Grade 1, $1 million Santa Anita Derby, 1 1/8 mi., April  5, 2014. 100 Derby qualifying points for a win, 40 for second, 20 for third, 10 for fourth. California Chrome easily won the Santa Anita Derby by 5 1/4 lengths over Hoppertunity on Saturday for his fourth straight victory. His dominating performance also stamped him as a likely betting favorite for the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby, May 3. [ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays] Bothered slightly at the break from the gate, California Chrome settled into a pace-chasing position around the first turn into the backstretch and did not take over the lead from longshot Dublin Up until jockey Victor Espinoza flicked his wrist midway through the final turn. That minimal encouragement was all the odds-on favorite needed to break the race wide open. Lengthening his margin with nearly every stride through the final quarter mile, California Chrome, a handsome chestnut son of Lucky Pulpit, completed the nine furlongs in 1:47.52, easing up, to post a strong 107 Beyer Speed Figure. Hoppertunity, recent winner of the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, validated that form with his effort here. Held in reserve early while jockey Mike Smith kept him slightly off the rail, Hoppertunity moved into fourth inside of Candy Boy approaching the end of the backstretch. After waiting a few beats for room on the final turn, Hoppertunity angled out for the drive and while no threat to the winner, rallied with good energy for second, 3 1/2 lengths ahead of Candy Boy. With a total of 95 Derby qualifying points, the Bob Baffert-trained Hoppertunity also earned a spot in the Derby starting gate. Candy Boy, on the other hand, turned in a most disappointing effort at 5-2. Following his victory over Chitu and Midnight Hawk in the Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 8., Candy Boy entered the Santa Anita Derby as a highly rated Kentucky Derby prospect. After a mild bump leaving the gate, Candy Boy, a son of Candy Ride, was pushed by jockey Gary Stevens to be lapped on California Chrome around the first turn and held that close-attacking position down the backstretch. On the final turn, as California Chrome began to edge away from front-running Dublin Up, Candy Boy attempted to rally but was not able to sustain his bid, giving some ground through the lane while under a hard drive. Fact is, he barely caught the tiring pacesetter Dublin Up by a half-length for third. But with a total of 30 Derby qualifying points, Candy Boy  has only a slight chance to get into the Kentucky Derby. Aside from Dublin Up,  only Schoolofhardrocks was near the pace through the first furlongs, but faded to last while  none of the rest made any impact. At the bottom line, California Chrome has demonstrated very good overall speed and a surprisingly strong finish as he has improved throughout the Santa Anita meet.  He certainly is a fast horse with tactical speed for distance racing, but there are three areas of concern: * California Chrome has broken from the gate a step slow in two of his past five races and that could be a problem in a Derby where such a  miscue could cost valuable position in a full 20-horse field. * As the Derby field is shaping up, he also figures to be facing several fit horses who will be involved in a fast pace. Getting cooked in such a pace is no ticket to the Derby winner’s circle. * His connections say they plan to ship him to Louisville just a few days before the Derby. Should they stick to that plan, they will be going against the grain of modern Derby history, where the vast majority of Derby winners spent Derby week at Churchill Downs to acclimate and have a good workout over the track. All that said, California Chrome was a most impressive winner of the Santa Anita Derby and his venerable trainer Art Sherman and his jockey Victor Espinoza have made no mistakes to date.