Animal Kingdom: impressed when working at Ascot last week
PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Animal Kingdom cut for Queen Anne glory
ANIMAL KINGDOM was on Tuesday cut to 2-1 (from 5-2) by Ladbrokes to land the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in two weeks as he continues to delight connections with his preparation for racing’s most glamourous meeting.
Trained by Graham Motion for Team Valor, Animal Kingdom is adding yet another layer of international competition to Royal Ascot, which is also set to feature runners from Australia, South Africa, France and Germany, with the US-trained Dubai World Cup winner bang on target for the opening race of the fixture.
The 2011 Kentucky Derby winner, who is staying with David Lanigan in Lambourn, impressed many in a workout over the final four furlongs of the Queen Anne course at Ascot last week and hardened as favourite for the race with connections of chief rival Farhh considering a shot at the Prince of Wales’s Stakes instead.
Speaking from his base in the US, Motion said on Tuesday: “So far everything is going well and he has come out of his Ascot workout in great shape. He’s going to do another piece of work tomorrow which I won’t be there for, but I’ll be over for his final piece next week.”
Ascot, TUESDAY, 18 JUNE 20. QUEEN ANNE STAKES (British Champions Series) (Group 1) (CLASS 1) (4yo+)
- Runners: 40, Distance: 1m
| NO. DRAW | HORSE | AGE | WGT | TRAINER RTF% | JOCKEY | OR | TS | RPR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 333-23 | Aljamaaheer31 | 4 | 9-0 | Roger Varian | 110 | 122 | 130 | ||
| 12-21 | Animal Kingdom80  |
5 | 9-0 | H Graham Motion | — | — | 137 | ||
| 1127-6 | Beauty Parlour23  |
4 | 8-11 | Sir Henry Cecil | 119 | 98 | 125 | ||
| 127-12 | Camelot23 |
4 | 9-0 | A P O´Brien | — | 124 | 134 | ||
| 618-34 | Chil The Kite31  |
4 | 9-0 | Hughie Morrison | 104 | 108 | 125 | ||
| 4232-0 | Cityscape31 |
7 | 9-0 | Roger Charlton | 124 | 124 | 137 | ||
| 411-15 | Declaration Of War31 |
4 | 9-0 | A P O´Brien | — | 100 | 128 | ||
| 21323- | Elusive Kate241 |
4 | 8-11 | John Gosden | 116 | 121 | 135 | ||
| 2222-1 | Farhh31 |
5 | 9-0 | Saeed bin Suroor | 124 | 136 | 140 | ||
| 657-80 | Foxtrot Romeo15 | 4 | 9-0 | J P Murtagh | — | 113 | 123 | ||
| 33-133 | Gabrial18 |
4 | 9-0 | Richard Fahey | 111 | 109 | 127 | ||
| 532-34 | Giofra51 |
5 | 8-11 | A De Royer-Dupre | — | 114 | 132 | ||
| 012-21 | Gregorian18 |
4 | 9-0 | John Gosden | 114 | 99 | 129 | ||
| 4937-6 | Indomito40 | 7 | 9-0 | A Wohler | — | 102 | 127 | ||
| 170-40 | Libranno31 | 5 | 9-0 | Richard Hannon | 112 | 105 | 131 | ||
| 0-2143 | Miblish19 | 4 | 9-0 | Clive Brittain | 103 | 111 | 120 | ||
| 94145 | Monsieur Chevalier36 | 6 | 9-0 | P J O´Gorman | 98 | 85 | 120 | ||
| 01078- | Most Improved241  |
4 | 9-0 | A P O´Brien | 116 | 126 | 132 | ||
| 2-8772 | Penitent18 |
7 | 9-0 | David O´Meara | 115 | 113 | 131 | ||
| 6-0921 | Reply15 | 4 | 9-0 | A P O´Brien | — | 103 | 126 | ||
| 226-44 | Side Glance80 |
6 | 9-0 | Andrew Balding | — | 128 | 130 | ||
| 85-422 | Sovereign Debt31 |
4 | 9-0 | Michael Bell | 111 | 123 | 131 | ||
| 79-368 | Stand My Ground28 | 6 | 9-0 | David O´Meara | 106 | 82 | 121 | ||
| 3-0114 | Trade Storm80 |
5 | 9-0 | David Simcock | — | 113 | 130 | ||
| 150-10 | Trumpet Major31 |
4 | 9-0 | Richard Hannon | 114 | 126 | 131 | ||
| 459-33 | Windsor Palace23 |
8 | 9-0 | A P O´Brien | — | 88 | 116 | ||
Motion was on hand to watch Animal Kingdom at Ascot last week but has mainly been monitoring the progress of his star from the US.
He said: “Being in such a large country we’re used to running satellite yards so I’m used to it this way, and it’s such a neat thing to be involved with I’m just so excited about it.”
The trainer has also been keeping a close eye on the weather and is hoping the sunshine and warm temperatures continue up until the start of the royal fixture.
He added: “I’d like the weather to stay the way it is at the moment, but I know what the weather is like so I know there’s a chance it’s going to rain before the day. So far everything is going to plan and I just wish the race was next week and not two weeks away.”
Joel Rosario: leading rider will be in action at Royal Ascot this month
PICTURE: Getty Images
John Velazquez flew to Britain to partner Animal Kingdom in his Ascot gallop and the jockey is set to keep the ride in the Queen Anne at the expense of Joel Rosario, who was aboard for the five-year-old’s victory in the Dubai World Cup.
However, Rosario, the leading rider in the US this year, who will also be in action at Royal Ascot, bears no grudges against connections for replacing him.
Rosario’s agent Ron Anderson said on Tuesday: “This is to do with Graham and Johnny being the best of friends. Joel had the ride in the World Cup but there are no negatives and we’ll be rooting for them. As Wayne Lukas said to me once, jockeys have a one-race contract. We fulfilled that contract and now we move on.
“Joel leads the country in wins, leads the country in stakes, leads the country in earnings, has won the Kentucky Derby and the Dubai World Cup, so we’re only seeing the positives.”
fonte: RacingPost
