2006 Kentucky Derby: Brother Derek profile

Brother Derek is the best of the West, sweeping the San Rafael, the Santa Catalina and the Santa Anita Derby with ease. The bay colt is bidding to become the first California bred to win the Derby since Decidedly in 1962, and likely will be the morning-line favorite.

Brother Derek is by the California sire Benchmark, who got a late start in his racing career, making only one start at age three. He was lightly raced for a horse that was still running at age seven, finishing with a 7-2-4 mark from 16 starts.

Brother Derek marks the second time his unraced dam Miss Soft Sell has foaled a stakes winner - his full brother Don'tsellmeshort won several California-bred stakes at two and was third in the Laz Barrera Memorial.

Alex Solis will ride Brother Derek on Saturday. Solis reached national prominence in 1986 as the regular rider of multiple grade one stakes winner Snow Chief.He won his first Breeders' Cup race in 2000 aboard Kona Gold and has ridden the following major stakes winners: Megahertz, Sweet Return, Singletary, Pleasantly Perfect, Kona Gold, and Johar. Based in southern California, Solis has won 20 meet riding titles overall, including six consecutive at his home bases during 1996-97. His 2005 stats showed him earning $9,647,743 from 729 mounts, good for 14th place nationally. He finished second in the Kentucky Derby three out of four years with Captain Bodgit in 1997, Victory Gallop in 1998 and Aptitude in 2000.

Owner Cecil Peacock will watch Brother Derek as his first Derby contender. He is the owner of Peacock Energy, Inc. He bought his first Thoroughbred in 1971. He runs his horses mainly in Southern California, Vancouver, British Columbia and Edmonton, Alberta. He campaigned Don'tsellmeshort, the 2003 California-bred champion juvenile male who is a full brother to Brother Derek.

Southern California based Dan Hendricks is a Los Angeles native, born there December 5, 1958, will send Brother Derek to the gate as trainer. Training is in his blood, his father and uncle were both trainers. His first job on the track was working for the late Willard Proctor; he also spent nine years as an assistant to Richard Mandella. Going out on his own in 1987, he's saddled winners of nearly 70 stakes, among them almost 30 graded events, including sending out Smooth Player to upset Excellent Meeting in the 1999 Hollywood Oaks. Hendicks was paralyzed from the waist down following a July 7, 2004 motocross accident, but returned to his Del Mar barn just six weeks later to resume training full-time. Brother Derek would be Hendricks' first Derby starter.

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