BROTHER DEREK
 
Pedigree
DOSAGE INDEX  2.33.
Brother Derek is sired by California sire Benchmark, a son of Alydar.  Benchmark has generally outperformed the other better known sons of Alydar as a sire, including Alysheba, Strike the Gold, and Criminal Type.  Benchmark captured three Grade 2 events in 1997:  the Goodwood, the Del Mar Breeders Cup, and the San Bernardino.  The dam of Brother Derek is the unraced Miss Soft Cell, who foaled the stakes winner Don'tsellmeshort, a full brother to Brother Derek.  The AWD (Average Winning Distance) in North American open stakes for the progeny of Benchmark is 8.56 furlongs, certainly a positive indicator.  And the AWD in open stakes for progeny of Brother Derek's maternal grandsire Siyah Kalem is 8.38 furlongs.  Brother Derek looks to have a classic pedigree by any standards.
Update 3
Sometimes numbers relay a story better than words.  For example, the numbers 23.60, 46.59, 1:11.21, 1:35.39, and 1:48.00 tell you everything you need to know about the Santa Anita Derby, Saturday, April 8.  Brother Derek set every one of those fractions, and in doing so stamped himself the undeniable pre-Derby favorite.  Take a closer at those numbers.  The difference between 1:11.21 and 1:35.39 represents the 24 second quarter Brother Derek threw at the rest of the field from the six furlong marker to the mile marker.  Now look at the final two numbers, 1:35.39 and 1:48.00.  They represent the 12 3/5 seconds Brother Derek took to "cruise" the final eighth of a mile.  Brother Derek was actually geared down by rider Solis for most of the final eighth.  Now take a look at the last number, 1:48.00.  That is how long it took Brother Derek to negotiate the entire 1 1/8 miles of the Santa Anita Derby.  That is a demoralizing number for the rest of the Kentucky Derby hopefuls. 
Speaking of hope, is there any for the other 19 colts who will take on Brother Derek in Louisville?  The answer is yes, despite Brother Derek's monster performance in the Santa Anita Derby.  Brother Derek has yet to face a field in 2006 which challenged him in the early stages of a race.  Expect that to change dramatically on Saturday, May 6.  Also, the large fields of the modern day Kentucky Derby have the effect of transforming the spacious Churchill Downs main course into a "bull ring," particularly entering and exiting the turns.  Of course, Brother Derek is not the only colt that has to negotiate through the harrowing traffic.  All things considered, Brother Derek is going to be tough to beat in Louisville, but he has about a two in three chance of losing the race, even as the highest rated colt going in.     
Update 2
Brother Derek triumphed in the Grade 2 Santa Catalina Saturday, March 4, and he did it in a professional manner, patiently anticipating the cue from his rider Alex Solis that would be his signal to take control.  Brother Derek did just that, taking control, and cruising to a definitive victory in just under 1:42 flat for the 1 1/16 miles on the main track at Santa Anita Park.  He is ready for the Derby, right?  Break out the bouquet of roses and the champagne glasses, right?  Wrong!  Derek is a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby, and came out of the Santa Catalina in good shape, with just a minor cut, but the late scratch of Bob Baffert's Wanna Runner created a pace void in the Santa Catalina.  Latent Heat (Bobby Frankel) and Objective (Peter Miller) were left to contest the pace with Brother Derek, and Objective dropped back badly in the second turn, leaving Brother Derek very little resistance to deal with.  Brother Derek is going to be more vulnerable at the mile and one-quarter Kentucky Derby distance, and there will be no shortage of pace pressure in the Derby, either.  Brother Derek is one of the leading contenders right now, but I do not see a future with Brother Derek as Kentucky Derby champion.     
Update 1
Dan Hendricks is beloved in the Southern California region and beyond for his courage and clever wit.  Hendricks is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a motocross accident in the summer of 2004.  A mere six weeks after the accident Hendricks returned to his Del Mar barn to resume training.  Brother Derek would be his first Kentucky Derby starter.  Fourth place finisher in the 2005 Breeders Cup Juvenile, Brother Derek was a mere footnote on the list of Derby hopefuls at that time.  Brother Derek served notice seven weeks later (December 17, 2005) by winning the Hollywood Futurity.  And in his 2006 campaign debut, Brother Derek defeated the two-year-old champion Stevie Wonderboy in the Grade 1 San Raphael at Santa Anita.  Now Brother Derek is considered a leading contender and possible favorite for the Kentucky Derby, and who doth protest?  Well, I do, as a matter of fact.  Make no mistake, Brother Derek is a leading contender, but he has some limitations.  His strength is a superior front-running style, and that style is tenuous at best in the Kentucky Derby.  Also, the San Raphael set up like a training race for him as there was no other speed to think of.  He could bide his time and save his strength for the stretch challenge sure to come from Stevie Wonderboy.  But which Stevie Wonderboy showed up?  Wonderboy was only days away from surgery to correct a condylar fracture and his performance was sub par, indicating to me he may have been suffering already.  Andy Beyer awarded inflated speed figures to both Brother Derek and Stevie Wonderboy for the San Raphael, and when Beyer does that he renders his vaunted speed figures valueless.  Brother Derek is probably at his best from one mile to one and one-sixteenth miles, and should he be challenged early in the Derby he will probably not be able to sustain his bid.  

BOB AND JOHN
 
Pedigree
DOSAGE INDEX  3.00.
The sire of Bob And John is Seeking The Gold.  The sire of Seeking The Gold is Mr. Prospector, and the sire line of Seeking The Gold is Raise A Native.  The sire of Bob And John' dam Minister's Melody is Deputy Minister, and the sire line of Deputy Minister is Northern Dancer.  Bob And John is one of five grandsons of Deputy Minister maneuvering for a berth in the 2006 Kentucky Derby, the others being Red Raymond, Jazil, Private Vow, and Deputy Glitters.  Deputy Commander, a son of Deputy Minister, is among the world's leading 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-crop sires of 2003-2005.  He is the sire of Deputy Glitters, upset victor of the Tampa Bay Derby on March 18.  In North American open stakes, the progeny of Deputy Commander boast a AWD (Average Winning Distance) of 9.3 furlongs, well within the range for classic winners.  Northern Dancer represents the sire line of Bob And John's damsire Minister's Melody, and Northern Dancer also represents the sire line of Storm Cat, one of the most successful sires in modern times, producing 89 graded stakes winners. 

The AWD (Average Winning Distance) on dirt, in North American open stakes, for Storm Cat's progeny is about 7 ½ furlongs, lower than one would like to see for a classic contender, and this pattern is evident in many of the descendants of Northern Dancer.  Bob And John's sire Seeking The Gold hails from the Mr. Prospector/Raise A Native line, and like the Northern Dancer line this is one of the most prodigious in North American breeding history.  The AWD on dirt, in North American open stakes, for Seeking The Gold's progeny is 7.85 furlongs, a nondescript figure and not what you would like to see for a classic contender.  Other sons & daughters of Seeking The Gold include Seeking the Ante, winner of the 2005 Grade 2 Nassau County Breeders Cup, and Pleasant Home, winner of the 2005 Grade 1 Emirates Airline Breeders Cup Distaff. 
Update 2
No one can blame Bob And John for the Saturday morning showers that drenched the outer dirt course at Aqueduct, Saturday, April 8.  Bob And John took the trip to New York from California to show the best of the East Coast his "A" game, and that's exactly what he did in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial, sloppy track and all.  Bob And John seemed to relish the off going as he sped effortlessly to the outside of the early leaders Keyed Entry and Marco's Tale, and commenced to hounding Keyed Entry all the way to the middle of the far turn, shaking loose of the rest of the field in the process.  Rider Garrett Gomez asked for run from Bob And John in early stretch, and Bob And John responded and wore down Keyed Entry late, finishing with good energy to hold off the late closing Jazil for the victory.  The final time for the 1 1/8 miles of the Wood, in the slop, was 1:51.40.  Bob And John got the final furlong in 14 seconds flat, not a strong figure, but good enough for the win.  What are the implications of the victory?  First and foremost, Bob And John earns $450,000 in graded stakes prize money to add on to the $140,370 he previously earned.  That, in a nutshell, punches his ticket to the Kentucky Derby.  Second, the manner in which Bob And John fought and faced down Keyed Entry, Deputy Glitters, My Golden Song, and Greeley's Galaxy, and then held off the late charging Jazil, is a testimony to his talent, courage, and the preparation he received from handler Bob Baffert.  Third, unless the track at Churchill Downs comes up sloppy on May 6, there is not much to project from his performance in the Wood to his anticipated performance in the Kentucky Derby.  That is the nature of racing, but Bob And John is heading to Louisville, and getting there is half the battle.    
Update 1
Bob And John is trained by Bob Baffert, no stranger to the Kentucky Derby spotlight.  It is worth mentioning that Bob Baffert has been amazing in the Kentucky Derby, having trained three winners, one second place finisher and two third place finishers in the period from 1996 to 2002.  Bob And John has been successful almost from the beginning, with three wins, one place, and two shows in seven starts heading into the Grade 2 San Felipe, March 18, at Santa Anita Park.  We'll get back to the San Felipe in a moment.  Bob And John has raced exclusively at the three major Southern California tracks, Del Mar, Hollywood Park, and Santa Anita.  In just the second start of his inaugural campaign Bob And John served notice he was a talent to be reckoned with, ridden out in victory after toying with a maiden allowance field at Del Mar.  Two months later, Bob And John met A. P. Warrior and Da Stoops in a talent laden first-level allowance, a two-turn mile, finishing second four lengths shy of the winner A. P. Warrior and a neck in front of stable mate Da Stoops.  In the Real Quiet, three weeks later at Hollywood, Bob And John apparently won but was disqualified in a ridiculous steward's ruling and placed second behind the unofficial second place finisher Genre.  Bob And John came in slightly exiting the far turn, momentarily impeding Genre, who was already beginning to back up and would eventually finish six lengths to the worse of Bob And John.  In December, Bob And John met Kentucky Derby aspirant Brother Derek for the first time in the Grade 1 Hollywood Futurity at Hollywood Park.  It was in the Futurity that Brother Derek stamped his name at the top of the short list of West Coast Derby hopefuls, while Bob And John was relegated to a quiet third place finish, beaten five lengths, but getting his first taste of graded stakes earnings.  After reasserting himself by clearing first-level allowance conditions in January 2006, his 3-year-old debut, Bob And John turned his attention to the Grade 3 Sham at Santa Anita, where rival Brother Derek was noticeably absent.  Bob And John routed a questionable Sham field, nonetheless recording a healthy speed figure, and moved on to the Grade 2 San Felipe, March 18, also at Santa Anita.  Now we can get back to the San Felipe.  Bob And John received favoritism from the betting public, but failed to menace as he seemed one-paced the entire going, eventually working his way to a third place finish, but soundly beaten by the top two finishers, A. P. Warrior and Point Determined.  It is not that Bob And John digressed in the San Felipe, so much as A. P. Warrior (now trained by John Shirreffs, winning trainer of the 2005 Kentucky Derby) and Point Determined (another Baffert charge) moved forward.  Point be told, A. P. Warrior and Point Determined both own pedigrees more in line with classic winners than does Bob And John.  With this in mind, the outcome of the San Felipe is no surprise, but it sure seemed like a surprise to onlookers.  Bob And John has amassed enough graded stakes earnings to gain an invitation to the big party on Saturday, May 6, but he has yet to show his 'A' game against top competition.  His job is to make the San Felipe a distant memory, and he'll have his chance April 8, in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.