Brother Derek the favorite

Dan Hendricks has every reason to believe he’ll still have the Kentucky Derby favorite after today’s key prep races are over.

That’s because Hendricks is the trainer of Brother Derek, winner of three in a row and the odds-on choice to place first in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.

“I know he’s good enough to win and he’s probably the best horse going into the race,” Hendricks said. “But it’s horse racing, and things come up.”

The 11/8-mile race will be Brother Derek’s final prep before the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

Coming off impressive victories this year in the San Rafael Stakes and the Santa Catalina Stakes, the son of Benchmark takes on five rivals.

Among them are A.P. Warrior and Point Determined, the first- and second-place finishers in the San Felipe Stakes, and Sacred Light, runner-up in the Santa Catalina.

Brother Derek, with Alex Solis aboard, has been on top of just about every Derby contenders list for weeks. Hendricks said his dark brown colt, with five wins in seven career starts, hasn’t peaked yet thanks to a carefully designed program that hasn’t been too taxing.

“I don’t feel like I have a worn horse at all,” said Hendricks, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a motocross accident in July 2004. “I have a horse who is fresh and ready to go, and I’m right where I want to be at this point.”

Should Brother Derek fail to live up to expectations, several Derby contenders are primed to move into the favorite’s role, including Barbaro, the Florida Derby winner with a 5-for-5 record, and Lawyer Ron, who runs next week in the Arkansas Derby and is 6 for 6 on dirt tracks.

Many trainers will find out where their horses stack up in two other Derby preps today – the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and the $500,000 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Race Course.

Wood Memorial

Bob and John shipped East from California to take on eight challengers in what looks to be a wide-open race after speed horses Like Now and Showing Up weren’t entered because of minor ailments.

Third in the San Felipe, trainer Bob Baffert’s Bob and John was the morning-line 2-1 favorite, but Keyed Entry at 5-2 could be the top choice come post time.

Keyed Entry is another talented colt from the barn of Todd Pletcher, the nation’s leading trainer who has a chance to saddle a record-equaling five Derby starters – just like Nick Zito did last year.

With the early speed gone, Keyed Entry could take control from the outset and dictate the race. In winning his first three starts, that’s what happened. In finishing second to Like Now in the Gotham, Keyed Entry was purposely kept just off the lead to teach him to relax. He finished second by a neck.

“It all depends on what Todd decides to do,” said Jack Wolf of Starlight Stable, which owns the son of Honour and Glory.

With rain forecast for early today in New York, Deputy Glitters might be scratched. Trainer Tom Albertrani said his Tampa Bay Derby winner ran poorly over a wet track in the Champagne Stakes last year, and “if we end up with a sloppy track, we may be out as well.”

Illinois Derby

Cause to Believe ventures outside California and is the horse to beat.

A winner in six of nine starts with three runner-up finishes, Cause to Believe is coming off a four-length win over Sinister Minister in the California Derby on March 11.

The race brought together a 10-horse field, including Pletcher’s My Golden Song and trainer Bobby Frankel’s Racketeer.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who bought Cause to Believe for $30,000 last March at a Florida sale for 2-year-olds in training, said his preference was to stay away from the Santa Anita Derby.

“It’s not like we’re trying to duck horses or find the easiest way, but it seems like a reasonable way for my horse to go,” he said. “It’s been a proven path to the Derby before.”

Finish lines

In addition to Keyed Entry and My Golden Song, Pletcher’s other Derby hopefuls are Bluegrass Cat (next start, Blue Grass Stakes on April 15), High Cotton (Arkansas Derby on April 15), and Sunriver, who finished third in last week’s Florida Derby in his final prep … Two other stakes will be run at Aqueduct: the Bayshore for 3-year-olds and the Carter Handicap, both seven-furlong sprints. Trainer Bob Baffert’s Too Much Bling, winner of the San Miguel and the San Vicente, headlines the Bayshore (won last year by Lost in the Fog). Silver Train, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr.’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner, tops the seven-horse field in the Carter.