Brother Derek Betting Odds

Dan Hendricks is ready for Brother Derek to give Barbaro something at the Preakness he didn't get at the Derby: a race.

By WILL GRAVES

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Don't count Brother Derek among the horses scared of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.

After watching his 3-year-old colt get pushed to the far outside while finishing in a dead-heat for fourth at the Derby, trainer Dan Hendricks is ready for Brother Derek to give Barbaro something at the Preakness he didn't get at the Derby: a race.

"I'm hoping for a stretch duel," said Hendricks, who returned to California for a few days before heading to Pimlico while the horse stayed at Churchill Downs. "I hope it's a true-run race, that's all I can ask for."

With the field for Saturday's second leg of the Triple Crown possibly as small as six horses, Brother Derek won't have the positioning problems at Pimlico he experienced at the Derby, when he drew the far outside 18th post and spent most of the 1 1/4 -mile race trying to pick his way through a jumbled 20-horse traffic jam before tying Jazil for fourth.

In hindsight, Hendricks said he perhaps should have chosen the third post instead, but at the post draw he was too worried about Brother Derek getting caught up in the expected early speed duel between Point Determined and Sinister Minister, who were in the fourth and fifth spots.

"We'd liked to have been in the three-hole and changed a lot of things, but the way they drew before us, we thought we were better off outside," Hendricks said.

Brother Derek fell all the way to 16th at the top of the stretch before rallying after jockey Alex Solis finally found some running room for the Santa Anita Derby winner, even if it was nine-wide of the field.

"I'm proud of the way we handled it," Hendricks said. "We kept fighting through it."

Which leaves Hendricks optimistic about the Preakness even as other trainers pull their horses after watching Barbaro dominate the Derby.

"Oh, I'm not surprised at all," he said about the size of the field. "Barbaro is very impressive. Bernardini looks like an up-and-coming horse, and with us and Sweetnorthernsaint, there's four good horses that should take the top four spots. What out there wants to run against them?"

The key word for Hendricks being "run." The Derby wasn't a race as much as a mad scramble around Churchill Downs.

There were plenty of bad trips to be had, and just about every horse not named Barbaro -- who stumbled at the start then pushed his way to the front around the far turn and had clear sailing to the finish -- seemed to struggle while searching for daylight.

There will be plenty of room to move at the Preakness, leaving Hendricks hopeful his horse can recapture the form he showed while winning four straight heading into the Derby.

"It's going to be a cleaner race for everyone," he said. "No matter where you draw, it's going to be more tactical. (The jockeys) will be able to pick their spots more and they'll be able to see where everyone is at."

Brother Derek has enjoyed a quiet stay at Churchill Downs since the Derby on May 6. With just two weeks between the two races, Hendricks said there was no need to put his horse through a serious workout. The colt galloped just over a mile Monday under assistant trainer Francisco Alvarado.

"He came out of the race great," Hendricks said. "He could have walked every day into the Preakness and been fine. He bounced right along this morning."

Which means Brother Derek should be plenty fresh for the Preakness. Hendricks was quick to point out his respect for Barbaro -- whom he called one of the most impressive horses he's seen -- but he's anxious for a head-to-head matchup that never developed at the Derby.

"Like I've said, he impressed me most coming into the Derby, and now we're trying to bounce back and be the better horse on Saturday," Hendricks said. "He's on top right now. (But) if we win, we'll be back on top. But we're not going to go home with our tail between our legs if he can beat us."

Brother Derek Betting Odds - 2006 Preakness Matchup
Barbaro vs Brother Derek

Barbaro -200
Brother Derek +150

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