'Tale' Tall With Win at Wood

"I had a beautiful trip, and I knew War Pass was going very fast," Prado said. "I was very proud of him. He kept on trying all the way. As far as the Kentucky Derby, we'll see how he cools out and comes out and go from there."

Tagg said he would waste little time. He planned to ship out Tale of Ekati on Sunday to join his string of runners at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., to prepare for the Derby.

Zito sounded less committed to a Derby run, but not by much.

"We'll take him to Kentucky, but it's one day at a time," he said. "He's a great horse. If he has a good month, we'll take him to the Derby."

Racing Notes: Laurel Park-based Gattopardo finished second to favored J Be K in the Grade III $150,000 Bay Shore Stakes on the Wood undercard.

The winner, ridden by Garrett Gomez for trainer Steve Asmussen, ran the seven-furlong race in a sharp 1:23.67, beating Gattopardo by five lengths.

Trainer Tim Tullock, however, was happy with Gattopardo's performance and said he could still be on track for a run in the Preakness Stakes.

"He ran great," Tullock said. "It was just a faster horse today, that's all. He did a lot of good things. He bulled between in traffic, but the winner was beyond his reach." . . . With a powerful move on the outside in the stretch, Colonel John ran his way into the Kentucky Derby, passing Bob Black Jack and Coast Guard to win the Grade I $750,000 Santa Anita Derby. The winner ran the 1 1/8 -mile race in 1:48.16.