Stopping the Madness

Play the horses long enough and you will always find new and exciting ways to be humbled. How about watching and touting a horse the entire Spring only to be disappointed time after time. Then as soon as you say, "I need to move on and stop the madness," the horse goes and wins one of the most important and historic races in the United States. Yes, my friends, this sport that we love, is quite a game! The horse of whom I speak, of course, is Drosselmeyer, and yesterday he was able to fulfill all the promise that many, including me, saw in him before he had ever run in his first stakes race. Much like last year's winner Summer Bird, Drosselmeyer is a strikingly handsome chestnut colt who made the Test of Champions his first career stakes win. The son of Distorted Humor, out of the stakes winning Moscow Ballet mare Golden Ballet, won for the third time in nine starts with a nearly one length win yesterday at Big Sandy. In winning, Drosselmeyer gave his Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, his long awaited first Triple Crown victory, and also carried his popular new rider, Mike Smith, to his first ever Belmont Stakes victory. It was nice to see two of the sport's good guys collect their first Belmont Stakes win. The win also marked the second Crown victory of the year for owner WinStar Farm, who also own Super Saver. Wrapping up coverage of the Triple Crown, that saw three different winners, yesterday's race for 2nd place behind Drosselmeyer, saw Fly Down nip the pacesetting First Dude near the wire. Incredibly, it was the same trainer photo finish as the Kentucky Derby, in which Ice Box passed Paddy O'Prado at the wire, and the Preakness when First Dude just held off Jackson Bend for 2nd. Once again it came down to the last few jumps to see if it would be Nick Zito or Dale Romans who would train the classic's 2nd place finisher. Zito made it two photos out of three when Fly Down passed Roman's First Dude late.

The Fine Art of Eating Crow

I must admit, I woke from bed yesterday morning rather excited at the prospect at once and for all seeing what Drosselmeyer could do. He has been a horse I have been following and liking since last Fall. The Dwyer would be the race where he would leave all excuses in the rearview mirror. I pictured a stalking trip and a powerful explosion at the top of the lane that would carry him six lengths clear of the rest of the field. The impressive win would send him onto the Belmont as one of the horses to beat. Things went exactly as planned, except for one small detail, it wasn’t Drosselmeyer who impressively blitzed the field. Rather it was the Nick Zito trained, Fly Down who now looks like a legitimate up-and-comer, and one that may have a say come four weeks from now in the Belmont Stakes. Ever the optimist, I took the opportunity of being so wrong, to revisit a favorite recipe of mine for last night’s dinner.  The recipe follows... Here is what you will need: -1 large crow (de-feather the crow only if you want to take the easy way out) -4 tablespoons butter or margarine -2 tablespoons flour -1/2 cup clear stock -1/2 cup white wine seasoning -The rest of that bottle of wine (for rapid consumption) Cooking Instructions: -Melt butter or margarine in a heat-proof Dutch oven. -When hot, sauté the crow gently all over until it's golden brown. -Remove the bird. -Add flour, stock and wine, blend smoothly. -Bring to a boil and add seasoning. -Return bird to the Dutch oven and cover. -Cook in preheated 350 degree oven, turning bird while cooking, for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bird is tender. Many of you may never need to eat crow, but if you are like me, and eating crow is far from an unfamiliar occurrence, then by all means try this recipe and enjoy!

No Derby, Drosselmeyer to Dwyer

When you possess the kind of hand that WinStar Farm held in the weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby, there is sure to be some success and some failure. One of their colts, Endorsement, was injured in a recent workout, while another talented colt running for WinStar, Rule, did not train his best and was taken out of Kentucky Derby consideration. Yet another of their runners, American Lion made it to the race, but was never a factor and finished 11th. It was not that long ago that WinStar was hopeful that another of their young stars, Drosselmeyer would enter the Kentucky Derby with a real chance to win. It did not happen. Drosselmeyer was likely the best horse in the Louisiana Derby, but lacked racing room at a key juncture of the race. The bad luck resulted in a 3rd place finish, and left the son of Distorted Humor on the outside looking in on the graded earning’s list. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

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.