Animal Kingdom Makes His Return in Fine Form

He's Back! At least that is what the track announcer at Gulfstream had to say about Animal Kingdom who ran on Saturday in an optional turf claimer at the Florida track, in preparation for the $10 million Dubai World Cup next month.

The turf race set up beautifully for the Kentucky Derby winner, who broke slowly and hung in his customary trailing position until the horses approached the top of the stretch. Johnny Velasquez made his move and in a beautiful hand ride down the stretch, those glorious long strides were in top form. Animal Kingdom, easily the best of the field, got a nice race under his belt. He had been recuperating from surgery since last October.

“Obviously, I would have been disappointed if he hadn’t won today, when you have a race that’s set up for you," trainer Graham Motion told Bloodhorse. "But this was the best thing for us. He still had to go out there and win it. He needed a race and still has six weeks to regroup to get him to Dubai in the right way.

"This horse has come a long way since October. Nothing was more heartbreaking than to see this horse stuck in a stall a week after the Belmont. He went from being the fittest horse in the country to not being able to get out of his stall. That was tough. To see him today, back to himself, obviously I’m elated.”

You can see a replay of the race here.