Three Major Preps Test Kentucky Derby Contenders

By GREG MELIKOV

Saturday's three important stakes at 1 1/8 miles totaling $2 million should weed out the pretenders on the Road to the Roses.

Three of the first four finishers in the Gotham will clash again at Aqueduct in the $750,000 Wood Memorial.

Like Now, built like a sprinter with a pedigree that indicates he can get a distance of ground, led at every call of the 1 1/16 miles, defeating Keyed Entry by a neck.

"We thought he would get the distance," trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. "The question was the quality of horses he would get the distance with, and this looked like a tough spot." The bettors didn't have much faith ï½ the winner paid $74.50.

The runner-up pressed the pace throughout and may end up favored while Greeley's Legacy was another length behind in fourth.

Non-Gotham starters will include Bob and John, third in the San Felipe; Deputy Glitters, who beat Bluegrass Cat by two lengths in the Tampa Bay Derby; and Showing Up, who skipped Gulfstream's Florida Derby. Marco's Tale, who posted two easy victories at 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct, also may run.

Eleven of 20 Wood Memorial winners triumphed in the Kentucky Derby. The last was Fusaichi Pegasus in '00. Seven that hit the board at Aqueduct also won at Churchill Downs. The latest was'01 runner-up Monarchos.

Bob and John, the only horse to travel 1 1/8 miles when winning the Sham in 1:49 with a triple digit speed figure at Santa Anita, should bounce back from his third place finish in the San Felipe. Keyed Entry can make amends for coming up a neck short of Like Now in the Gotham.

Brother Derek, early favorite for the 132nd Kentucky Derby, goes for his third straight victory around two turns at Santa Anita this year. The Ken Hendricks' trainee faces Sacred Light, who chased him home in the Santa Catalina and lost by1/½ lengths.

The most formidable challenger in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby is John Shirreffs' A. P. Warrior, winner of the San Felipe. Trying him again is runner-up Point Determined, beaten a half-length. Also in the mix is Fast Parade, who won the Baldwin Stakes, and Indy Wildcat, victorious in the Borderland Derby at Sunland Park.

No horse that captured Santa Anita's premier race for sophomores since Sunday Silence in '89 won at Louisville, but 14 others performed the feat. However, 11 that hit the board smelled the roses, including six of the last dozen.

It's brother Derek's race to lose, but A. W. Warrior and Point Determined will be in the thick of it.

Cause to Believe, who swept both northern California route stakes, probably is the likely favorite in the $500,000 Illinois Derby. First or second in all nine starts, he goes for his third straight two-turn triumph following the four-length win in the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields.

Challengers include My Golden Song, third in Gulfstream's Holy Bull and fourth in the Fountain of Youth, Mister Triester, fourth in Santa Anita's Santa Catalina; With a City, biggest upset winner of the Lane's End Stakes at Turfway Park; and Devilofarush, victorious in two route races at Hawthorne.

Others in the field are Racketeer, fourth in the San Felipe; Itsallboutthechase, ninth in the Fountain of Youth, Sweetnorthernsaint, third in the Gotham; Malameeze, fourth in the John Battaglia Memorial; and Lewis Michael, a minor turf stakes winner that finished fifth in the Hallandale Beach Stakes on the grass at Gulfstream.

Sweetnorthernsaint has triple digit speed figures in his last three while My Golden Song has raced 1 1/8 miles in his last two, beaten 1 � lengths in the Fountain of Youth while running a respectable 1:49 2/5.

War Emblem is the only winner of the Illinois Derby ('02) that scored in the Kentucky Derby.

Greg Melikov has been handicapping and writing about horses for decades. His articles and columns appear in print and on the Internet around the world. Greg is a retired newspaperman who became a racing fan at 13 when he saw 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation, his favorite horse, whip 20 older horses at old Arlington Park.