Brother Derek, Bob and John win Derby preps

The Kentucky Derby has its favorite in Brother Derek. Three-timeDerby winner Bob Baffert will be back, too, with a couple ofcontenders.

Brother Derek solidified his status as the Derby favorite with aneasy victory in Saturday's Santa Anita Derby in Arcadia, Calif.Baffert, meanwhile, sent out Bob and John to win the Wood Memorial atAqueduct about an hour before watching Point Determined finish secondto Brother Derek.

Trained by Dan Hendricks, Brother Derek has won four in a row withease, and on May 6 will attempt to become the third favorite in sevenyears to win the Derby. Smarty Jones did it in 2004; Fusaichi Pegasusin 2000.

"It's up to the bettors," Hendricks said of whether Brother Derekwill be the top choice on Derby Day. "The Derby is a whole otherrace. It's a whole other scenario. It's a 20-horse field."

Saturday's races, including the Illinois Derby, were final tuneupsbefore the Kentucky Derby.

Brother Derek may be the favorite, but Barbaro will come into theDerby with a 5-for-5 record after winning the Florida Derby on April1.

Also, Lawyer Ron could make a strong case as the horse to beat ifhe wins the Arkansas Derby next weekend and improves to 7-for-7 ondirt tracks.

At Santa Anita, Brother Derek used his early speed to take thelead under Alex Solis, letting the rest of the field chase him for1AE miles and beating Point Determined by 3OE lengths.

Brother Derek covered the distance in 1:48.00 and paid $3, $2.40and $2.10 as the 2-5 favorite.

"He can run, that's all there is to it," Hendricks said. "Therehasn't been any faster horses in the races so far, and the next onethere will be and it's a whole new game."

A.P. Warrior was third, and also is headed to the Derby.

Although the Santa Anita Derby has produced winners who went on towear the roses on the first Saturday in May, it hasn't happened sinceSunday Silence in 1989.

At Aqueduct, Bob and John made his first start outside Californiaa winning one, catching pacesetter Keyed Entry at the top of thestretch over a sloppy track and beating Jazil by 1oe lengths.

"This is a very nice young horse," Baffert said. "He changes everymonth because he's so young. A horse that good with that kind ofbreeding, you know he's going to get better. This was a good test."