Animal Kingdom back in training for the first time since incurring injury in May
The 3-year-old colt, Animal Kingdom, who reminds people of the great Secretariat by starting out in the back and ending up in front, is finally out on the track for some training time and on 24 December, 2011, Graham Motion trained colt had his first workout
since being sidelined in late spring.
The 2011 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby hero, Animal Kingdom, went out for training at Fair Hill Training Centre in Maryland as he worked three furlongs there in 38 seconds in company with the grade 1 winning stable mate, Toby’s Corner.
Owned by Team Valor International, Animal Kingdom also finished second to Shackleford in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on 21 May, 2011. Graham Motion was confident that Animal Kingdom will do well in the third leg of the Triple Crown, but an unfortunate
chain of stumbles at the starting point at Belmont Park left Animal Kingdom with a fractured cannon bone.
“It was like an open gallop for him,” trainer Graham Motion said. “The track was in great shape today. He went in company just to keep his mind on business. I thought he handled it well.”
The Kentucky bred son of Leroidesanimaux, out of mare Dalicia by Acatenango, Animal Kingdom for his 2012 campaign is aiming at the Grade 1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan-UAE.
The race will be run over a distance of 1 ¼ miles on 31 March, 2012 over the track’s synthetic surface and already 11 other 4-year-old and above horses are aiming to start at Meydan.
Before he runs in the Grade 1 Dubai World Cup, Animal Kingdom would want to check his form after a lengthy layoff, and his connections might get him to start in one of the races in the Gulfstream Park meet.
Graham mentioned the Gulfstream Park Handicap in an interview, but it solely depends on how the 3-year-old will build up to the race.
“It’s all up to the colt and how quickly he gets himself into shape,” Motion said. “He is a big horse and he grew during his layoff."
Graham Motion will keep Animal Kingdom at Fair Hill Training Centre, rather than shipping the colt to his Florida base.
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