Magnum Moon didn't blow away his allowance field just now at Tampa Bay Downs like you might expect from a horse who was 1-9 on the tote board. But he still ran well, and he still remains a very intriguing Kentucky Derby prospect.

Magnum Moon was stretching out to two turns off a most impressive six furlong debut victory at Gulfstream. He sat just off the pace, farther back than he was early in his first start, and took some dirt in behind the pacesetters. And then after angling out late on the far turn, he proved much too good while never really being asked to run.

My feeling is, Magnum Moon got a good education today, and will be a better colt for it.

The thing about Magnum Moon (by Malibu Moon), which you'll hear about with increasing frequency as he advances, is he didn't make his debut until Jan. 13. And as we all know, the last horse to win the Kentucky Derby without having raced at 2 was Apollo in 1882.