The late, great Sir Henry Cecil and his prized champion, Frankel
The world of horses is an eternally fascinating, challenging and rewarding one. Sometimes life is kind and you get to take your time being fascinated, challenged and rewarded, but more often than not, the ups and downs come at you thick and fast and you don’t really have the luxury of perspective or time to draw breath and be happy, sad, horrified or warm-hearted until much later, usually once events have run their course and you’re sifting through the receipts!
But one thing is certain, as anyone who has had a special or exciting horse in their string will know, they sure do give you a reason to get up in the morning.
Phenomenal Partnership
Without overstepping the boundaries of propriety, the partnership that perhaps most epitomises that sentiment was the one between Sir Henry Cecil and the mighty Frankel. I’ve been in a somewhat reflective mood after the passing of Sir Henry, due in part to the wonderful Frankel tribute screened by Tellytrack on Sunday evening (many thanks !) and in part due to Royal Ascot starting this week.
Having saddled a record 75 Royal Ascot winners during his lifetime, the course was the scene of some of Sir Henry’s greatest triumphs and it is perhaps here that his absence will be felt most keenly. It is therefore poignant and somehow fitting that Lady Jane Cecil will be saddling his runners this week.
Frankel won the 2012 Queen Anne Stakes by eleven lengths from Excelebration, covering the penultimate furlong in a blistering of 10.58 seconds, equating to a top speed of over 42 mph (or nearly 70km/h in metric speak) and it subsequently turned out that he’d lost a shoe somewhere along the way.
The performance was hailed in some quarters as “possibly the greatest in the history of Thoroughbred racing” and prompted Timeform to raise Frankel’s provisional rating to 147, two pounds higher than Sea Bird and the highest in the history of their existence.
So it is perhaps also fitting that this year’s Royal Ascot meeting will kick off with the Queen Anne Stakes and that there is another talking horse filling the headlines – Animal Kingdom.
My Kingdom for a horse
Barry Irwin
Team Valor’s Barry Irwin was a respected racing journalist and is certainly no stranger to the media, so it is not unexpected to feel a little closer to this horse than most. However, despite all that, the Animal Kingdom story is a particularly engaging one.
The horse’s breeding was entirely put together by Irwin. He purchased the sire, Brazilian-bred Leroidesanimaux during his racing career for Stonewall Farm. The colt raced in the interests of Stonewall Farm and previous owner / breeder Goncalo Torrealba and trained by the late, great Bobby Frankel.
Animal Kingdom’s dam, the German-bred Dalicia (by Acatenango), set a record price for a German filly when Irwin purchased her at auction for 400 000 euro. Originally booked to stand to Kingmambo in 2007, the stallion was unable to fulfil his duties due to back problems and the partners needed a substitute, fast. At Barry’s recommendation, they somewhat reluctantly sent the mare to Leroidesanimaux, then serving his second season at stud. The die was cast.
The imposing chestnut that would go on to be named Animal Kingdom was born and raised at Denali Stud in Kentucky. The Team Valor syndicate that bred the colt was dissolved by entering him on the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The colt was bought by Barry Irwin for $100 000 and a new syndicate formed for the colt’s racing career.
Early Career
Barry Irwin with Animal Kingdom and jockey John Velazquez after winning the Kentucky Derby
The tall, rangy colt was sent to Ocala in Florida and broken in by former D Wayne Lukas assistant, Randy Bradshaw. He transferred to Wayne Catalano at Arlington Park in Chicago and debuted over 1800m on 18 September 2010. The race was originally scheduled over turf, but moved to the Polytrack surface after rain. Animal Kingdom didn’t have the clearest of runs and flew late for a second place finish, just under 3 lengths off the winner.
Five weeks later, Animal Kingdom broke his maiden over 1800m on Keeneland’s Polytrack, coming home 3 lengths to the good of Bonaroo in such style that he was touted as an early Kentucky Derby prospect. It was around this time that Team Valor chose to consolidate their training operation under a single trainer and appointed Englishman Graham Motion.
When the colt joined the Motion yard in Palm Meadows after a brief rest, the lanky teenager was gone and Animal Kingdom had furnished into the ‘incredible hulk’ that his fans have come to know and love. His 3yo season started with a short head defeat in a 1 mile allowance race on turf at Gulfstream Park. Three weeks later, he was substituted for a stable companion in the Gr3 Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park. It was another 1800m trip over Polytrack and Animal Kingdom won by a comfortable 2 ¾ lengths.
Triple Crown
Graham Motion petitioned the connections to take the unorthodox step of not running the colt again until the Kentucky Derby. They agreed, on the condition that Animal Kingdom have his final workout on the dirt surface at Churchill Downs. Jockey Robby Albarado was in the irons for the gallop, clocked at a confidence-boosting 1:13.17 over 1200m. Originally booked for the Kentucky Derby, a freak accident saw him sidelined at the last minute and the team engaged John Velazquez instead. Of course history has borne out that Team Valor’s ‘Hulk’ won by 2 ¾ lengths over Nehro, giving jockey Velazquez his first Derby win.
Triple Crown aspirations were dashed in the Preakness, when Animal Kingdom took a little while to find his stride. Coming from off the pace, he caught every horse but Shackleford, finishing a narrow ¼ length second. In the Belmont, things went badly wrong and Animal Kingdom was bumped so badly in the early stages that he was nearly brought down. Jockey Velazquez was thrown onto the horse’s neck and lost a stirrup and by the time the pair got reorganised, they were dead last, 15 lengths off the leader.
However, Animal Kingdom rallied and still managed to finish 6th, 9 ¼ lengths behind Ruler On Ice. But the real cost of that near miss was a slab fracture to Animal Kingdom’s near hind. The injury required surgery and put paid to the rest of his 3yo career, but Animal Kingdom’s courage had not gone unnoticed and he was rewarded with an Eclipse award for champion 3yo male.
Back in Training
The team opted against retiring their colt and Animal Kingdom was back in training by late 2011. On 18 February 2012, the big colt made his comeback over an 1800m allowance plate at Gulfstream Park on grass. He showed that he now had a turn of foot to add to his trademark power and stamina and won by an easy 2 lengths. Dubai beckoned, but fate intervened again. Mere days before his scheduled departure for the UAE, Animal Kingdom was found to have a stress fracture to his pelvis.
Although he did not require surgery, the colt needed 3 weeks box rest and was given another holiday while the connections regrouped. Despite strong interest as a stud prospect, Team Valor opted not to retire their colt. Again, Motion took an unorthodox approach and suggested aiming the colt for the Breeders Cup Mile on turf at Santa Anita. Irwin says he had reservations whether the colt would act over such a sharp trip, but the colt joined the starting lineup in November 2012. Wise Dan won in a course record breaking time of 1:31 3/5, with Animal Kingdom 1 ½ lengths second (and a little over half a length ahead of Excelebration who finished 4th).
After his Breeders’ Cup Mile effort, the demand for Animal Kingdom as a stud prospect became relentless. But Team Valor would not let him go easily and would only consider a deal with the following conditions – the colt could run as a 5yo, he could campaign in the Team Valor silks, Team Valor could retain 25%, the purchaser needed to own a top international stud and as the deal breaker, they required the purchaser to have experience in producing successful international stallions. One man fulfilled all the criteria – John Messara from Arrowfield Stud. The deal was done.
Animal Kingdom once again began his World Cup prep. He started in the Gr1 Gulfstream Park Handicap on grass in February 2013 in the hands of new jockey, Joel Rosario. Inexplicably asking for an early move down the backstretch, arguably cost them the race and Animal Kingdom crossed the line 1 ¼ lengths second to Point Of Entry. But finally, it was off to Dubai.
The World Cup
On 30 March 2013, Animal Kingdom and Joel Rosario lined up for the US $10 million Dubai World Cup. A wide draw kept them clear of traffic and Animal Kingdom systematically reeled in the opposition until the back bend, when only American champion racemare Royal Delta stood between him and the winning post. She wasn’t there for long. With 450m to go, the big colt powered past her on the turn, leaving the field in disarray.
Despite Red Cadeaux coming at him with a late run, Animal Kingdom kept going under a hands and heels ride to win the 2013 Dubai World Cup by 2 lengths. The images in the winners enclosure show a calm and composed Irwin. When we spoke after the race he told me “I’ve won a few big races where I got emotionally overcome, but this was more intellectual than emotional.” Irwin is an outspoken critic of race day medication and significantly the colt had run (and won) without the race day drugs that are considered de rigueur in America. “He won for fun, he scoped clean and we’ve proved our point. It was tremendously satisfying.”
Last race
From Dubai, the colt transferred to the racing centre of Lambourne in UK, where Graham Motion has been preparing him for a tilt at Ascot. Champion jockey John Velazquez (who has recently chalked up his 5000th career win) has been engaged for the ride, which will be Animal Kingdom’s last start before heading off to stud. Having only campaigned on tight dirt and synthetic tracks to date, Ascot’s straight mile track has been a concern.
The team flew jockey Velazquez out for a dress rehearsal in May. Despite nearly unseating his jockey with an unexpected leap across the finish line, the gallop was considered a success. With main rival Farhh out of the picture due to injury, the American bred colt by the Brazilian stallion, out of the German mare, running under the Australian flag for the Puerta Rican jockey will start favourite in the card opener of England’s more prestigious race meeting.
The Dubai World Cup may have been an intellectual win for Barry Irwin, but judging by the fact that he spent Monday evening posting a photo of himself in his Ascot top hat on Facebook, I suspect Tuesday’s race is a different kettle of fish. I’ll have had to submit this piece before the running of the Queen Anne, and while I have already wished Animal Kingdom and his team into the winner’s enclosure, I know that life doesn’t always follow the script.
When it comes to horses, sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes things make sense and sometimes they don’t. But while they may occasionally give you sleepless nights, Irwin’s impish grin proves that a good horse always gives you a reason to get up in the morning.
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