LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Beneath a gray sky on a humid morning, I Want Revenge zipped through an effortless 4-furlong workout in just a bit more than 47 seconds for jockey Joe Talamo. When the colt got back to Barn 24, stall 2 on the Churchill Downs backstretch, the clouds opened. If you believe in omens, and no one is more superstitious than racetrack people, beating the rain was a very good sign.

"It was beautiful," said Michael Iavarone, co-president of Long Island-based IEAH Stables. "He was so within himself, and it was great we got the work in before the rain. They told me he got his final eighth (of a mile) in 11 1/5."

Thoroughbreds can't go much faster than that, and I Want Revenge's third consecutive Tuesday workout here cemented his status as the favorite for Saturday's 135th Kentucky Derby. "I've had nothing but confidence in him all along," Iavarone said. "He's the type who doesn't need the whip. He gives it all to you without being asked."

Talamo, a 19-year-old phenom from Louisiana, shares Iavarone's enthusiasm. "He's so mature for his age," Talamo said. "Right after the work, he relaxed and pulled himself up."

California-based David Lanzman sold a half-interest in I Want Revenge to IEAH on March 30, five days before the son of Stephen Got Even overcame a bad start and traffic trouble in the stretch to win the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.

"What he did in the Wood answered a lot of questions for everyone," Talamo said.

Trainer Jeff Mullins said he's enjoying his fifth trip to the Derby, in which he never has had a horse finish in the money. He also never had a 3-year-old with this much talent.

"He's really easy to train," the 46-year-old Utah native said. "He's a really good athlete and he does whatever you want."

I Want Revenge's first six races were on synthetic surfaces in Southern California, and he won only once. Talamo suggested a move to conventional dirt might help, and he was right. The colt dominated the Gotham by 8Z\x lengths at the Big A, and his last-to-first Wood moved him to the top three on most Derby lists. The absence of Florida Derby winner Quality Road, scratched Monday because of a hoof problem, means I Want Revenge will be made the morning-line choice after today's draw.

"Having the Derby favorite two years in a row, that's unbelievable," said Iavarone, who hopes I Want Revenge can duplicate what Big Brown did last year. "I'm not saying he's a better horse than Big Brown was, but I think he's better prepared for this because he's shown he can overcome trouble."