In the West Coast’s major prep for the 2008 Kentucky Derby or Run for the Roses, the Santa Anita Derby, Colonel John added to his credentials as the best in the West and a massive on-track crowd of 50,358 was on hand to attest. Across the country, Tale of Ekati caught a tiring War Pass in the final six strides and won the Wood Memorial at New York’s Aqueduct Racetrack in another major Kentucky Derby prep race.

El Gato Malo, sent to the post as the favorite in what was billed as a two-horse matchup with Colonel John, finished fifth.

Colonel John was clocked in 1:48.16 for 1 1-8 miles and paid $7.20, $4 and $3.20 as the second choice in the wagering. Bob Black Jack, ridden by Richard Migliore, returned $7.20 and $5.40. The show payoff on Coast Guard, with Joe Talamo up, was $7.80.

A Kentucky-bred son of Tiznow, Colonel John will be heading home as one of the leading 2008 Kentucky Derby contenders. The colt has won four of six starts and was second in the other two.

A pair of the country’s consensus Top Ten 3-year-olds will be among 11 taking the final step toward Triple Crown distinction in Saturday’s 71st running of the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, a Grade I fixture that has produced 35 Triple Crown race winners including 15 in the Kentucky Derby.

Colonel John and El Gato Malo, difficult to separate while consistently among the elite in 2008 Kentucky Derby countdown rankings, will aim to advance in the West Coast’s defining competition at 1 1/8 miles. If all 11 start, the field size will match 2005 as the largest since 13 ran in 1981.

The complete field for the 71st Santa Anita Derby (sixth race), with jockeys and morning-line odds in post position order (all starters carry 122 pounds):

1. Yankee Bravo, Alex Solis, 4-1
2. Signature Move, Michael Baze, 30-1
3. Coast Guard, Joseph Talamo, 20-1
4. Bob Black Jack, Richard Migliore, 6-1
5. Colonel John, Corey Nakatani, 2-1
6. On the Virg, Tyler Baze, 15-1
7. Shore Do, Chantal Sutherland, 20-1
8. El Gato Malo, David Flores, 5/2
9. Polonius, Victor Espinoza, 10-1
10. Meetingwithdestiny, Joel Rosario, 30-1
11. Rosso Corsa, Alonso Quinonez, 50-1

The Santa Anita Derby is the cornerstone of an 11-race program on April 5 at Santa Anita Park.

Georgie Boy, one of the leading 2008 Kentucky Derby contenders, is off the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) and the 2008 Kentucky Derby trail due to a pulled muscle in his back.

Horse trainer Kathy Walsh said Monday, “It’s high on his back end and we don’t know how long it will take (to heal), but we’re not going to take a chance,” Walsh said. “The vet examined him and was very happy with what he saw other than the pulled muscle. He will not require surgery.”

Racing beyond a sprint distance for the first time, multiple graded-stakes winner Georgie Boy expanded his 2008 Kentucky Derby Triple Crown prospects Saturday with a gritty 3/4 length victory over Gayego at 1 1/16 miles in Santa Anita Park’s 71st running of the $200,000 San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) for 3-year-olds.

The final time was 1:42.35 as the first three finishers, all routing for the first time, crossed the finish within 1 3/4 lengths of one another as pace-setter Bob Black Jack saved third in the field of nine.

With Michael Baze replacing injured Rafael Bejarano aboard Georgie Boy, the California-bred gelding tracked Bob Black Jack and Gayego through relatively moderate fractions (24.24, 48.75 and 1:13.02) considering the blazing speed they had demonstrated in sprints.

As the 7-5 favorite, Georgie Boy paid $4.80, $3.20 and $2.60. Gayego, ridden by Mike Smith, paid $4.60 and $3.40. The show price on Bob Black Jack, with David Flores aboard, was $3.

Jockey Rafael Bejarano, currently Santa Anita Park’s leading rider with 60 wins, was injured in a spill during the 8th race at Santa Anita’s March 13 horse racing program. Rafael Bejarano is expected to miss two to four weeks after fracturing two vertebra.

Bejarano, who was aboard a 3-year-old maiden gelding Parisian Art, was unseated when his mount sustained an apparent fatal heart attack inside the 8th pole. At the time of the spill Bejarano had eased his mount to the back of the 12-horse field when Parisian Art dropped suddenly to the ground. Jockey Rafael Bejarano was thrown head-first to the surface and was taken for examination by ambulance to nearby Arcadia Methodist Hospital.

Rafael Bejarano was scheduled to ride Grade 1 winner Georgie Boy in the $250,000 San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita on Saturday, March 15. Jockey Michael Baze will replace him while Martin Pendroza will be riding Go For Cover, the horse Michael Baze was supposed to ride for the San Felipe Stakes.

Santa Anita Park’s $200,000 San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) has served as a proving ground for 10 Kentucky Derby winners, and Saturday’s 71st running of the 1 1/16 mile event could well be the defining race for several ambitious 3-year-olds.

Stakes winners Georgie Boy, Bob Black Jack and Gayego, who have excelled as sprinters, will be attempting two turns for the first time, as will well-fancied French import Shediak, who was among the leading juveniles in Europe last year. The Selkirk colt, bred by the Aga Khan, also will be racing over a synthetic surface for the first time.

Those four appear to be the most compelling entrants of nine named to contest the April 5 Santa Anita Derby prep in which 10 eventual winners of the Kentucky Derby finished either first or second.

After Indian Blessing suffered her first defeat yesterday in the Fair Grounds Oaks, horse trainer Bob Baffert said last year’s 2-year-old filly champion would receive a break and possibly miss the Kentucky Oaks on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

“I think I might just freshen her up,” Bob Baffert said Sunday morning at Santa Anita. “I don’t know about the Kentucky Oaks. I might not run her.