so fast that it took the starch out of him. Then when he came back at three, he repeated that speed in that showcase race. We figured we might have to go to $1 million to buy him, but when David Copperfield, another horse in the sale, went for well over $2 million, we thought we might not have a shot to get Hook And Ladder.”

At Saratoga, Hook And Ladder sparkled in the mornings for Kimmel, and in his only race there for his new owners, the colt ran six furlongs in 1:09 4/5 to win by seven lengths.

Fusaichi Pegasus, assigned 124 pounds, will spot the entire field weight, and Hook And Ladder, making his stakes debut, will run with only 113 pounds, if jockey Richard Migliore can make the weight. Fusaichi Pegasus, with Kent Desormeaux riding, drew the rail in the seven-horse field. Outside them, in order, will come Albert The Great, El Corredor, Quiet Mike, Concerned Minister, Hook And Ladder and Big E E.

Horse Racing Notes

According to sources at Fairplex Park, jockey Matt Garcia cracked two ribs and may have suffered other injuries in a Thursday spill that resulted in three riders being thrown from their mounts. A spokeswoman for Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, confirming that Garcia was still hospitalized, said that the jockey preferred that details of his condition not be released. . . . Blonde Bounty, next to last after half a mile, was ridden by Iggy Puglisi to a two-length win over Proud Tammie in the $50,000 California Thoroughbred Breeders Assn. Marian Stakes. Blonde Bounty paid $23.40. . . . The California Horse Racing Board, approving a plan to allow jockeys and horses to compete with advertising on their silks and saddlecloths, said Friday that it would schedule a public hearing pertaining to the matter. The earliest the plan could go into effect would be sometime next year. No other state allows jockeys to be riding billboards.