A look at the race field or a look at the bare facts really tells us nothing. 15/1 at any other time would not instill great confidence, but this is The Bluegrass Derby. On this occasion the favorite for the race goes around at 11/1, while the outsider will start at 26/1. Ermington Pegusus therefore carries a pre-race price befitting one of the top chances, and that is obviously what he is.
The bare facts are:
Ermington Pegusus is owned and trained by pigeon3.
He has qualified in eighth spot for this classic, and is ranked # 9 in his class division coming into the race.
He has drawn barrier 9, and will be ridden by H.McCoy, North Florida’s premier jockey who has flown in this weekend especially for this ride.
He shares the fourth line in the betting market.
He’s won four of six and $732,000 in prize money.
They are the bare facts. The Ermington Pegusus story however has its beginning back in early 2000. In a rich but not terribly significant Indiana maiden event in week 991, trainer mdavis2 debuted a very nicely bred 2 year old filly, Secret Pegasus. By Fusaichi Pegasus, from a Secretariat mare, she was expected to be something special. Finishing eleventh of fourteen was not expected, nor was a six start wait for her to break her maiden. A second in her seventh start at black type level was to be the high point of her career and when, two years later, she had failed to greet the judge again, she was retired with the poor record of one win from thirty three starts. Sent to stud, she was not immediately successful there either, but it was this, her second foal, which was to etch her name into the history books.
Secret Pegasus was sent to Sky Mesa for her second breeding. Now a third year sire son of Pulpit, Sky Mesa is proving a real hit in the sim, currently rating a very handy 10% stakes winners from runners. topicount5 trained Grade1 winning filly Surf N Sand headlines his first year progeny, while Ermington Pegusus is flying the flag for his second crop.
Ermington Pegusus lines up this weekend for the seventh time in his career, having started three times as a two year old, and with three starts under his belt this year. Unlike his dam, he has lived up to expectations from day one, winning his debut run in Rhode Island in week 2646. Four weeks later, pigeon3 had been shown enough on the training track to travel to Michigan and tackle the black type for his second appearance. The odds makers were caught by surprise here, as four horses went out at shorter prices, in a seven horse field. They were no match for Ermington Pegusus. He’d raced just off the pace in his debut over seven furlongs, but stepping up to the mile, his jockey had no hesitation in letting him drop right off the pace, and reel in a nine length deficit on his way to a comfortable two length victory. The Big Apple now looked inviting. The Grade 2 Rumson Stakes was five weeks away and the increase in class was clearly warranted. Once again the bookies were generous. Five horses were at shorter prices in the full field, and on this occasion they were closer to the mark, as Ermington Pegus had to be content with third, two lengths behind two of his opponents here this weekend, Peacenik and Remember Tampero. Ending 2005 with a career reading two wins and a Graded third was more than adequate indication that pigeon3 had a genuine triple crown contender in the making.
Occasionally there come along race races in which the prestige of winning matches the prize-money on offer. In sim terms, the Equinics fit that description, and to begin his three year old season with a tilt at one of these events, was not only desirable, but fitted nicely into the scheduling program being designed by pigeon3. Once again the bookies were generous, once again Ermington Pegusus dropped out to the rear, and once again he unleashed a brilliant, perfectly timed stretch run to capture the prestigious Grade 1 – George Wolfe, hitting the front in the final furlong and leaving in his wake, as he hopes to again this weekend, nineteen foes. Four weeks after that barnstorming victory in Vermont, and we see Ermington Pegusus lining up for the Florida Derby. Although putting in the worst run of his career, the history of that race actually works in favor of this colt. Four of the seven previous winners of the Bluegrass Derby have contested the Florida Derby beforehand, but none of them won the Florida race. All of them, however, took home a pay check in that event, a requirement satisfied here with Ermington Pegusus’ fifth placing.
By this time with a spot in the Derby virtually assured, it was now a matter of a tune up run, and a handy break before the grueling Triple Crown attempt ahead. Three weeks after Florida, and a trip along the road to North Florida, for a comfortable stakes win, then five weeks of preparation for this, the race of a lifetime.
In his career, only five horses have crossed the line ahead of Ermington Pegusas. They are Peacenik (twice) Remember Tampero, Rhibus, Lockitineddie and Bearly Wanted. Four of them line up against him this week. Horse, trainer and jockey are looking forward to turning the tables on the one occasion when it will be remembered forever. Ermington Pegusus has been trained to the minute, with his career starts nicely spaced to ensure that he is perfectly primed for this race. Once again a good price is on offer, and once again we can expect to see this exceptional three year old colt flying from the rear and being there when it really counts.