"I thought he worked very well," Drysdale said of the Derby winner. "He looked happy and was just cruising along."Other likely Jerome starters, according to the New York Racing Association, are Dwyer Stakes (gr. II) winner Albert the Great; Withers Stakes (gr. III) winner Big E E, who won a seven-furlong allowance race at Belmont by 5 1/2 lengths in his most recent start; and Hook and Ladder. Hook and Ladder, a John Kimmel trainee, has won two of three career starts, including a seven-length romp in a six-furlong Saratoga allowance race earlier this month. The son of Dixieland Band has yet to race beyond 6 1/2 furlongs.
Louisiana Derby (gr. II) winner Mighty, unraced since a seventh-place finish in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) in April, worked six furlongs in 1:13.47, breezing, at Belmont Park Sunday in preparation for Saturday's one-mile $150,000 Jerome Handicap (gr. II). Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Fusaichi Pegasus also worked at Belmont Sunday and is under consideration for the Jerome."Saturday is a possibility," said trainer Neil Drysdale. "It depends on the weather and how the horse comes out of the work. I don't have a plan set with him. The only plan we have is to get him to the Breeders' Cup."As for the work, Fusaichi Pegasus breezed seven furlongs in 1:28.27 under exercise rider Andy Durnin while working in company with stablemate Bodyguard (1:29.34). Bodyguard is a 5-year-old gelding who won the 1998 Itsallgreektome Stakes at Hollywood Park.