OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Bob Baffert said multiple times that Rodriguez reminded him of his sire Authentic, Baffert’s 2020 Kentucky Derby winner who benefitted when that race was held on the first Saturday of September rather than May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The ability was there; the mentality, not so much.  On a gloomy Saturday in New York, Rodriguez not only displayed his raw talent but, combined with proper pre-race behavior, he punched his ticket to the May 3 Kentucky Derby with a dominating 3 1/2-length, front-running victory in the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.  Grande, making his stakes debut, also earned his way into the Derby by running second, 1 3/4 lengths clear of Passion Rules. Captain Cook, the 9-5 favorite, may have run himself out of Derby contention with a fourth-place finish.  “That was pretty impressive,” Baffert, who watched the race from Southern California, said. “I’ve always thought he was a really good horse. When he broke his maiden he looked really impressive that day. Then we put him in some tough situations where these other horses were just quicker than him. A mile and an eighth, these horses like him, the cream rises to the top.”  :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Rodriguez was coming out of a third-place finish behind Journalism and Barnes in the Grade 2 San Felipe. Flavien Prat, who rode Rodriguez that day, told Baffert he was too uptight leading up to that race.  “He was just so anxious and rambunctious the last time he ran,” Baffert said. “He was all over the place. When Prat rode him last time he said he’s too busy, his mind’s not right. Authentic was the same way. We just worked with him, just settled him down and took the equipment off and he was great. He was a gentleman going to the gate.”  Breaking from the rail under Mike Smith, Rodriguez went right to the front. He had a one-length lead after an opening quarter in 23.31 seconds. Manny Franco had Captain Cook, the Grade 2 Withers winner, within a half-length through a half-mile in 47.44 seconds and six furlongs in 1:11.25.  “Manuel came to me around that turn and he picked it up and we put some separation on the field,” Smith said. “I thought [when Rodriguez exhaled] we’re going to be okay. He’s going to have some air, he just got to be good enough and he was.”  Rodriguez, owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Racing, Stonestreet and Bashor LLC, covered the 1 1/8-miles in 1:48.15 (101 Beyer Speed Figure) and returned $9.30 to win as the second choice. It was the third-fastest Wood since 2005. Only Bellamy Road (1:47.16) and Mo Donegal (1:47.96) have run faster in the last two decades.  Rodriguez earned 100 qualifying points and now has 121.25 for the Derby.  For Baffert, it was his third victory in the Wood Memorial after winning it previously with Bob and John and Congaree.  Noteworthy was how well Rodriguez galloped out after the race. Smith needed assistance from outrider Miguel Gutierrez to get the horse pulled up.  “He looked good, didn’t he?” said Smith, who won his fourth Wood Memorial 35 years after winning his first aboard Thirty Six Red. “The Derby’s always different and there’s going to be a big crowd, that’s why we had the ear plugs and stuff. There’s a lot of growing for this horse to do and that’s a good thing.”  Smith has won the Derby twice, including on Justify for Baffert in 2018. Justify won the Triple Crown.  Rodriguez will look to snap a 22-year lack of success for Wood Memorial horses in the Kentucky Derby. Funny Cide, second to Empire Maker in 2003, was the last horse to come out of the Wood to win the Derby. Since 2004, the Wood has produced 43 Derby starters.  Grande earned 50 qualifying points and figures to join Rodriguez in the Derby starting gate. In his stakes debut, Grande had a wide trip and was farther back than he had been in his previous two starts but battled on to finish a clear second. The result virtually assures that two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher will have a starter in the race for the 22nd straight year.  “That’s why we were here to see if we belong and earn some points,” said Pletcher, who trains Grande for Mike Repole. “I think he proved that he does belong and he got some points as well.”  Passion Rules, who won his first three starts, was making his stakes debut and his third-place finish Saturday earned him 25 points, a figure unlikely to qualify him for the Derby.  By virtue of his fourth-place finish, Captain Cook earned 15 points and now has 35 points, likely placing him on the bubble at best.  *** The all-sources handle on the 13-race card was a Wood Day record $23, 250,478, eclipsing  the previous record of $21,601,673 set in 2013 on an 11-race card. In addition to having two more races, Aqueduct likely benefitted from the cancellation of Saturday cards at Keeneland and Oaklawn Park.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.