As Predicted...

The first allowance-winning horse getting serious Derby attention is: Drosselmeyer. The odds-on choice won in a decent time Sunday afternoon at Gulfstream, taking over mid-stretch of a 1 1/8-mile affair finishing in 1:49 and 2/5 seconds.

Drosselmeyer has some pretty good connections:

Ridden by: Kent Desormeaux (three-time Derby winner)

Trained by: Bill Mott (well-known turf trainer and Cigar's trainer)

Owned by: WinStar Farm (perennial, multiple Derby horse owners)

Sired by: Distorted Humor (Derby winner and expensive sire)

Drosselmeyer was purchased for $600,000 last year. An oh by the way, he won a mile, off the turf event, at Churchill drawing off to win by six lengths this past November.

Like one of last year's Florida-based phenoms, Dunkirk (no factor in Derby, second in Belmont) Drosselmeyer's connection will need some graded-stakes earnings to get into the Churchill starting gate on the first Saturday in May. Unlike Dunkirk, Drosselmeyer had four races under his belt as a two-year-old. (Dunkirk had none.) Stay tuned...