ARCADIA, Calif. — Brother Derek, a horse trained and broken in South Jordan, had his way in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, running easily at the front around his home track.
No one pressed him in a 3 1/4-length victory Saturday, solidifying his status as the heavy favorite for next month's Kentucky Derby.
"That was just what we wanted," winning trainer Dan Hendricks said.
In his final tuneup before heading to Louisville, Brother Derek used his early speed to take the lead under Alex Solis, letting the rest of the field chase him for 1 1-8 miles.
"He can run, that's all there is to it," Hendricks said. "There hasn't been any faster horses in the races so far, and the next one there will be, and it's a whole new game."
Brother Derek covered the longest distance of his career in 1:48.00 and paid $3, $2.40 and $2.10 as the 2-5 wagering favorite. The win payoff equaled the third-lowest in the race's 69-year history.
Brother Derek has won four in a row and is undefeated in four career starts at Santa Anita.
"This horse is a monster. Just incredible," Solis said. "He keeps impressing me more and more each race he runs."
Point Determined, trained by Bob Baffert, finished second and returned $2.80 and $2.10. A.P. Warrior paid $2.10 to show. Sacred Light was fourth after stumbling badly out of the gate, and Wildfang finished last. Each horse carried 122 pounds.
Jockey Rafael Bejarano figures the Kentucky Derby's 1 1/4-mile distance will help Point Determined.
"Brother Derek won easy because he didn't have any pressure. He was really comfortable all the way," Bejarano said. "I tried to put my horse closer in the race, but I had to ride him all the way. But he felt good and finished strong to be second."
Indy Wildcat was scratched because of unresolved and unspecified differences among his owners, leaving the race with its smallest field since 1946, when Knockdown defeated four rivals.
It was the first Santa Anita Derby victory for Hendricks, who guided his motorized wheelchair into the winner's circle. He was paralyzed from the waist down in a 2004 motorcycle accident.
"This is the biggest win of my career," said Hendricks, surrounded by his three young sons, who willingly gave up motocross after their father's accident.
"This is the best race I've ever won with the best horse I've ever trained, and that's what makes it easy. People ask me about the pressure. I don't have any pressure until he stops running because he's a very easy horse to train."
Brother Derek is owned by Cecil Peacock, whose silks bear a strong resemblance to NBC's peacock logo. The network televised Saturday's race and will show the Kentucky Derby, too.
"He was Mr. Peacock before NBC," Hendricks said.
Peacock wore a Maple Leaf pin in his lapel, a nod to his hometown of Calgary, Alberta, where he struck it rich in oil exploration.
"I wish I could be as calm during the race as Brother Derek is," he said. "He's racing so well, and we have a lot of confidence in him."
Brother Derek is named for the son of the 3-year-old colt's former owner, who sold the horse to Peacock and later tried unsuccessfully to buy him back.
Although the Santa Anita Derby has produced winners who went on to wear the roses on the first Saturday in May, it hasn't happened since Sunday Silence in 1989.
Hendricks knows the challenges at Churchill Downs will be unlike any Brother Derek has faced.
"It's a 20-horse field, it's going to suit a horse that comes from off the pace, and a horse that maybe wants to go that route," he said. "If we get the suicidal pace, it's going to hurt us. We'll pray that won't end up the scenario, but with 20 horses it just makes it hard."
Baffert had a huge day on both coasts.
He was at New York's rainy Aqueduct, where Bob and John won the Wood Memorial and Too Much Bling romped to a nine-length win in the Bay Shore Stakes.
He cleaned up at Santa Anita, too. Baffert's horses won four races, including a 1-2 finish in the third, and Point Determined's second-place result in the Derby.
Saturday's results give Baffert two solid horses for the Kentucky Derby, a race he's won three times but not since 2002.