Power Broker , one of three likely starters for trainer Bob Baffert in the April 6 Santa Anita Derby (gr. I), worked four furlongs in company the morning of March 31 in :47 2/5 for the West Coast's major steppingstone to the May 4 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
Martin Garcia was aboard the son of Pulpit, whose stablemate, Bank the Eight, was clocked in :47 4/5. It ranked as the fourth fastest of 43 drills at the distance at Santa Anita.
The Santa Anita Derby would be Power Broker's first race since the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) at Santa Anita last Nov. 3, in which the Gary and Mary West-owned colt finished fifth behind eventual 2012 male 2-year-old champion Shanghai Bobby .
"The workout was very nice," Baffert said in a release. "I got him going out (five furlongs) in :59 4/5. He hasn't lost any of his conditioning, because he really hasn't been away. He's just been away from the action, but he has a really good foundation on him. The Breeders' Cup race was a disaster. I gave Bejarano bad instructions."
Power Broker has posted eight workouts over Santa Anita's main track since Feb. 14.
Bejarano is again named to ride the chestnut colt he has ridden in each of his five starts. Power Broker broke his maiden in the FrontRunner (gr. I) last Sept. 29 before disappointing as the 2-1 second choice in the Juvenile.
One of Baffert's other Santa Anita Derby contenders, favored Flashback , is scheduled to work April 1. Also owned by the Wests, Flashback suffered his first defeat when he finished second as the even-money favorite in the San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) March 9.
Super Ninety Nine , winner of a division of the Southwest Stakes (gr. III) on a sloppy Oaklawn Park surface Feb. 18, is the third probable Baffert entrant, hoping to rebound from a fifth-place finish as the 6-5 favorite in the Rebel Stakes (gr. II) March 16.
Baffert has won the Santa Anita Derby six times, most recently with Midnight Interlude in 2011. Nine Santa Anita Derby winners have gone on to win the Run for the Roses, including the improbable I'll Have Another last year.
Probable for the Santa Anita Derby: Flashback, Garrett Gomez; Hear the Ghost,
Corey Nakatani; Goldencents , Kevin Krigger; Super Ninety Nine, Martin Garcia; Power Broker, Rafael Bejarano; Tiz a Minister, Joe Talamo; Storm Fighter, Gary Stevens; and Dirty Swagg, Tyler Baze.
