When we last checked in with our protagonists in the spring . . .

	Lemon Drop Kid has won four straight starts and has many people talking Horse of the Year honors.

Fusaichi Pegasus had won the Kentucky Derby and was the front-runner for Horse of the Year, while Lemon Drop Kid, a classic winner from the previous year, was struggling to find his best form.

As the fall season approaches, the story line has switched. Lemon Drop Kid, outfitted with blinkers this summer, has roared to four straight victories and is the leading contender for Horse of the Year, while Fusaichi Pegasus, idle since running second in the Preakness Stakes, is trying to play catch up.

The drama will play out over the next month, culminating, viewers hope, in the ultimate made-for-TV event, a showdown for Horse of the Year in the $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. There might even by a sneak preview in the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on Oct. 14 at Belmont Park.

The Gold Cup is shaping up as the most significant pre-Breeders' Cup race this fall. Lemon Drop Kid is scheduled to run in that race, and Fusaichi Pegasus could, too, depending on whether trainer Neil Drysdale believes his colt needs another Classic prep following his comeback in Saturday's Jerome Handicap at Belmont Park. The other significant races for this division include the $500,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup and $400,000 Meadowlands Cup, both on Oct. 7, and the $500,000 Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting on Oct. 15.

Most of the attention will be focused on the East Coast, owing in part to a horribly outdated schedule in Southern California racing. With the Fairplex Park meeting slotted between Del Mar and Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting, numerous trainers with Breeders' Cup prospects in Southern California - such as Drysdale with Fusaichi Pegasus or Eduardo Inda with the mare Riboletta - are forced to leave the state to race their top-class runners. Of the top 10 contenders for the Classic, only Captain Steve and Early Pioneer are scheduled to run in the Goodwood.

Scotty Schulhofer, the trainer of Lemon Drop Kid, on Wednesday from Belmont Park said Lemon Drop Kid came out of his victory in last Saturday's Woodward "perfect." He said blinkers, maturity, and jockey Edgar Prado have made the difference in recent races.

"He had to move a little earlier than we wanted the other day, but he can do most anything now," Schulhofer said.

Lemon Drop Kid, like Fusaichi Pegasus, will be retired at the end of the year and head off to stud in Kentucky. Schulhofer said he has mixed emotions, knowing the Gold Cup and Classic will be the last two starts for a colt Schulhofer says is the best horse he has trained in his Hall of Fame career.

"He's given us an awful lot of pleasure, but it's nerve-wracking keeping him going," Schulhofer said. "When you've got a horse that's worth that kind of money, well, it'll be a big load off my mind when I know he's home, safe and sound."

By contrast, Drysdale shook his head and said "no" when asked if there was any added pressure training a horse who has a market value of $60 million.

Drysdale has been eager all summer - throughout the protracted negotiations to syndicate Fusaichi Pegasus - to get Fusaichi Pegasus back to the races this fall. There is no real financial incentive to race Fusaichi Pegasus, since his value has been established. A championship, however, is a real goal. In addition, it is obvious from the way he has handled the colt that Drysdale believes this is one of the best horses he has been around, and he wants to show him off.

"We're not going to have him in training as a 4-year-old," Drysdale said, "so we need to race him as a 3-year-old, since he's not going to be here at 4."

Since Fusaichi Pegasus will not race next year, Drysdale said that is among the reasons he will have an aggressive campaign over the next six weeks, with the Jockey Club Gold Cup likely to follow the Jerome and precede the Breeders' Cup.

The Jerome, and to a lesser extent the Gold Cup, are means to an end. "I'll be happy with each race if he progresses," Drysdale said. Then, in what amounts to a warning for bettors this weekend, he added, "His primary goal is the Breeders' Cup Classic. Just bear that in mind."

Drysdale said there has been no pressure from any of those involved in Fusaichi Pegasus to stop training the colt and send him off to an early retirement.

Drysdale said that Fusaichi Pegasus did not lose much conditioning this summer, which is why the colt came around so quickly once he went back into training. Fusaichi Pegasus also has gained back the weight he lost during the Triple Crown.

"Time off is beneficial to every horse," Drysdale said. "I don't know how he'll perform Saturday, but he's training very well. He's come on well."

Fusaichi Pegasus is still animated, but not as wild as in the spring.

"He's better behaved now," Drysdale said. "He's still full of himself, but it's more controlled. He's not as erratic. He's more mature."