Colonel John hopes for a big promotion

Another road trip could be in Colonel John’s future.

The $1-million Travers on Aug. 23 at Saratoga would be the destination for the son of Tiznow if all goes well in the $350,000 Swaps Stakes today at Hollywood Park.

Unquestionably California’s top 3-year-old after his consecutive victories in the Sham and Santa Anita Derby, Colonel John had a bad experience in his first venture outside of the state.

Colonel John, the 9-2 second choice in the Kentucky Derby, had trouble both at the start and around the first turn. But he did make a menacing move around the far turn, but took an awkward step and struggled through the stretch.

Ultimately, he finished sixth, a bit more than 14 lengths behind Big Brown.

Colonel John has trained well for his return. He will be looking for his fifth win in seven starts in California in the Swaps, a Grade II at 1 1/8 miles.

“He looks fantastic now and I could not be happier with him,” said Eoin Harty, who trains Colonel John for owner-breeder WinStar Farm LLC. “I think he’s coming into this race as good as he was going into the Santa Anita Derby.”

Doug Cauthen, president and chief executive of WinStar, is optimistic Colonel John will be a force in the second half of 2008. Although Cauthen is in Kentucky, he has been able to watch Colonel John’s recent workouts courtesy of Youtube.com after they were posted by Harty’s wife Kathy.

“By all accounts, he’s doing great and I thought his last breeze [seven furlongs in 1:26 3/5 on July 1] was very good. I think he’s ready to get back into the game,” Cauthen said.

None of those connected with Colonel John lost faith after the Derby because he did have legitimate excuses.

“He got slammed coming out of the gate,” Cauthen said. “He made a big move on the turn, but then he took a funny step and lost all momentum. It was minor and I think it was just a hard switch of leads. He lost his action, but it was going to be tough to beat the winner that day no matter what the circumstances.”

After the Swaps, the two primary goals for Colonel John are the Travers and the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which will be run at Santa Anita, a track where the colt is undefeated in three starts.

Jockey Garrett Gomez, who last rode Colonel John in the Sham, is back aboard, replacing Corey Nakatani.

The horse Colonel John will have to catch in the Swaps is Two Step Salsa. A son of Petionville owned by breeder Jeff Nielsen’s Everest Stables and trained by Julio Canani, Two Step Salsa has won two in a row at Hollywood Park. The dark bay showed he could handle two turns in the Affirmed, winning by 3 3/4 lengths June 15 in his first start beyond seven furlongs.

Four others -- Tres Borrachos, Nownownow, Madeo and Trevor’s Clever -- are scheduled to run while Lexington winner Behindatthebar skipped the race because of a foot problem.

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The California Horse Racing Board recently reached an agreement with the tote company Scientific Games regarding a quick pick snafu.

A problem with the quick pick wager was discovered after a bettor at Bay Meadows purchased $1,300 worth of quick picks on the Kentucky Derby superfecta, then discovered that the No. 20, which was worn by Derby winner Big Brown, was missing from all of his tickets.

As part of the agreement, Scientific Games will reimburse the CHRB $50,000 for the costs of the investigation, will pay $150,000 to horse racing-related charities and will pay refunds to people who placed quick pick wagers between July 1, 2007 and June 2, 2008, provided the person can show proof that the wager was made.

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bob.mieszerski@latimes.com