Hassinger Enjoys Verdict of Trial

LOUISVILLE, Ky. â€”  Trainer Alex Hassinger Jr. was smiling pleasantly in the winner’s circle Saturday at Churchill Downs. If he winds up in the winner’s circle here next Saturday, he’ll be doing handstands.

The Derby Trial is not the Kentucky Derby, but for a few hours Hassinger will savor Performing Magic’s victory in the lesser race. Then he’ll be back at the barn early today, preparing Anees, another colt owned by Prince Ahmed Salman, for the Derby.

Performing Magic, who won’t run in the Derby, made Hassinger the fourth trainer to score consecutive wins in the Trial. The last consecutive winner was Woody Stephens, who won the Trial from 1983 to 1985 with Caveat, Devil’s Bag and Creme Fraiche. Others with successive wins were Ben Jones, who did it twice, in 1947-48 and 1951-52, and Lyle Whiting, in 1978-79.

The 126th Derby lost two possible candidates when Settlement ran sixth and True Confidence finished last in the eight-horse field. True Confidence stumbled leaving the gate, Jerry Bailey’s agility keeping him from falling off, and trainer Wayne Lukas’ colt was bleeding from the bottom of one of his legs as he crossed the wire, having kicked himself in the mishap.

With Settlement and True Confidence out, the list of Derby probables was reduced to 23, three more than the maximum. Earnings in graded races will determine the field. China Visit, Curule and Ronton have no graded-stakes earnings, and Unshaded, despite winning the Grade II Coolmore Lexington Stakes in his last start, is also on the bubble. Not nominated for the Triple Crown races, Unshaded can run only if his owner, Jim Tafel, pays a $150,000 supplement at entry time Wednesday, but according to Derby conditions, supplemental nominees go to the bottom of the preference list.

A year ago, Hassinger couldn’t hold back tears after Patience Game won the Derby Trial. His career as a trainer had foundered, and he was about to take a farm job in Kentucky when Salman, having fired Wally Dollase, hired him as a private trainer last March. Patience Game was Hassinger’s first important win for Salman’s Thoroughbred Corp.

“[The prince] has been a big supporter,� Hassinger said Saturday. “He’s the man, and I’m the tour director.�

Hassinger modestly downplayed his two wins in the Trial.

“Trainers like Charlie Whittingham won races much bigger than this six or eight times,� he said. Whittingham, however, won only one Derby Trial.

Performing Magic, ridden by Pat Day for the first time, overcame Sun Cat to win by 1 1/4 lengths before an opening-day Churchill Downs crowd of 16,676 in 55-degree sunshine. Sun Cat was easily second, 6 3/4 lengths better than Valiant Halory. The 7-10 favorite, Caller One, swerved when the ground broke out from under him at the quarter pole and finished fifth.

Performing Magic ran eight times in England, winning twice, before joining Hassinger and making his U.S. debut at Santa Anita, where he was second to Fortifier in the Baldwin Stakes on Feb. 27. That was the Gone West colt’s first start on dirt, and three weeks later, again on the main track, he was third behind two top colts, Red Bullet and Aptitude, in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.

Day, who will ride the Blue Grass winner, High Yield, in the Derby, took Hassinger’s advice and ran just behind the pacesetters early.

“It was a tough winter [three wins with his Santa Anita-based outfit], but I feel like Charlie Whittingham now,� Hassinger said. “The last two months, it’s been coming around.�

After Anees’ fourth-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby, rumors from Kentucky to California suggested that Hassinger might be sacked.

“I don’t know where those rumors came from,� said Richard Mulhall, who manages Salman’s racing operation. “We’ve sent several horses to Bob Baffert, and that weekend I was probably seen talking with Baffert a lot at Santa Anita. But that had nothing to do with Alex. We never considered making a change.�

Horse Racing Notes

Bettors will get four horses--High Yield, Trippi, Impeachment and Commendable--for the price of one in the Kentucky Derby. They’ll be coupled because of the overlapping ownership by Bob and Beverly Lewis and Dogwood Stable. The Lewises, who won the Derby last year with Charismatic and in 1997 with Silver Charm, own 100% of Commendable, 50% of High Yield and 23.5% of Impeachment. Dogwood, a syndicate of owners, manages Impeachment via its president, Cot Campbell, and Dogwood is also the owner of Trippi. . . . Another possible betting entry in the Derby is China Visit and Curule, both owned by Sheik Mohammed’s Godolphin Stable. . . . Fusaichi Pegasus, the expected Derby favorite, has been better behaved since he tossed his exercise rider after a morning gallop Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, he was in the hands of Andy Durnin, an exercise rider who arrived from California. Drysdale said that Durnin was scheduled to work for him at Churchill Downs before Thursday’s incident. “Andy is a very talented rider, a consummate horseman,� Drysdale said. . . . Wheelaway, winner of the Tampa Bay Derby, worked a slow 1:02 1/5 on a fast track. “It’s hard to gauge,� trainer John Kimmel said. “I might have to think about doing something more with him next week.�