BELMONT WINNER DROSSELMEYER OUT INDEFINITELY WITH ANKLE INJURY

Belmont Stakes winner Drosselmeyer has been taken out of training and will be sidelined indefinitely due to a nagging ankle problem.  The current prognosis is that the three year old will be out of action for the rest of the year, but as of now the issue isn’t considered career or life threatening.  Drosselmeyer missed the Kentucky Derby since he didn’t have enough graded stakes race winnings to make it into the large field, but rebounded in the Belmont to give trainer Bill Mott his first victory in the event.
 
Drosselmeyer is currently being stabled at Saratoga, but is expected to ship to WinStar Farms later this week.  Upon his arrival, he’s scheduled to undergo a bone scan and further testing.  On July 4th Drosselmeyer had his first breeze since winning the Belmont, going four furlongs in 49.46 seconds.  According to trainer Mott, the horse was "moving a little stiff" after the workout and that at this point it’s more of a precautionary measure than anything else:

"His ankles were pinching him a little, but the radiographs were negative. It looks like he's just a little jammed up. If we can't go into a race like the Travers being 100 percent then it's good to give him time now and have him back for late fall or early spring; whenever he's ready."

A son of Distorted Humor, Drosselmeyer was purchased by WinStar for $600,000.  The initial hope had been to race him in the most famous event in horse racing, the Kentucky Derby.  Mott went on to emphasize that Drosselmeyer’s current ankle problems had nothing to do with the foot problems he suffered in the leadup to the Belmont.  Those problems appear to have been caused by a change in shoes—Drosselmeyer had been training in bar shoes, but was changed back to regular shoes for the race.

Despite this setback, Mott remains bullish on Drosselmeyer’s long term prospects:

"We think he's a very good horse, we were lucky to have him this spring and to win the Belmont with him. We look forward to running him in major stakes next year. He's a horse we may even consider for the Dubai World Cup."

The races for older horses may not have the same high profile among the general public, but they can be every bit as lucrative.  Hopefully, Drosselmeyer will be able to make a full recovery and make his mark in the years to come.