Derek Is Derby Favorite

Trainer Dan Hendricks said Brother Derek “came out real good” from Saturday’s victory in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.

And what of winning jockey Alex Solis?

“The jockey’s a little tired today,” Solis said in Arcadia on Sunday afternoon. “He celebrated a little too hard last night. You don’t get to win the Derby every week, so you have to enjoy it, and I did.”

With the Kentucky Derby less than four weeks away, Solis finds himself riding the favorite. Brother Derek has won four in a row and six of eight overall. California-bred or not, he still is the colt to beat at Churchill Downs on May 6.

What’s the 3-year-old like to ride?

“Like a Porsche,” Solis said. “Very strong, powerful, solid.”

German luxury cars, it seems, were the order of the day in horse racing.

As Solis was winning the Santa Anita Derby, Garrett Gomez was at rain-soaked Aqueduct, riding Bob And John to victory in the $750,000 Wood Memorial, another major Derby prep.

What’s Bob And John like to ride?

“My little horse, he’s more like a Mercedes,” Gomez said without missing a beat. “He’s not real zippy. He doesn’t have a big turn of foot. He’s just a pure stayer. He’s got a long, beautiful stride. He just keeps going.

“I think the mile and a quarter hopefully will work in our favor” at Louisville, he said.

While Hendricks kept Brother Derek in California, fellow trainer Bob Baffert, who won the Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and War Emblem in 2002, decided to send Bob And John to New York to try his luck.

It was a calculated gamble to win both preps. Baffert’s Point Determined finished second in the Santa Anita Derby.

“He ran a really good race,” Gomez said of Bob And John. “He had a lot of things working against him. He’d never run in the slop. He was going from a completely different kind of racetrack than he’s been on, shipping all the way across the country.

“So he had a lot of variables working against him and he overcame those. The pace was fairly fast and we were running into a headwind.

“They went fairly fast and we paid for it later in the race, but we got the job done.”

Hendricks said he wants to get Brother Derek to Churchill Downs in plenty of time to settle in with the new surroundings, probably eight to 10 days before the race.

“I want to get the horse there and get him used to the paparazzi and everything else, all the media hordes,” he said.

No Santa Anita Derby winner has gone on to win the Kentucky Derby since Sunday Silence in 1989, but 15 horses have accomplished the double.

“That’s the stat to go by,” Hendricks said. “I can’t worry about it. I ain’t giving back the win.”

Nor is Solis, who was asked to compare Brother Derek to Bob And John.

“They’re two very nice horses,” he said, “but I wouldn’t trade places with anybody.”

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Sunday’s feature race, the $83,000 San Pedro Stakes, was won by Solis aboard Arson Swap, a 3-year-old Pennsylvania-bred gelding trained by Bruce Headley and owned by Jay Em Ess Stables.

Sent off as the second-favorite, Arson Squad covered the 6 1/2 furlongs on a fast track in 1:15.81 and finished 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Victor Espinoza on Da Stoops.

The Pharaoh, who was ridden by Tyler Baze, was another six lengths behind in the field of five.

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Triple Crown ratings

By Tribune Co. for 3-year-olds leading up to Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes:

*--* N. Horse Trainer Jockey St W P S Last Race Next Race 1. Brother Dan Alex 8 6 0 1 Santa Anita Kentucky Derek Hendric Solis Derby (1st) Derby (5/6) ks 2. Barbaro Michael Edgar 5 5 0 0 Florida Derby Kentucky Matz Prado (1st) Derby (5/6) 3. Lawyer Bob John 13 6 1 3 Rebel (1st) Arkansas Ron Holthus McKee Derby (4/15) 4. Bob And Bob Garre 9 4 1 3 Wood Memorial Kentucky John Baffert tt (1st) Derby (5/6) Gomez 5. First Frank Edgar 7 5 1 1 Fountain of Blue Grass Samurai Brother Prado Youth (1st) (4/15) s 6. Michael Kent 6 3 0 1 Illinois Kentucky Sweetnorthe Trombet Desor Derby (1st) Derby (5/6) rnsaint ta meaux 7. Todd John 6 4 1 0 Tampa Bay Blue Grass Bluegrass Pletche Velas Derby (2nd) (4/15) Cat r quez 8. Point Bob Rafae 6 2 3 1 Santa Anita Kentucky Determined Baffert l Derby (2nd) Derby (5/6) Bejar ano 9. A.P. John Corey 8 3 1 1 Santa Anita Kentucky Warrior Shirref Nakat Derby (3rd) Derby (5/6) fs ani 10. Strong John Edgar 2 2 0 0 Allowance Blue Grass Contender Ward Prado (1st) (4/15) Jr.

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Triple Crown panel: John Cherwa, Orlando Sentinel; Dave Joseph, South Florida Sun-Sentinel; Bob Mieszerski, Los Angeles Times; Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune; Paul Moran, Newsday.