ANIMAL KINGDOM CONNECTIONS PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT DEFEAT

Despite starting a pronounced favorite in his swan song at Royal Ascot, dual Gr1 winner and 2013 Arrowfield Stud freshman Animal Kingdom was unable to produce the heroics in the Gr1 Queen Anne Stakes that saw him finish first or second in 5 previous Gr1 performances (including dominant victories in both the Gr1 Kentucky Derby and 2013 Gr1 Dubai World Cup). However, post race, both trainer Graham Motion and Arrowfield Stud chairman John Messara were philosophical. Motion tweeted, “There was no fairytale ending but no one said racing was meant to be easy. We’ve had a great run.” Meanwhile, Messara was as perplexed as the rest of the racing world about the entire’s sub-par showing and reasoned, “It was clear to anyone who watched the race that Animal Kingdom’s run was too bad to be true.” He added, “Of course, it’s disappointing because it is so difficult to find a horse good enough to be a realistic chance of winning a Royal Ascot Gr1 and Animal Kingdom was undoubtedly good enough. So it’s a personal goal that has to stay on the bucket list for a bit longer!” However, Messara is bullish about Animal Kingdom’s impending 2013 freshman season at Arrowfield and commented, “I’m very excited and proud to have Animal Kingdom join the Arrowfield roster and we all look forward to welcoming him to Australia in the Spring.”