Heralding Drosselmeyer

WinStar Farm is in the best position of any owner at this point on the Kentucky Derby highway. Their hand is stacked with four major players ready to march on Louisville the first of May. Three of the four secured their position as early favorites by impressively winning stakes late last year, with Super Saver winning the Kentucky Jockey Club, Rule winning the Delta Jackpot, and American Lion accounting for Hollywood’s Prevue. The final horse of their big four may not be as well known, or even run in a stakes race yet, but he just might have what it takes to be the one horse draped in roses at Churchill Downs. His name is Drosselmeyer. Named for a character from Tchaikovsky's ‘The Nutcracker’, Drosselmeyer is a chestnut colt by Distorted Humor, who has already sired a Derby winner in Funny Cide, out of the grade 1 winning mare, Golden Ballet, a daughter of Moscow Ballet. The well bred sophomore, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, also has a stronger foundation of experience than many of the top candidates, with four two-turn races and a win over the Churchill Downs strip under his belt. He has already run on turf, synthetics, and dirt, but it was his two dirt races that really caught my attention. After three solid, but losing, efforts on East Coast lawns and Keeneland’s synthetic course, his first try on dirt was a race at Churchill originally scheduled for the turf. In the maiden special weight, Drosselmeyer broke from the outside post and toyed with his overmatched opponents in the one mile affair to the tune of a six length tally. Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, he ran a solid time on the same strip that will host the derby, and it was one of the more visually impressive maiden scores of the year. That November 18 race would be his last of the season, and it stamped him as a horse to watch in 2010. I will admit, the maiden win was not quite enough to crack my Down and Derby Top 20 list, but he was very close, and he had my full attention for his return. We did not need to wait too long for him to reappear. It happened on the last day of January at Gulfstream Park. The nine furlong allowance race gave Drosselmeyer another opportunity to run over a route of ground, and allowed for his first dirt race around two-turns. He passed the challenge with flying colors. Drosselmeyer, ridden again by Kent Desormeaux, had to find room on the turn and for awhile it looked like he might be in trouble. Drosselmeyer was patient and professional and when the hole opened up he showed excellent acceleration and easily edged away from the solid allowance field by 1 ¾ lengths. Once again the final time was solid, 1:49.52, and the way he did it was impressive. I always look for a horse that can be patient and maneuver through openings once presented in the Derby. Drosselmeyer appears to be that type of horse. His two dirt races are impressive enough for him to sky rocket up my list of Derby contenders, which will be out on Saturday. All things look full steam ahead for the powerful colt. Elliott Walden, the Vice President & Racing Manager at WinStar, tells me that Drosselmeyer is doing good and his next race will most likely be the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds on February 20. If that is indeed where he runs next, it will mark his sixth race at six different tracks and his fifth race around two-turns. Along with impressive experience already at Churchill Downs, and being trained by one of our sport’s masters, you would have to think that Drosselmeyer will be one of the most well prepared horses in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Yes, I know I might be jumping the gun a bit with that last statement, but this is one colt I really like.