Kingdom

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom had another strong workout Tuesday, perhaps his most focused exercise since arriving in Maryland, despite the fact that it was raining at the Fair Hill Training Center. Instead of running him in the mud, trainer Graham Motion sent Animal Kingdom out on the Tapeta Footings synthetic track for the second straight day, but he instructed jockey David Nava to make Animal Kingdom chase after a series of horses staggered in front of him to get the Derby winner back into the groove of racing.

Trainer Graham Motion said Monday that he's leaning strongly toward bringing Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom to Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, the day of the Preakness Stakes, instead of bringing him in Friday and having him stay overnight in an unfamiliar environment. Since he won the Derby on May 7, Animal Kingdom has been settling in at his new home at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, where Motion has his base of operations. "I'm really thinking I'm leaning that way right now," Motion said.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom had another strong workout Tuesday morning, perhaps his most focused exercise since arriving in Maryland, despite the fact that it was raining at the Fair Hill Training Center. Instead of running him in the mud, trainer Graham Motion sent Animal Kingdom out on the Tapeta Footings synthetic track for the second straight day, but he instructed jockey David Nava to make Animal Kingdom chase after a series of horses staggered in front of him to get the Derby winner back into the groove of racing.

Trainer Graham Motion said this morning he's leaning strongly toward bringing Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom to Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, the day of the Preakness Stakes, instead of arrriving Friday and having him stay overnight in an unfamiliar environment. Animal Kingdom has been settling in at his new home at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, where Motion has his base of operations, since he won the Kentucky Derby on May 7. "I'm really thinking I'm leaning that way right now," Motion told The Sun. "I'm just not sure I see any benefit to bringing him in on Friday.

Prior to the Kentucky Derby, most horse racing handicappers and experts looked at Animal Kingdom as little more than a turf horse. He had never run on dirt, and his bloodlines seemed to imply he'd be far more comfortable on grass. He had very little racing experience, and in the four races he had run, he had four different jockeys. Animal Kingdom was certainly pretty to look at, but to most people, he didn't feel like a Derby winner. Even the partnership that owns him had doubts the Run for the Roses was the right race for him. Prior to the first Saturday in May, anyone calling him a legitimate Triple Crown contender would have been laughed at. A relatively easy victory in the sport's signature race, however, has a way of prompting reassessment.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom had a special visitor Friday when Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid stopped by to watch the colt go out for his morning exercise at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton. Trainer Graham Motion said Animal Kingdom jogged a half-mile and galloped a mile with a pony and another horse to keep him company. "Everything seems to be going good," Motion said. "Hopefully he's oblivious to what is going on around him. " Motion has been happy to talk about the sport of horse racing this week.

After his 12-hour ride from Kentucky and night in his barn at the Fair Hill Training Center, Derby winner Animal Kingdom was walked once around the main track this morning and returned to his stall. Trainer Graham Motion said “it was pretty much by design to give him an easy day. " "He looks great. I can’t believe he just ran the biggest race of his life four days ago and shipped from Kentucky," Motion said this morning. It was the first time Animal Kingdon had been on a track since the Derby.

Animal Kingdom, winner of the Kentucky Derby, took an early-morning walk around Barn 22 at Churchill Downs on Monday as he prepared to spend his last day of the spring in Louisville. "We are going to leave early, sometime around 5:30 or 6," assistant trainer Dave Rock said of the journey to the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland. "He is doing good and eating good, as always. " The van ride to Maryland was expected to take 11 to 12 hours. Animal Kingdom will prepare for the Preakness at Fair Hill and ship to Pimlico Race Course a day or two before the May21 race.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom stepped out of his van Tuesday after a 12-hour ride from Louisville, set foot in the state for the first time and snatched up a mouthful of Maryland grass. Then he ate some more. For five minutes, Animal Kingdom dined on a green buffet outside trainer Graham Motion's barn at the Fair Hill training center before being coaxed into his stall, where he ate again. "He eats everything," Motion said. "He ate dinner the night after winning the Derby, which is very unusual.