Animal Kingdom travels from US seeking 1 last win
The U.S.-trained Animal Kingdom is set to be retired to stud after running the Queen Anne Stakes.
AUSTRALIA (AP) - Australian superstar Black Caviar made a 10,000-mile (16,000-kilometer) roundtrip to light up last year s Royal Ascot. Twelve months later, another long-distance traveler is coming to the prestigious English meeting to chase one more win.
The American-trained Animal Kingdom, winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2011 and the $10-million Dubai World Cup this year, is set to be retired to stud after running the Queen Anne Stakes on Tuesday.
Not since 1936 has a Kentucky Derby winner competed at Royal Ascot. On that occasion, 1935 Triple Crown winner Omaha finished second in the Gold Cup, the signature race at Ascot.
"Royal Ascot is a bonus for me because I thought Dubai was his last race," trainer Graham Motion said. "I feel very fortunate that (the owners) have taken on this very sporting challenge at Royal Ascot.
"In the States, we have a lot of opportunities for easy pickings so it s more of a sporting challenge to come here. It would be a shot in the arm for America if he was to win at Royal Ascot."
Victory, though, will not come easy for Animal Kingdom, who has been made the odds-on favorite by British bookmakers. Accustomed to racing on dirt and on a left-handed track, he will have to combat the up-and-down nature of Ascot s famous straight mile.
"Animal Kingdom is a very good horse, but this will be a different game for him," said Patrick Barbe, racing manager for Animal Kingdom s biggest rival, Elusive Kate.
A second win abroad would prove the perfect climax to Animal Kingdom s career and boost the injury-prone horse s value as a stallion. It would also be a major milestone for Motion, who is based in the U.S. but was brought up six miles (10 km) from the racing hot-bed of Newmarket in England.
Motion s boyhood hero was the late Henry Cecil, one of Britain s greatest trainers who died last week after a long battle with cancer. Cecil won a record 75 races here, including Frankel s sensational 11-length victory in the Queen Anne Stakes in 2012, and will be honored with a string of tributes throughout the five-day meeting that starts Tuesday.
"It s tremendous to be running in a race that Frankel won last year and Sir Henry Cecil was one of the people I admired the most when growing up in Newmarket, so it s quite emotional," Motion said.
A minute s silence will be held for Cecil on Tuesday after the arrival of the royal procession in the parade ring. Friday s Queen s Vase race, won a record eight times by Cecil, will be titled "The Queen s Vase In Memory of Sir Henry Cecil."
Jockeys riding in that race will wear black armbands.
Last year, unbeaten Black Caviar ran at Ascot for her first appearance outside Australia, winning the Diamond Jubilee Stakes by a short head for her 22nd straight win. She was retired this year with a 25-0 record.
Estimate, owned by Britain s Queen Elizabeth II, was the winner of the Queen s Vase last year. The filly will bid for back-to-back triumphs at Royal Ascot when she contests Thursday s Gold Cup, the five-day meeting s feature race. The queen is seeking a 22nd win at Royal Ascot.
The other interesting subplot this week is the return to racing of Dawn Approach, the Godolphin horse who won the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket in May before flopping in the English Derby this month over a longer distance.
Dawn Approach is running in the St. James s Palace Stakes on Tuesday. "He is back over a mile. The pacemaker and an honest pace means there should be no repeat of what happened at Epsom," said Simon Crisford, racing manager of Godolphin. "Hopefully, Dawn Approach can reproduce his Guineas effort."
About 280,000 spectators are expected at the meeting, which has a total prize money of 5 million pounds ($7.9 million).
