Bailey fires first (and winning) shot Associated Press BALTIMORE -- Like almost everyone else at Pimlico, Jerry Bailey kept an eye on 1-5 favorite Fusaichi Pegasus throughout most of the 125th Preakness Stakes. Toward the end of Saturday's race, however, Bailey had nothing to look at except the finish line. All the other horses, including Fusaichi Pegasus, were in his wake. Bailey, back aboard Red Bullet for the first time since February, breezed past the pack down the stretch and cruised to a surprising victory, defeating the Kentucky Derby winner by 3 3-4 lengths. "My biggest concern was to get the jump on Fusaichi Pegasus," Bailey said. "I was inside of him and I felt if we could beat him to the quarter pole, we could beat him to the wire." And that's exactly what happened. Red Bullet and Bailey parted company when Bailey decided to run in California, but the horse and jockey got back together for the Preakness and teamed to win the $1 million race as a 6-1 underdog. "When we met Jerry down at the saddling area, I said, 'The less we tell you Jerry, the better it is,'" owner Frank Stronach said. "I was glad to see him sit way back, because basically I would have loved to have told him to stay back, watch Pegasus and then just rush by him." Which is precisely how Bailey won the race. "We knew Jerry could get the job done," trainer Joe Orseno said. Red Bullet was seventh at the half-pole and sixth at the 3-4 pole, but blasted past the pack to move into first at the stretch. "The race set up nice for us. We wanted to be mid-pack, and that's exactly where we were able to get," Bailey said. "It turned out great." As he burst toward the finish, Red Bullet splattered mud on Fusaichi Pegasus as he pulled away. "Red Bullet really showed what he was made of today," Bailey said. "He exploded on the turn and when we straightened out, he just left the other horses. He was just the better horse today."

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