DENALI GRAD, ANIMAL KINGDOM RESUMES TRAINING AT FAIR HILL

Animal Kingdom, winner of last year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), resumed galloping on June 21 at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland as he moves toward another comeback.

The son of Leroidesanimaux out of the Acatenango mare Dalicia missed 60 days of training to recover from a hairline fracture of the ilium, a part of the pelvis. The injury required no surgery but was discovered only a week before Animal Kingdom was scheduled to depart for the Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) at Meydan. He scored an impressive win on turf at Gulfstream Park in his lone start this year.

“What happened to him was really just a blip on the radar, not a serious injury at all; the timing was just horrible,” said Barry Irwin, chief executive officer of the 4-year-old colt’s owner and breeder, Team Valor International. “We’re excited to get him back. We have a goal in mind for him at the end of the year, but we don’t want to say what it is just yet.”

Since late May, trainer Graham Motion had been sending Animal Kingdom out on a grass field at Fair Hill for long jogs. The first week, the colt trained alongside Went the Day Well, who finished fourth for Team Valor in this year’s Kentucky Derby.