The two met again two weeks later March 31 in the 1 mile Santa Anita Derby. Linda's Chief, with Braulio Baeza up, was assigned post 5 and was sent off the 1:2 favorite. The Frank Martin entry of Sham, ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr., and the lesser regarded stablemate, California Juvenile stakes winner Knightly Dawn, was the post-time 5:2 second choice. Jorge Tejeira, a leading rider at the time, had originally been assigned the mount on Knightly Dawn, but on the morning of the race Tejeira was removed and Ismael Valenzuela, years past his top form as a highly regarded jockey (including regular rider of Kelso), was assigned the mount. The start was good, but Knightly Dawn, from post 6, angled in and sawed off Linda's Chief 40 yards after leaving the gate.