Dubai World Cup hero Animal Kingdom appears more likely to run in the Queen Anne Stakes, rather than the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, at Royal Ascot in June.
Co-owned by Australia’s Arrowfield Stud and trained by American-based handler Graham Motion, the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner claimed the world’s richest race with a brilliant display at Meydan last month and arrived at David Lanigan’s Kingsdown Stables on April 6.
Motion was in Lambourn on Monday to put in place his stable star’s training programme.
And while the 10-furlong Prince of Wales’s Stakes is an obvious alternative at the Royal meeting, the trainer feels the incline at the Berkshire track makes the one-mile Queen Anne the better option.
“Your mile at Ascot is much more gruelling and a mile and a quarter to us in the States is like a mile and a half and may just be too much,” Motion told Racing UK.
“It is a relief that there is no Frankel. The Queen Anne is an interesting option and it is something that I think he can adapt to.
“That’s the remarkable thing about this horse is that he can do a bit of everything.”
Animal Kingdom was ridden by Joel Rosario in Dubai, but Motion is keen for John Velazquez to get back on board at Ascot.
Velazquez guided Animal Kingdom to his career-defining Kentucky Derby triumph and has previous experience of the Royal meeting.
