Animal Kingdom chose Tampa Bay Stakes on turf for his seasonal debut
The Kentucky bred Leroidesanimaux colt, Animal Kingdom, is all ready to make his comeback in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes, after a long layoff, courtesy of a hairline fracture.
The race will be held at Tampa Bay Downs on 25 February, 2012, over a distance of 1 1/16 miles on turf, against 4-year-old and above males.
The race will be run over Tampa Bay Downs’ turf course, and it will mark Animal Kingdom’s second start on dirt.
The 4-year-old Graham Motion trained colt started his 3-year-old season on turf as well, when he participated in an allowance/optional claimer at about a mile at Gulfstream Park on 3 March, 2011, finishing second to Powhatan County.
Since then, Animal Kingdom has made a lone start on a synthetic surface in the Grade 3 Spiral Stakes at about 1 1/8 mile at Tampa Bay Downs, a race that he won to make himself eligible for the Triple Crown in terms of earnings.
Animal Kingdom is one of three runners who ran all the three legs of the Triple Crown, winning the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, finishing second to Shackleford in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at about 1 3/16 miles, and finally a non-threatening 6th place finish to Ruler on Ice in the Belmont Stakes after being a victim to a collision that was started at the gate by Mucho Macho Man, and it is believed that’s where Animal Kingdom picked up his injury.
“The Tampa Bay will allow him enough works to be fit enough to start back,” trainer Graham Motion said. “Any of these earlier races would have been pushing it. We want to have him fit for his first race so it doesn’t take too much out of him for the race that we’re really pointing for.”
The Team Valor International homebred, Animal Kingdom, will use the Tampa Bay Stakes, at about 1 1/16 miles, as a prep race for his other big goal this early in the season, to down the Group 1, $10 million Dubai World Cup, to be held at the Meydan racecourse on 31 March, 2012.
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