STICKNEY, Ill. - Kalu ran alone on an easy lead, then ran away from the field in the stretch to win the Grade 3 Hawthorne Derby on Saturday by three-quarters of a length over Proud Man. A maiden only three starts ago, Kalu has now won three straight grass races, two of them stakes.

Owned by Robert Schaedle and trained by Christophe Clement, Kalu was masterfully ridden by Jose Santos, taking the lead within a furlong of the start and rating kindly. But after the race, when the horses had galloped out onto the backstretch, Santos was thrown by Kalu. The horse jogged riderless back to the finish line, where he was caught, but Santos, though he was walking, was taken away by ambulance with what he said was a hand injury.

Rahy's Secret broke first in the $250,000 Hawthorne Derby, but quickly was supplanted by Kalu and dropped back to fifth in the early going. Proud Man, the favorite and a three-time graded stakes winner on turf, tracked the leader in third, with the second choice Volponi in second. But no one seriously threatened Kalu, who coasted through splits of 25.46 seconds for a quarter-mile, 50.77 for a half-mile, and 1:15.25 for three-quarters.

Rahy's Secret reached contention on the turn, and Proud Man launched a sustained run along the inside, but Kalu's early edge proved insurmountable. A colt by Honor Grades, Kalu paid $6.80 as the third choice and was timed for 1:50.49 for 1 1/8 miles on a course rated good. Proud Man held second by a length over Rahy's Secret.