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ARRY IRWIN uses a broad map for hisTeam Valor International partnership, andhis grand plan for the spring of 2011 wascharacteristically ambitious.

Team Valor had pulled off one of its biggestfeats on November 6 when a homebred, Pluck, defiedrational limits for trouble in a race and soared home towin the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G2) at ChurchillDowns. Emboldened by that performance and an agree-ment around the same time that placed Team Valor’s en-tire U.S. roster in the hands of trainer Graham Motion,

Irwin decided to aim Pluck at either the Poule d’Essaides Poulains (Fr-G1) (French Two Thousand Guineas)or Abu Dhabi Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1).

The twist came when Motion worked Pluck withanother Team Valor homebred,Animal Kingdom,at PalmMeadows Training Center in South Florida this winter.

Motion liked what he saw from Pluck, but he noticedsomething extra in Animal Kingdom, who won one ofhis two starts as a two-year-old.

“This one is special,” Motion told Irwin. Only extraordinary talent could explain what Animal

Kingdom turned out to be: the kind of colt to satisfy thezest to make history.

In one explosive stretch burst under John Velazquez,Animal Kingdom filled in the sizable void that devel-oped throughout the winter and spring buildup to the137th Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)on May 7 at Churchill Downs. He did so in unprece-dented fashion, succeeding on American racing’s great-est stage in his first start on dirt.

Unleashed on dirt for first time, Animal Kingdom reigns in 137th Kentucky Derby

BY JEFF LOWE

THOROUGHBRED TIMES May 14, 2011 11

continued on page 12

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Animal Kingdom’s journey wasanything but a straight line, begin-ning with Irwin’s choice to retirethe German-bred mare Dalicia (Ger)in early 2007 and book her to King-mambo,one of North America’s topsires.

By the time Dalicia was ready tobe bred, Kingmambo had beenpulled from stud duty because of adeteriorating neck condition. Irwinowned breeding rights toLeroidesanimaux (Brz), the cham-pion turf male of 2005, so he madean impromptu switch to send theAcatenango mare to the unprovensecond-year stallion at StonewallFarm in Lexington.

After Dalicia foaled Animal King-dom on March 20, 2008, at Craig

and Holly Bandoroff’s Denali Studin Paris, Kentucky, the colt washardly an obvious candidate to de-liver on the lifetime dream that

painfully eluded Irwin in 1997 whenTeam Valor’s Captain Bodgit fin-ished a narrow second to SilverCharm as the favorite in the Ken-tucky Derby.

Team Valor’s two other Derbystarters, The Deputy (Ire) in 2000and Visionaire in 2008,were soundlybeaten.

“It kind of defies logic that a horsewith a pedigree like this would ac-tually be a dirt horse,” Irwin said.“When I breed these things, I’mbreeding to race, period. When youbreed a German mare, you’re notexpecting a dirt horse.”

12 THOROUGHBRED TIMES May 14, 2011

KENTUCKY DERBY

Animal Kingdom explodes in the stretch to win by 23⁄4 lengths

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Timing is key on the racetrack. The rider whocan combine natural horsemanship with a pre-cise and accurate internal clock does not haveto scrounge around long for business.

Timing off the racetrack is also vital. It is oftenabout being put on the right horse in the rightspot or being available to ride other horses whenyour peers cannot.

John Velazquez has always seemed to havetiming on his side both on and off the track.Blessed with supreme talent in the saddle andan equally balanced work ethic, Velazquez hasseen his career skyrocket since coming to theU.S. after starting his riding career in 1989 inhis native Puerto Rico. He has made one well-timed career move after another.

Velazquez, now 39, caught the attention ofAngel Cordero Jr. early in his career and wouldbenefit from the mentoring of the Racing Hallof Fame jockey when he came to New York in1990. Cordero retired in 1992, but serves to thisday as both Velazquez’s mentor and agent.

A few years into his stint in New York, Ve-

lazquez became associated with ToddPletcher, first when that trainer was an as-sistant for D. Wayne Lukas and later whenhe went out on his own in the mid-1990s.The working relationship between Pletcherand Velazquez is one of the most success-ful in racing history and the two teamed towin the 2007 Belmont Stakes (G1) with Ragsto Riches.

Velazquez was not Rags to Riches’ regu-lar rider leading up to the 2007 Triple Crownand wound up on the filly when Garrett Gomezcould not get out of a commitment to rideHard Spun. A similar series of events led toVelazquez landing what turned into the win-ning mount in the 2011 Kentucky Derby Pre-sented by Yum! Brands (G1) on AnimalKingdom.

Originally named to ride Uncle Mo, Ve-lazquez was dealt a tough setback in Amer-ica’s most prestigious race for the thirdconsecutive year when last year’s championtwo-year-old male came out of the race theday before the event when Pletcher andowner Mike Repole determined he was notphysically ready for the demands of the Derby.Velazquez was the rider of two other highlyregarded colts, Quality Road and Esk-endereya, who were withdrawn from the Derbyin 2009 and 2010, respectively, late in the pro-cess.

Velazquez did not fret over losing those op-portunities and he wound up in the right placeat the right time when the owners of AnimalKingdom opted to replace Robby Albaradowhen that jockey was unable to ride the day

before the Derby after suffering serious facialinjuries in a post-parade incident on May 4. Theplayers in his drama chalk it up to being part ofthe business.

“I guess it was meant to be,” Velazquez said.“It had to happen the way it happened today.

“In this business, it’s a roller coaster. Basi-cally I’ve been on the other end as well. I’ve

been hurt and I’ve seen the horses I’ve beenriding [winning with other jockeys]. I’ve seen alot. But I told Robby, ‘Don’t worry, if we win thisrace I’m going to take care of you.’ ”

Tom Law is managing editor of THOROUGHBRED TIMES.

John VelazquezDate of birth: November 24, 1971Birthplace: Carolina, Puerto RicoResidence:West Hempstead, New YorkFamily:Wife Leona; children Lerina and

Michael PatrickCareer highlights: Finalist for induc-

tion into Racing Hall of Fame, 2011;Eclipse Awards as outstanding jockey,2004 and 2005; George Woolf Memo-rial Jockey Award, 2009; inducted intoPuerto Rico Horse Racing Hall ofFame, 2006; Bill Shoemaker Awardfor performance by a jockey in theBreeders’ Cup, 2004; winner of 21meet titles in New York, including fourat Saratoga Race Course; winner ofnine Breeders’ Cup races; chairman,Jockeys’ Guild; leading active jockeyby total purse earnings, with morethan $240-million through 2010, put-ting him fourth on the all-time list

Derby mounts (finish): 1996 Built forPleasure (19th), 1998 Basic Trainee(15th), 1999 Three Ring (19th), 2000More Than Ready (fourth), 2001 In-visible Ink (second), 2002 Saarland(tenth), 2004 Pollard’s Vision (17th),2005 Bandini (19th), 2007 CircularQuay (sixth), 2008 Cowboy Cal (ninth),2009 Mr. Hot Stuff (15th), 2010 DevilMay Care (tenth), 2011 Animal King-dom (1st)

B Y T O M L A W

THE OFTEN high-pressure world for aleading jockey is all

about timing.

Right place at right time,

FINALLYJohn Velazquez wins his first Derby after unexpected circumstances

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Picks up the winning Derby mount the daybefore the race

KENTUCKY DERBYfrom page 11

Average field size bydecade (1950-2011)

A look at average field sizes by decadesince the 1950s:

Years Average field size1950-1959 14.51960-1969 12.61970-1979 14.91980-1989 17.11990-1999 16.72000-2009 18.72010-2011 19.5

Working relationship forgedthree years ago and solidifiedlate last year between TeamValor’s Barry Irwin (right) andtrainer Graham Motion (left)leads to Kentucky Derby victory

The group of clients who bredAnimal Kingdom under the TeamValor banner elected to sell him atthe 2009 Keeneland September year-ling sale, and Irwin signed the tickethimself. He formed another part-nership to race the colt, and RandyBradshaw performed the breakingand early training of Animal King-dom at the Adena Springs Southtraining facility in Williston,Florida.Bradshaw was surprised by whathe saw on dirt from Animal King-dom and another Team Valor home-bred by Leroidesanimaux namedBadleroibrown.

“If they were by A.P. Indy, you’dfeel more confident about it, butthey both looked like they handledthe dirt great,” Bradshaw said. “Itwas not what you would expect justlooking at the pedigree.”

Irwin sent Animal Kingdom totrainer Wayne Catalano at Arling-ton Park last summer, and the coltwas entered on turf for his first starton September 18, but rain forcedthe race to the main track, which isPolytrack, in the first of what turnedout to be a string of fortuitous twistsleading to the Derby.

Going 11⁄16 miles, Animal King-dom finished a strong second toWillcox Inn, who went on to finishthird in both the Dixiana Breeders’Futurity (G1) at Keeneland RaceCourse and the Juvenile Turf.

The big effort on Polytrack atArlington led to a second maidenattempt on Polytrack at Keene-land on October 23, and AnimalKingdom responded with an au-


The victorious team andtheir families celebrate

Animal Kingdom’s victory

Checklegs daily

Treatearly

Reversejoint damage

Every Stride CountsFor more information ask your veterinarian,

go online at Adequan.com or call 800-974-9247.


Kentucky Derby winners1970-2011

FinalYear Winner time Track

2011 Animal Kingdom 2:02.04 fast2010 Super Saver 2:04.45 sloppy2009 Mine That Bird 2:02.66 sloppy2008 Big Brown 2:01.82 fast2007 Street Sense 2:02.17 fast2006 Barbaro 2:01.36 fast2005 Giacomo 2:02.75 fast2004 Smarty Jones 2:04.06 sloppy2003 Funny Cide 2:01.19 fast2002 War Emblem 2:01.13 fast2001 Monarchos 1:59.97 fast2000 Fusaichi Pegasus 2:01.12 fast1999 Charismatic 2:03.29 fast1998 Real Quiet 2:02.38 fast1997 Silver Charm 2:02.44 fast1996 Grindstone 2:01.06 fast 1995 Thunder Gulch 2:01.27 fast1994 Go for Gin 2:03.72 sloppy1993 Sea Hero 2:02.42 fast1992 Lil E. Tee 2:03.04 fast1991 Strike the Gold 2:03.08 fast1990 Unbridled 2:02 good1989 Sunday Silence 2:05 muddy1988 Winning Colors 2:021⁄5 fast1987 Alysheba 2:032⁄5 fast1986 Ferdinand 2:024⁄5 fast1985 Spend a Buck 2:001⁄5 fast1984 Swale 2:022⁄5 fast1983 Sunny’s Halo 2:021⁄5 fast1982 Gato Del Sol 2:022⁄5 fast1981 Pleasant Colony 2:02 fast1980 Genuine Risk 2:02 fast1979 Spectacular Bid 2:022⁄5 fast1978 AFFIRMED 2:011⁄5 fast1977 SEATTLE SLEW 2:021⁄5 fast1976 Bold Forbes 2:013⁄5 fast1975 Foolish Pleasure 2:02 fast1974 Cannonade 2:04 fast1973 SECRETARIAT 1:592⁄5† fast1972 Riva Ridge 2:014⁄5 fast1971 Canonero II 2:031⁄5 fast1970 Dust Commander 2:032⁄5 good

Triple Crown winners denoted in bold† Track Record

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KENTUCKY DERBY

thoritative victory under RobbyAlbarado. Immediately, Irwinbegan charting a course to bringthe colt back to Keeneland for the

Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) onApril 16.

Classics preparationsAnimal Kingdom returned to

Bradshaw in early November for

about a month of downtime, whileIrwin pulled the trigger on the moveto a single trainer for Team Valor’s30 horses in the U.S. He had ap-proached Motion about the role inearly 2010, but was turned down.When he made the pitch againshortly before the Breeders’ Cup,Motion accepted, with the stipula-tion that he could continue to trainfor other clients.

Other than Animal Kingdom’sobvious proclivity for distances be-yond a mile, Motion was not surewhat kind of horse he would be asa three-year-old. The trainer breezedthe colt most in company with Pluckand exclusively on turf at PalmMeadows, the venue where he madethe strong first impression.

Motion and Irwin picked a one-mile optional claiming race on grass

on March 3 at Gulfstream Park forAnimal Kingdom’s return, and hekicked in with a wide rally to fin-ish second by a head to PowhatanCounty, who got loose on the leadon a speed-friendly course.

The plan called for two preps for

the Blue Grass,with the Gulfstreamrace as a bridge to the listed Rush-away Stakes on March 26 on Poly-track at Turfway Park,but a flip-flopbecame necessary when anotherTeam Valor three-year-old, Crim-son China, lacked enough earningsto crack the full field for the VineryRacing Spiral Stakes (G3) on thesame card.

Animal Kingdom had enoughearnings and more than enough abil-ity for the $500,000 Spiral. He pro-duced a strong rally from last underAlan Garcia and opened up in thestretch to win by 23⁄4 lengths.

The performance quicklyprompted Motion and Irwin to up-grade their primary target to theKentucky Derby rather than theBlue Grass, and the conservativetrainer successfully lobbied for the

John Velazquez guides Animal Kingdom (second from left) well to the outside and takes aim at Nehro, Comma to the Top, and Shackleford with a quarter-mile to run

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ANIMAL KINGDOM reserved for a half-mile, advanced four wide between rivals with three furlongs togo, came out six wide, made a good run with a furlong to go, took over in the final furlong, and slowly increased lead while drifting out late. NEHRO within striking distance four or five wide the opening halfmile, moved up with three furlongs to go, challenged outside nearing the stretch, gained a short lead momentarily entering the stretch, could not keep pace with SHACKLEFORD when that one surged clear,but responded late to be up for the place. MUCHO MACHO MAN relaxed three wide the opening half-mile while racing in traffic, advanced in that path with three furlongs to go, came out five wide into thestretch, moved back in a bit in midstretch, drifted out inside the final furlong, was straightened, and finished willingly. SHACKLEFORD set the pace off the rail, repulsed bids entering the stretch, spurted toa clear lead, responded when challenged, and held on well. MASTER OF HOUNDS picked up his pacewhen asked with three furlongs to go, worked his way through traffic through midstretch, angled to therail, and finished with good energy. SANTIVA gradually made progress off the rail on second turn, cameout four wide, and was gaining late while unable to seriously threaten. BRILLIANT SPEED made a run fivewide with less than three furlongs to go, came out eight wide into the stretch, and made a good late bid onthe outside. DIALED IN squeezed back at start, was far back for seven furlongs while unhurried, swung tothe outside for the drive, and made a belated bid. PANTS ON FIRE moved out to the four path on the sec-ond turn while maintaining position, held on well to the stretch, and weakened. TWICE THE APPEAL swungseven wide entering the stretch and passed tiring rivals. SOLDAT stayed on well for seven furlongs, cameout five wide leaving the second turn, and tired. STAY THIRSTY brushed at start, angled out a bit for thedrive, and gave way. DERBY KITTEN broke inward, lacked speed, steadied behind DECISIVE MOMENTnearing the sixteenth marker, and could not threaten thereafter. DECISIVE MOMENT stalked the pace, heldon well to the final quarter, and gave way. ARCHARCHARCH steadied early, had his saddle slip entering the backstretch, never a factor, pulled up lame, vanned off. MIDNIGHT INTERLUDE failed to respond when ridden with three furlongs to go. TWINSPIRED steadied briefly with three furlongs to go and gave way.WATCH ME GO lost footing at start, faded. COMMA TO THE TOP angled out entering the first turn whenin closest attendance to the pace, challenged three wide, but gave way readily in the final furlong. 2

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Two-time Derby winner Nick Zito was confidentin eventual post-time favorite Dialed In duringthe week leading up to the race but Mineshaftcolt suffers slightly troubled trip when shuffledback to last at the start en route to eighth-place finish

Winning Derbypost positions

Winning Derby post positions since 1900:

Post Winners Post Winners1 12 11 32 9 12 33 8 13 44 11 14 25 12 15 36 6 16 47 8 17 08 10 18 19 4 19 0

10 10 20 2

chestnut colt to head straight tothe classic.

Contenders drop outThe decision came in the thick

of a tumultuous prep season thatextended to Pluck, who was with-drawn from a European trip whensidelined with cannon bone issuesafter faring poorly in two starts.

Uncle Mo began theyear as a potential super-star, based on his threedominant wins as a two-year-old, and he added tohis imposing reputationwith an easy victory inthe Timely Writer Stakeson March 12 at Gulf-stream.

The dominoes tumbled fromthere.

Dialed In enhanced his quickrise with a victory in the FloridaDerby (G1) on April 3 in hisfourth career start, but Soldatand Stay Thirsty fizzled afterwinning the Fasig-Tipton Foun-tain of Youth Stakes (G2) andGotham Stakes (G3), respec-tively.

The next week, San FelipeStakes (G2) winner Premier Pe-gasus and Norfolk Stakes (G1)winner Jaycito were entered inthe Santa Anita Derby (G1) butboth were scratched with injuriesthat eventually knocked themout of the Kentucky Derby.

To Honor and Serve, regardedby many as the top threat toUncle Mo at the start of theyear, joined the list of defec-tions on April 8 with a suspen-sory injury.

The crucial question emergedthe next day when Uncle Mocame up empty in the stretchof the Resorts World New YorkCasino Wood Memorial Stakes(G1) at Aqueduct, finishing

third at 1-to-10 odds. The winner, at 8.70-to-1, was

Toby’s Corner, trained by Motionfor another client, Dianne Cotter,who beat much greater in odds inbreeding the colt from her roster ofonly a handful of broodmares.

Dialed In and Arkansas Derby(G1) winner Archarcharch were theonly horses to reach the Derby withtwo prep wins in stakes, and the hitscontinued throughout Derby week.

Animal Kingdom cleared up hisstatus with a sharp six-furlong work-out on April 30 at Churchill. He wasscheduled for two dirt drills lead-ing into the Derby, but record rain-fall in the area kept him on theall-weather Polytrack surface atKeeneland until April 28.

Garcia stuck with Soldat as hisDerby mount, so Motion and Irwinturned to Albarado, who rode An-imal Kingdom in his only victory.

Albarado guided the colt throughthe final workout in 1:13 in com-pany with stablemate Meistersingerand beamed when he dismountedback at the barn.



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Longest-priced Kentucky Derby favorites

Year Horse Odds Finish2010 Lookin At Lucky 6.30-to-1 6th2002 Harlan’s Holiday 6-to-1 7th2006 Sweetnorthernsaint 5.50-to-1 7th2011 Dialed In 5.20-to-1 8th2007 Street Sense 4.90-to-1 1st1999 Excellent Meeting- 4.80-to-1 5th

General Challenge (entry) 11th

Motion admitted on the evening of May 7 that“I was not thinking Derby with this horse.”

This horse was Animal Kingdom and it allchanged on March 26 when the colt decisivelywon the Vinery Spiral Stakes (G3) over TurfwayPark’s Polytrack. Two weeks later, Toby’s Cor-ner pulled a huge upset in the Resorts WorldNew York Casino Wood Memorial Stakes (G1),defeating early Derby favorite Uncle Mo.

Suddenly, Toby’s Corner’s Derby future lookedespecially bright, given his rebound from a badprep race, and Motion was in the enviable po-sition of having two horses on the Derby trail.That trail would not, however, be a smooth one.

Motion and Barry Irwin, chief executive offi-cer of Team Valor International, which owns An-imal Kingdom, cautiously began to plot out acourse to the Derby. Given that the colt’s onlytwo wins had come over synthetics, they de-termined that he would start only if he workedwell twice over the dirt at Churchill Downs.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature intervened by

walloping the Louisville area with rain in theweeks before the Derby, and Animal King-dom was able to get in only one workoutthere, on April 30. Fortunately, that workoutwas good enough to convince them that An-imal Kingdom could run on dirt. Irwin char-acterized it as a “real eye-opener.”

“It’s what gave us the confidence to goahead,” he said.

Meanwhile, Toby’s Corner was getting allthe buzz, while Animal Kingdom’s chancesin the Derby were largely disregarded given thelightness of his racing schedule and the sur-face over which his wins had come. Toby’s Cor-ner stayed at Fair Hill Training Center to train,with Motion intending to ship him to Louisvillethe week before the race, in order to get in onework over the track.

And two days after Animal Kingdom’s im-pressive work, Motion’s plans abruptly changedagain, this time less than a week before theDerby.

“After I worked Toby’s Corner last Sunday,”Motion said, “I felt about as good as I’d felt fora long time about anything. I walked in the barnMonday morning—I’d even had a good night’ssleep, finally—and [assistant trainer] Adrian[Rolls] told me that the horse wasn’t right, Iabout fell over. That’s about as tough a blow asyou can get the week of the Derby.”

Motion admitted he came to Louisville witha sense of disappointment, even though he hadstarters in both the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and theDerby and even though he did not consider An-

imal Kingdom his “second-tier” Derby horse.The disappointment turned to jubilation late

in the afternoon, when Motion watched AnimalKingdom charge down Churchill Downs’ longstretch to win America’s most famous race.

“It has,” he said, in a characteristic bit of un-derstatement, “been an extraordinary week.”

Teresa Genaro is a New York correspondent of

THOROUGHBRED TIMES.

Motion weathers range of

EMOTIONS

Wins first Kentucky Derby with his third starter in American classic

Graham MotionDate of birth: May 22, 1964Birthplace: Cambridge, EnglandResidence: Fair Hill, MarylandFamily: Wife Anita; children Jane and Mar-

cusCareer highlights: Saddled Better Talk Now

to victory in 2004 John Deere Breeders’ CupTurf (G1) and Shared Account to victory in2010 Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Fillyand Mare Turf (G1); other major stakes win-ners trained include Film Maker, Bullsbay,Olaya, Rosinka (Ire), T. D. Vance; former as-sistant to Racing Hall of Famer JonathanSheppard

Kentucky Derby starters (finish): 1998Chill-ito (11th), 2008 Adriano (19th), Animal King-dom (1st)

B Y T E R E S A G E N A R O

ALITTLE more than a month ago, trainer GrahamMotion was entertaining few thoughts about tak-ing a horse to the Kentucky Derby Presented by

Yum! Brands (G1). His promising dirt three-year-old Toby’sCorner had lost the Gotham Stakes (G3) in early Marchafter winning the Whirlaway Stakes in February; Animal Kingdom had only a maiden win to his credit, that comingon the Polytrack surface at Keeneland Race Course last fall.

Jockey Robby Albarado, who later tells reporters “you may be looking at a Derby winner there, boys,”breezes Animal Kingdom six furlongs in 1:13 a week before the race. Albarado suffers facial injuries inpost-parade incident three days before the Derby and loses mount to John Velazquez

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“You may be looking at a Derbywinner there, boys,”Albarado said.

The Derby Festival Marathon thatsnarls traffic in and around Churchillon the Saturday before the Derbyalmost prevented Irwin and his wife,Kathleen, from seeing any of thecrucial breeze. As it was, they sawonly a portion.

Motion filled them in on the workin about as enthusiastic as he couldbe in his quiet, deliberative manner.

“I don’t think it could have goneany better,” Motion said.

Motion returned home that nightto oversee Toby’s Corner’s lastworkout on May 1 at Fair Hill Train-

ing Center in Elkton, Maryland.Motion said he even got a goodnight’s sleep, which had been a rar-ity with two colts approaching theDerby.

When Motion stepped into thebarn on May 2, assistant trainerAdrian Rolls delivered the equiva-lent of a nightmare, informing himthat Toby’s Corner was lame be-hind. Although no injury was pin-pointed, the colt did not showimprovement by the next morning,so Motion withdrew him from con-sideration for the Derby.

Down to oneMotion returned to Louisville that

afternoon to focus on AnimalKingdom.

“That’s about as tough a blow asyou can get the week of the Derby,”Motion said. “It was an odd feel-ing … to come [to Churchill] withwhat I felt was a very live horse inthe Derby but still to have a senseof disappointment.”

The twists and turns were not fin-ished. Albarado broke his nose ina post-parade accident on May 4 atChurchill. When he took off hismounts on May 5-6, Irwin and Mo-tion decided they needed to find anew rider.

The timing was remarkable, con-current with ongoing drama overthe status of Uncle Mo.

The champion two-year-old maleof 2010 came out of his shockingWood Memorial defeat with a gas-trointestinal tract infection and con-tinued in full training while heunderwent treatment. With the pro-gressive withdrawal of medication,Uncle Mo’s condition declined,andhe was finally withdrawn the morn-ing before the Derby after being in-stalled as the 9-to-2 second choicebehind Dialed In, the morning-linefavorite at 4-to-1.

Uncle Mo’s defection left Ve-lazquez, the leading active jockeyby career purse earnings and a fi-nalist this year for induction intothe Racing Hall of Fame, withouta horse in the Derby, and Motionand Irwin picked him up within afew hours to replace Albarado.

Winless in 12 previous Derbytries, Velazquez had recent experi-ence that had not been kind. He lostexpected favorites Quality Roadand Eskendereya to injuries theweek before the race in 2009 and2010, respectively, and went into2011 as the rider of both Uncle Moand To Honor and Serve.

Motion simply emphasized thatVelazquez should try to keep Ani-mal Kingdom out of trouble in thefield of 19 on the first fast track forthe Derby since 2008. Dismissedat 30-to-1 on Mike Battaglia’s morn-

KENTUCKY DERBY


THE CONNECTIONS of Uncle Mo started Kentucky Derby weekwith dreams of winning the American classic but ended the weekwith deep concerns about the health of the 2010 champion two-year-old male.

Owner Mike Repole said he was highly concerned about lastyear’s Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner when heannounced the day before the Derby that Uncle Mo would bescratched. He said expert veterinarians are baffled by the ailmentthat caused Uncle Mo to lose his appetite and energy level.

“That’s what makes me nervous,” Repole said. “There are a lotof injuries to a horse that you can figure out. And Todd Pletcher’sso good at what he does, I know he’s upset that we can’t figurethis out. We’ve flown experts in, we’ve had top vets, we’ve talkedto people in New York and California.

“Now we’re really worried about the horse—really worried. We’renot worried about his racing; we’re worried about the horse.”

Uncle Mo won his first four career starts before finishing thirdin the Resorts World New York Casino Wood Memorial Stakes(G1). After the race he was diagnosed with gastrointestinal prob-lems. While he has not raced since that April 9 start, he has been

in training. He even exercised on the Churchill main track on themorning he was scratched.

Pletcher told Repole on the evening of May 5 that he did notwant to start Uncle Mo, and a team of veterinarians also advisedagainst it. After hearing those opinions, Repole said making thedecision not to run was easy.

The scratch reduced the Derby field to 19 starters—one lessthan the maximum—for the second time in three years. The Derbydoes not allow an also-eligible list, which would have cleared theway for excluded entry Sway Away to run. Churchill Downs offi-cials said they look at the issue of an also-eligible list each year.

“The stumbling block has been the early wagering on Friday,”said Churchill spokeman John Asher, noting that adding a horseto the field after a Friday scratch could be confusing. Asher alsonoted that the Derby draws many less-experienced bettors andalso-eligible entries could confuse them.

Asher said Churchill officials look at the process every year andif they can come up with a plan to iron out some of the concerns,an also-eligible list could be added in future years.

Pletcher said Uncle Mo will stay in Kentucky for a while and

was taken to WinStar Farm in Versailles on May 9 for contin-ued treatment. The plan would then be to move him to Bel-mont Park. Pletcher said no racing plans would be made untilthe ailment is fully diagnosed.

Pletcher stopped short of saying Uncle Mo is out of training,but the Preakness (G1) and Belmont (G1) Stakes seem unlikely.Repole is hoping for a campaign built toward the Travers Stakes(G1) this summer and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) this fall.

“Right now we have no race plans, period,” Pletcher said. “Untilwe know what’s wrong with him, no race plans.”—Frank Angst

Connections hope to solve mystery of Uncle Mo’s ailment

Date Race Trk Dist. Time First three finishers1/1 Count Fleet S. Aqu 1m70y 1:42.42 MONZON, J J’s Lucky Train, Pants On Fire1/1 Tropical Park Derby Crc 11⁄8mT 1:49.46 KING CONGIE, Private Prize, Swift Warrior1/8 Spectacular Bid S. GP 6f 1:11.13 DETERMINATO, Leave of Absence, Cane Garden Baby1/14 Jean Lafitte S. DeD 1m 1:38.91 DECISIVE MOMENT, Su Casa G Casa, Expecting Cash1/15 California Derby GG 11⁄16mAW 1:44.56 POSITIVE RESPONSE, Jakesam, Bluegrass Reward1/15 Sham S. (G3) SA 11⁄16m 1:40.38 TAPIZAR, Clubhouse Ride, Anthony’s Cross1/17 Jimmy Winkfield S. Aqu 6f 1:08.33 FORT HUGHES, Royal Currier, Rift1/17 San Pedro S. SA 61⁄2f 1:15.23 INDIAN WINTER, City Cool, Sinai1/17 Smarty Jones S. OP 1m 1:43.07 CALEB’S POSSE, Dreaminofthewin, Bluegrass Bull1/22 Lecomte S. (G3) FG 1m40y 1:40.97 WILKINSON, Pants On Fire, Action Ready1/29 Dancing Count S. Lrl 6f 1:11.76 WICKED THUNDER, Diski Dance, Afternoon Action1/30 Holy Bull S. (G3) GP 1m 1:35.19 DIALED IN, Sweet Ducky, Gourmet Dinner2/5 WEBN S. TP 1mAW 1:41.57 TWINSPIRED, R Fast Cat, Taptowne2/5 Whirlaway S. Aqu 11⁄16m 1:45.66 TOBY’S CORNER, J J’s Lucky Train, Preachintothedevil2/6 Hallandale Beach S. GP 11⁄16mT 1:41.30 MASTER DUNKER, Brilliant Speed, King Congie2/12 El Camino Real Derby (G3) GG 11⁄8mAW 1:50.45 SILVER MEDALLION, Jakesam, Positive Response2/12 Robert B. Lewis S. (G2) SA 11⁄16m 1:48.63 ANTHONY’S CROSS, Riveting Reason, Quail Hill2/12 Sam F. Davis S. (G3) Tam 11⁄16m 1:45.07 BRETHREN, Too Experience, Watch Me Go2/19 Risen Star S. (G2) FG 11⁄16m 1:43.98 MUCHO MACHO MAN, Santiva, Rogue Romance2/20 San Vicente S. (G2) SA 7f 1:20.34 THE FACTOR, Sway Away, Premier Pegasus2/21 Southwest S. (G3) OP 1m 1:38.23 ARCHARCHARCH, J P’s Gusto, Elite Alex2/26 Borderland Derby Sun 11⁄16m 1:45.06 FUSA CODE, Behold de Buy, Special Kid2/26 Fasig-Tipton

Fountain of Youth S. (G2) GP 11⁄8m 1:50.23 SOLDAT, Gourmet Dinner, To Honor and Serve2/26 Hutcheson S. (G2) GP 7f 1:22.03 FLASHPOINT, Travelin Man, Little Drama2/26 Miracle Wood S. Lrl 7f 1:23.60 J J’S LUCKY TRAIN, Bandbox, Wicked Thunder2/26 Turf Paradise Derby TuP 11⁄16m 1:41.99 BEER MEISTER, Indian Winter, Mr Artistic M D3/5 Fred “Cappy” Capossela S. Aqu 6f 1:10.61 SENSATIONAL SLAM, Diski Dance, Vengeful Wildcat3/5 Gotham S. (G3) Aqu 11⁄16m 1:44.78 STAY THIRSTY, Norman Asbjornson, Toby’s Corner3/5 John Battaglia Memorial S. TP 11⁄16mAW 1:45.13 POSITIVE RESPONSE, Taptowne, Son of Posse3/5 Mountain Valley S. OP 6f 1:11.26 SMOKE IT RIGHT, Keep On Giving, Glint3/12 Palm Beach S. (G3) GP 11⁄8mT 1:47.85 JOES BLAZING AARON, Queen’splatekitten, Newsdad3/12 San Felipe S. (G2) SA 11⁄16m 1:41.23 PREMIER PEGASUS, Jaycito, Bench Points3/12 Tampa Bay Derby (G2) Tam 11⁄16m 1:44.25 WATCH ME GO, Crimson Knight, Brethren3/12 Timely Writer S. GP 1m 1:36.56 UNCLE MO, Rattlesnake Bridge, Gallant Dreams3/14 OBS Championship S. OTC 11⁄16mAW 1:47.40 REPRIZED HALO, Extended Family, Strike Oil3/19 Private Terms S. Lrl 1m 1:37.25 BANDBOX, Rush Now, No Easy Answer3/19 Rebel S. (G2) OP 11⁄16m 1:42.19 THE FACTOR, Caleb’s Posse, Archarcharch3/26 Hansel S. TP 6fAW 1:10.78 GHOST IS CLEAR, Philippe, Getaway Guy3/26 Louisiana Derby (G2) FG 11⁄16m 1:49.92 PANTS ON FIRE, Nehro, Mucho Macho Man3/26 Rushaway S. TP 11⁄16mAW 1:45.73 SWIFT WARRIOR, Crimson China, The Ole Gen3/26 UAE Derby (UAE-G2) Mey 1,900mAW 1:58.83 =KHAWLAH (Ire), Master of Hounds, =Mahbooba (Aus)3/26 Vinery Racing Spiral S. (G3) TP 11⁄8mAW 1:52.32 ANIMAL KINGDOM, Decisive Moment, Twinspired3/27 Sunland Derby (G3) Sun 11⁄8m 1:50.91 TWICE THE APPEAL, Astrology, Ruler On Ice4/3 Florida Derby (G1) GP 11⁄8m 1:50.07 DIALED IN, Shackleford, To Honor and Serve4/3 Swale S. (G2) GP 7f 1:21.94 TRAVELIN MAN, Indiano, Little Drama4/8 Transylvania S. (G3) Kee 11⁄16mT 1:41.99 AIR SUPPORT, Great Mills, Adirondack Summer4/9 Bay Shore S. (G3) Aqu 7f 1:22.54 J J’S LUCKY TRAIN, Vengeful Wildcat, Justin Phillip4/9 TVG Illinois Derby (G3) Haw 11⁄8m 1:51.91 JOE VANN, Zoebear, The Fed Eased4/9 Santa Anita Derby (G1) SA 11⁄8m 1:48.66 MIDNIGHT INTERLUDE, Comma to the Top, Mr. Commons4/9 Resorts World New York Casino

Wood Memorial S. (G1) Aqu 11⁄8m 1:49.93 TOBY’S CORNER, Arthur’s Tale, Uncle Mo4/10 La Puente S. SA 11⁄8mT 1:48.70 SURREY STAR (IRE), Major Art (GB), Jakesam4/16 Arkansas Derby (G1) OP 11⁄8m 1:49.34 ARCHARCHARCH, Nehro, Dance City4/16 Northern Spur S. OP 1m 1:37.20 UNCLE BRENT, Albergatti, Derivative4/16 Toyota Blue Grass S. (G1) Kee 11⁄8mAW 1:50.92 BRILLIANT SPEED, Twinspired, King Congie4/23 Coolmore Lexington S. (G3) Kee 11⁄16mAW 1:42.03 DERBY KITTEN, Prime Cut, Casper’s Touch4/23 Jerome S. (G2) Aqu 1m 1:36.81 ADIOS CHARLIE, Astrology, Justin Phillip4/30 The Cliff’s Edge

Derby Trial S. (G3) CD 1m 1:35.47 MACHEN, Dominus, J J’s Lucky Train 5/7 Kentucky Derby Presented

by Yum! Brands (G1) CD 11⁄4m 2:02.04 ANIMAL KINGDOM, Nehro, Mucho Macho Man5/21 Preakness S. (G1) Pim 13⁄16m6/11 Belmont S. (G1) Bel 11⁄2m

Triple Crown nominees are listed in bold.

NOW ONLINE:Visit the Road to the Triple Crown™

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jockeys, owners, and breeders of Triple Crown hopefuls; read previews and results of major prep races;and view a weekly poll of the leading contenders.

Road to theTRIPLE CROWN

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presented by

Uncle Mo trains at Churchill Downs in weeks leadingup to Kentucky Derby but is withdrawn the day beforethe race with mysterious ailment his connections saysaps his energy and curbs his appetite

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ing line, the colt was bet down to20.90-to-1 after drawing morningraves all week.

Animal Kingdom answered pow-erfully. Starting from the 16 post,he settled into 12th place from twoor three wide and launched his rallyat the three-eighths pole. Anglingsix wide, he advanced toward gameleaders Shackleford and Nehro inthe stretch and surged away to crossthe wire 23⁄4 lengths in front.

Animal Kingdom completed the11⁄4 miles in 2:02.04, including thefinal quarter-mile in a razor-sharp:24.55, in front of a crowd of 164,858that toppled the 37-year Churchillrecord of 163,628 from the centen-nial Derby in 1974.

Irwin, a longtime writer for DailyRacing Form and other industrypublications before he solidified hispartnership ventures in the 1980s,chided reporters for dwelling toomuch on what he considers to betrivial statistics, but Animal King-dom’s unusual ascent was not loston him.

He noted that the colt was thefirst Derby winner without a previ-ous start on dirt and the first horsesince Needles in 1956 to win theclassic off a six-week layoff.

“I like to try to make history ifI can, and we made a lot of historytoday,” Irwin said. “I’ve only wona couple of really big ones andwhen it happens, it’s just surreal.That’s all I can tell you. You see itand you know what happened,you’re there, but it’s just hard toprocess.”

Irwin continued to fire off jokesand blunt answers,but the enormityof the triumph set in when he was

introduced at a post-race party atthe Kentucky Derby Museum.

“We’re going to take this horseto St. Moritz this winter and seehow he does in the snow,” Irwinquipped, before emotion struck ashis voice cracked and he reachedto wipe his eyes, struggling to getout five more words. “It’s a dreamcome true.”

Jeff Lowe is a THOROUGHBRED TIMES staff writer.


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Team Valor’s Barry Irwin, leadingAnimal Kingdom into the winner’s

circle, lambastes racetrackmanagement for what he sees as

mistreatment of racing partnershipsand criticizes the media for not

assessing his horse enough as an individual

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Birthplaceof Derby winners

State/Country WinnersKentucky 104Florida 6Virginia 4California 3Tennessee 3New Jersey 2Pennsylvania 2Texas 2Canada 2Great Britain 2Illinois 1Kansas 1Maryland 1Missouri 1Montana 1New York 1Ohio 1

Largest win payoffsYear Horse Win price1913 Donerail $184.902009 Mine That Bird 103.202005 Giacomo 102.601940 Gallahadion 72.401999 Charismatic 64.601967 Proud Clarion 62.201918 Exterminator 61.201953 Dark Star 51.801995 Thunder Gulch 51.001908 Stone Street ($5 mutuel) 123.601982 Gato Del Sol 44.402011 Animal Kingdom 43.802002 War Emblem 43.001936 Bold Venture 43.001923 Zev 40.401986 Ferdinand 37.40

ARRY IRWIN started inracing as a Turf writer. Somaybe it was just natural

when he went to the post-race in-terview as the winning owner of the137th running of the KentuckyDerby Presented by Yum! Brands(G1) that the first thing out of hismouth sounded like he was writingthe lead,putting the victory by TeamValor International’s Animal King-dom into historical perspective, aswell.

“I like to try to make history if Ican, and we made a lot of historytoday,” said Irwin, chief executiveofficer of Team Valor who coveredthe sport for the Daily Racing Formin the 1970s on the West Coast be-fore getting into the bloodstock busi-ness and racehorse syndication.

“This is the first horse that has wonthis race with only four previousstarts, since Exterminator in 1918.The first horse to win the Derbynever having raced on dirt. The firsthorse to win after a six-week lay-off since Needles in 1956. So thatmeans a lot to me.”

Irwin, now 68, has been manag-ing racehorse partnerships for a

quarter-century. The business hasgone through name changes andstructure, but it has been one of themost successful racehorse partner-ship entities in this country. An op-eration like Cot Campbell’sDogwood Stable has been a stan-dard-bearer for partnerships, butTeam Valor, notably in the last sev-eral years, has been especially

prominent. In 2010, it attained morethan $2-million in internationalearnings, its year highlighted by thevictory of homebred Pluck, trainedthen by Todd Pletcher, in theBreeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G2)at Churchill Downs.

This year, Team Valor is the nation’s leading owner by earn-ings, aided in large part by the$1,411,800 earned by AnimalKingdom in the Derby. Earlier onDerby day, Team Valor’s Daveron(Ger) won the Beaugay Handicap(G3) at Belmont Park.

Consolidatingoperations

Not long after last year’s Breeders’Cup,Irwin decided he wanted to haveall his horses with one trainer in theU.S. and convinced Graham Motion,who is based at Fair Hill Traiing Cen-ter in Maryland, to be that person.

“This is my 25th year racinghorses for a syndicate,” said Irwin,who now resides in Versailles,Kentucky, with his wife, Kath-leen. “I’ve reached the point whereI still want to work hard, but Idon’t want to have 18 trainers. Idon’t want to hear stories from 17trainers every day. Unless you’rethere and you have one guy onyour team that’s on your side,you’re not going to get the truth.And I reached the point where Iwas fed up with it.

“I also wanted to have my horsestrained off-site from the racetrack,because racetrack life for a horseisn’t any good. And we found FairHill, which is, I wouldn’t say it’s aparadise for horses,but it’s the clos-est thing to a European training cen-ter that we have in America.

“We have had horses with Gra-ham for the last three years. I askedhim early last year if he would trainhorses for us on a private basis. Hedidn’t want to do it. So we waitedabout six, seven months, after hehad a little more chance to workwith me, and I asked him again, andhe decided to do it.

“It’s hard to find one guy that cantrain every kind of horse, but I thinkGraham comes pretty darned close.”

Irwin, who was at times was acontroversial Turf writer, could nothelp but make a few pointed re-marks in the post-race press con-

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Barry Irwin heads the Team Valor International syndicate thatcampaigns Animal Kingdom and races around the world

WHILE PRIMARILY a racing syndicate,Team Valor has launched a smallerbreeding operation. It typically has about20 broodmares, 12 of which are soldand eight of which are part of its per-manent band.

Barry Irwin said most racing partnersare not interested in the breeding sideof the business, but it is an option madeavailable to potential syndicate mem-bers when Team Valor purchases a filly.

“We buy the fillies, we run them, webreed them, we sell them,” Irwin said.“If we have a horse that didn’t quiteprove themselves in America, and I likeit, I will either buy the horse from thepartners … or we just keep it and tryto breed it.”

Irwin enjoys tracking European rac-ing to find potential racehorses andbroodmares. He trusts European per-formance because the countries do notpermit race-day medications.

“In Germany, you are not allowed tobreed a mare that has ever raced ondrugs, [Salix], Bute, nothing,” Irwin said.“So when you buy some stock fromthere, you know you’re getting some-thing good.”

Irwin’s international ties paid off inlanding Animal Kingdom’s dam, Dali-

cia (Ger), by Acatenango. An-imal Kingdom is the first Derbystarter bred by Team Valor.

Dalicia caught Irwin’s eyewhen she defeated eventualmultiple German highweightmale Soldier Hollow (GB) in the2005 Preis der Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (Ger-G3). Afterher next start, she was pur-chased by Team Valor for400,000 euros at a Baden-Baden auction.

She then raced in the U.S.for Team Valor and Richard Ha-isfield’s NeverTell Racing, win-ning just one of four starts. Thedecision was made to breedher to Leroidesanimaux (Brz),producing Animal Kingdom asher first foal. Dalicia was soldfor $397,316 to Shadai Farmat the 2009 Tattersalls December mixedsale.

“In this instance, we kept the mare[for breeding]—and I wanted to keepher forever—but Haisfield had some fi-nancial difficulties, so we had to sellher,” Irwin said. Haisfield’s racing op-erations went through a bankruptcy in2010.

Comfortable in many industry areas,Irwin through his ties to Haisfield madeLeroidesanimaux an easy option as amate to Dalicia. Team Valor had breed-ing rights to the young stallion follow-ing a stallion deal Irwin worked on forHaisfield.

“I got hired by [Haisfield],” Irwin said.“He wanted me to buy some stallion

[prospects] for him. I boughtthree of them, Leroidesani-maux, Lawyer Ron, andanother horse [Medaglia d’Oro]that was already retired.”

Irwin noted that Leroidesan-imaux won an Eclipse Awardas 2005 champion turf maleand Lawyer Ron won anEclipse Award as 2007 cham-pion older male.

“For doing it, Haisfield—he’sa real entrepreneur and assome entrepreneurs are, he’sa cheap guy—he didn’t wantto pay me in cash, so he gaveme breeding rights.”

Team Valor’s eight brood-mares are kept at Craig andHolly Bandoroff’s Denali Studin Paris, Kentucky. In Novem-ber, Team Valor’s breeding op-

eration picked up a Breeders’ CupWorld Championships win when theMore Than Ready colt Pluck won theBreeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G2). Pluckis out of Secret Heart (SAf), a stakes-winning mare Irwin purchased for TeamValor while still racing in her nativeland before importing to the U.S.

—Frank Angst

The breeding side of Team ValorOperation has produced Derby winner and Breeders’ Cup winner

Dalicia, dam of Derby winner AnimalKingdom, was Group 3 winner in Germanyand an optional claiming winner in the U.S.

Team Valor InternationalChief executive officer: Barry IrwinBest horses campaigned by syndicates managed by Irwin: 1989 Breeders’ CupTurf (G1) winner Prized, 1987 Hollywood Derby (G1) winner Political Ambition, 1997Florida Derby (G1) and Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) winner Captain Bodgit, 1993 Ar-lington Million Stakes (G1) winner Star of Cozzene, 2000 Santa Anita Derby (G1) win-ner The Deputy (Ire), 2001 Santa Anita Oaks (G1) winner Golden Ballet, 2007 BeldameStakes (G1) winner Unbridled Belle, 2008 NetJets King’s Bishop Stakes (G1) winnerVisionaire, 2001 Spinaway Stakes (G1) winner Cashier’s Dream


Writing another chapter

Team Valor’s homebred Animal Kingdom is the first classic winner for the racing partnership

BY MARK SIMON

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ference about the underappreciatedrole of partnerships.

“Let me say one other thing,”he remarked. “This was a bigweekend for the partnerships;Peachtree Stable [owner of Ken-tucky Oaks (G1) winner PlumPretty] and Cot Campbell [ownerof Churchill Downs Stakes (G2)winner Aikenite] won big races.I hope these racetracks pay atten-tion to the partnerships and treatus a little better than they havebeen treating us.”

While he declined further com-ment during the press conference(“I think the people that hear that,they will know exactly what I mean;it does not require elaboration”),afterward he said, “If partnershipsdid not enter any horses in races fora week, they would have a hard timefilling races.”

Irwin knows well the importanceand challenges of racing partner-ships, and the demands they canmake on racetracks,which have lim-ited seating,especially for big events.The syndicate that races AnimalKingdom is composed of 20 shares,so once you start adding spouses,children,relatives,and friends,man-aging the social aspect of a partner-ship can be a demanding job.

Owners bought into Animal King-dom at different times, with the ini-tial investors buying in at a valuationof $100,000, while other came inat $150,000 and $350,000. Irwinsaid someone bought an interest be-fore the Derby at a valuation of $2-million.

Homebred winnerWhat made Animal Kingdom’s

classic triumph particularly reward-ing for Irwin and Team Valor is thatAnimal Kingdom is a homebred,and Team Valor has not been in thebreeding end of the business forlong. The homebreds are the resultof fillies and mares that had beenraced by Team Valor and retired asbroodmares. (See sidebar on TeamValor’s breeding operation.)

Irwin started his entrepreneurialforay into the sport first by form-ing Pacifica Thoroughbreds in 1978,buying and selling horses, and in1987 formed Clover Racing withnewspaper handicapper Jeff Siegel,with the object of buying racehorsesin training and then syndicatingthem and managing their careers.The partners enjoyed some high-profile success with such horses asPrized,winner of the 1989 Breeders’Cup Turf (G1), and Political Am-bition, winner of the 1987 Holly-wood Derby (G1).

Clover eventually turned intoTeam Valor in 1992, and in 1997,Team Valor brought to the DerbyCaptain Bodgit, winner of theFlorida Derby (G1) and WoodMemorial Stakes (G2).

“I had utter confidence in the horse,”Irwin said of Captain Bodgit. “I reallydid not think he would lose. I knewhow good [eventual winner] SilverCharm was and I knew that whenyou came to him, he just didn’t quit.

He had an extra little punch. ... It wasa tough race for me ... and it was veryhard to get over it. But I was hopingI would be back again and be able towin it, and it happened.”

In 2007, Irwin bought out Siegel’sinterests to become the sole ownerof Team Valor.

The International part of TeamValor’s name was added at thattime, an appropriate addition, asthe stable, which sometimes num-

bers close to 100 horses, races inSouth Africa, England, France,Germany, Uruguay,Argentina, andBrazil, in addition to North Amer-ica. This is an outgrowth of Irwin’sinterest in international racing, anda necessity as the stable combs theworld looking for racing prospectsthat can be bought and either cam-paigned in their home country orbrought to the U.S.

“I’ve always liked international

racing, even when I was a Turfwriter,” he said. “It’s more interest-ing. I’m the kind of guy that getsbored very easily. I need a lot ofdifferent things to do. Following in-ternational racing is a lot of fun.

“I also think that we have not doneenough importing of horses andbloodlines from other places wherehorses don’t run on drugs, and horses’ legs are not manipulated,and horses,basically,are bigger and

tougher and stronger and sounder.“We won the Breeders’Cup [Ju-

venile Turf] with a horse that wasout of a mare that I brought fromSouth Africa, and [Animal King-dom is out of] a horse that I boughtin Germany.”

Mark Simon is editor of THOROUGHBRED TIMES.

His e-mail address is msimon@thoroughbred

times.com.



OR THE last 20 years or so,American breeders havebeen strongly averse to

foreign-raced horses and Americanturf horses as breeding prospects.Perhaps the success of Animal King-dom, neither of whose parents everwon on dirt, will help correct thesomewhat irrational bias againstgrass runners that has rather warpedthe American breeding scene forthe last two decades.

In fact, the pedigree of AnimalKingdom is pretty much all turf allthe time. The closest ancestor in hisfive-cross pedigree who won on dirtis Red God, his great-great-grandsire, a temperamental son of*Nasrullah who began his racingcareer on turf in England, but wonthe Roseben Handicap at BelmontPark on dirt after returning to theU.S. at four.

Red God returned to Europe forhis stud career to stand at LoughtonStud in Ireland, where he sired 57stakes winners from 495 foals(11.5% stakes winners to foals), in-cluding Animal Kingdom’s great-grandsire, Blushing Groom (Fr).

Blushing Groom was one of thegreatest U.S.-based sires during thatmost international of decades, the1980s. Champion two-year-old inFrance in 1976 and champion Eu-ropean miler at three, BlushingGroom sired 92 stakes winners from

522 foals (17.6%), including dirtchampions Blushing John, SkyBeauty, Arazi, Blushing Katy, andRunaway Groom. Blushing Groomalso sired top European runnersRainbow Quest (a great sirein Europe), Nashwan, Firethe Groom, Groom Dancer,and Sillery, and his progenyseemed equally effective ondirt and turf.

Blushing Groom’s sonCandy Stripes, out of Bub-ble Company (Fr), byLyphard, clearly possessedhigh-class ability but wasnot very sound. Winner of amaiden race at 1,600 meters(7.95 furlongs) in his debutat three, he finished third inthe Poule d’Essai desPoulains (Fr-G1) (FrenchTwo Thousand Guineas) inhis third start but was pro-moted to second behind NoPass No Sale on the disqual-ification of River Mist.

American sojournCandy Stripes ran only three more

times, winning an allowance raceat four, and spent most of his studcareer in Argentina, where he ledthe sire list in 1995 and 2000. Thesuccess of his third-crop daughterDifferent (Arg) (out of Diferente[Arg], by Propicio) motivated his

importation to serve Northern Hemi-sphere seasons at Taylor Made Farm(1997-1999) and Stoneriggs Farm(2000), but the experiment was nota success.

Candy Stripes continued his goodwork in the Southern Hemisphere,however, and in 2006 his Argentine-bred son Invasor (Arg) (Quendom,by Interprete) earned Horse of theYear honors in the U.S.

Invasor was not Candy Stripes’first American champion, though,since Animal Kingdom’s sire,Leroidesanimaux (Brz) (Dissemble,by Ahonoora),had earned championturf male honors in 2005. Leroidesan-imaux (whose name means “Kingof the Animals”in French) had begunhis racing career in his native Brazil,where he was bred by the Levy fam-ily’s Haras Bage do Sul. GoncaloBorges de Torrealba’s Stud TNT pur-chased Leroidesanimaux as a year-ling for about $16,000 at a Bage doSul dispersal in 2001. Unplaced inhis first start on dirt, he won his sec-ond start on turf and then ran sec-ond to Ay Caramba (Brz) in the GranPremio Associacao Brasileira de Cri-adores e Proprietarios do Cavalo deCorrida (Brz-G1).

Imported to the U.S.,Leroidesan-imaux finished fourth in his firststart and then won eight races insuccession, including the 2004 Ci-tation Handicap (G1) and 2005 AttoMile Stakes (Can-G1) and FrankE. Kilroe Mile Handicap (G1). Upset

by Artie Schiller when second inthe NetJets Breeders’Cup Mile (G1),Leroidesanimaux had done enoughto earn his Eclipse Award.

Animal Kingdom is from the sec-

ond crop of Leroidesanimaux andhe is one of only three stakes win-ners from 140 foals age three andolder by his sire.

Animal Kingdom is the first Ken-tucky Derby winner and first Amer-ican classic winner from the BlushingGroom male line,but the 11th Derbywinner from the male line of Blush-ing Groom’s grandsire,*Nasrullah.

German mareBred in Germany by Carlton Con-

sultants Ltd., Animal Kingdom’sdam, Dalicia (Ger), never raced ondirt in 21 starts. Unplaced in heronly start as a two-year-old, sheshowed immediate improvementwhen tried at distances of around11⁄4 miles and beyond as a three-year-old. Second in the listed JeanHarzheim-Rennen, she did not winuntil her sixth sophomore start,beat-ing the eventual multiple group-winning colt Egerton over 2,000meters (9.94 furlongs) at Hannover.Fourth in the Prix du Prince d’Or-ange (Fr-G3), she disappointed inher final German start at three.

Dalicia ran fourth in anotherFrench group race, the Prix Corrida(Fr-G2), in her second start at four,and third in the listed Grand Prixde Compiegne and the Lotto Hessen-

Pokal (Ger-G3), all at around 11⁄4miles, before winning the Preis derSparkassen-Finanzgruppe (Ger-G3)at the same distance at Baden-Baden,defeating multiple Group 1 winner

Soldier Hollow (GB).Acquired by Team Valor

for 400,000 euros at a Baden-Baden sale at the end of thatseason, Dalicia raced fivetimes in the U.S. for TeamValor and Richard and Au-drey Haisfield’s NeverTellRacing, winning a 11⁄4-mileoptional claiming race on theHollywood Park turf and fin-ishing fourth in the 2006 Bev-erly Hills Handicap (G2).

Dalicia is one of 80 stakeswinners from 593 foals(13.5%) sired by Acate-nango, one of the greatestracehorses and sires in Ger-man history. Acatenango ledthe German sire list fourtimes, and the Germanbroodmare sire list once. Hisbest offspring include high-

weights Lando (Ger),Quijano (Ger),and Borgia (Ger), and his daughtershave produced 37 stakes winners.

Dalicia’s female line has been res-ident in Central and Eastern Europesince her English-bred tenth dam,Ardentive,by William the Third,wasexported to Hungary about 100 yearsago. The family has repeatedly pro-duced high-class horses, includingGerman classic winner Diacada.Dalicia’s full sister, Darwinia, is thedam of Daveron (Ger),by Black SamBellamy, who won the BeaugayStakes (G3) on Derby day.

Animal Kingdom is Dalicia’s firstfoal, and she has an unraced two-year-old colt by Mr. Greeley namedThursby. Team Valor sold Dalicia toShadai Farm for $397,316 at the 2009Tattersalls Ltd. December mixed sale.

Animal Kingdom is inbred 4x4 toLyphard, but his pedigree is other-wise an outcross. Perhaps his Derbyvictory will remind Americanbreeders that horses raced only onturf have been producing top Amer-ican dirt horses for centuries.

John P. Sparkman is bloodstock editor ofTHOROUGHBRED TIMES and author of FoundationMares. His e-mail address is [email protected]. More of his work can be viewedat http://pedigreecurmudgeon.blogspot.com.

KENTUCKY DERBYP E D I G R E E

Leroidesanimaux, who stands for $7,500 at Stonewall Farm Ocala in Florida,raced exclusively on turf and sires winner of America’s most prestigious racewhen Animal Kingdom wins Kentucky Derby in his dirt debut

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From turf to dirt

Animal Kingdom’s ancestry is completelydominated by grass specialists

BY JOHN P. SPARKMAN

American classic winners from the *Nasrullah male lineHorse Year Race(s) Sire Sire-line branchAloma’s Ruler 1982 Preakness Iron Ruler Never BendAnimal Kingdom 2011 Derby Leroidesanimaux (Brz) Blushing Groom (Fr)A.P. Indy 1992 Belmont Seattle Slew Bold RulerBernardini 2006 Preakness A.P. Indy Bold RulerBold Forbes 1976 Derby, Belmont Irish Castle Bold RulerBold Ruler 1957 Preakness *Nasrullah Bold RulerCannonade 1974 Derby Bold Bidder Bold RulerCaveat 1983 Belmont Cannonade Bold RulerDust Commander 1970 Derby Bold Commander Bold RulerFoolish Pleasure 1975 Derby What a Pleasure Bold RulerForward Pass 1968 Derby, Preakness On-and-On On-and-OnJaipur 1962 Belmont *Nasrullah JaipurMaster Derby 1975 Preakness Dust Commander Bold RulerNashua 1955 Preakness, Belmont *Nasrullah NashuaRags to Riches 2007 Belmont A.P. Indy Bold RulerRisen Star 1988 Preakness, Belmont Secretariat Bold RulerSeattle Slew 1977 Derby, Preakness, Belmont Bold Reasoning Bold RulerSecretariat 1973 Derby, Preakness, Belmont Bold Ruler Bold RulerSpectacular Bid 1979 Derby, Preakness Bold Bidder Bold RulerSwale 1984 Derby, Belmont Seattle Slew Bold RulerWinning Colors 1988 Derby Caro (Ire) Caro (Ire)

Animal Kingdom, ch. c., 2008*Nasrullah 40Spring Run 48=Wild Risk (Fr) 40=Aimee (GB) 57Northern Dancer 61Goofed 60=Prominer (GB) 62=Euridice (Fr) 62*Klairon 52=Phoenissa (GB) 51=Martial (Ire) 57=Quaker Girl (GB) 61=High Hat (GB) 57=Time Call (GB) 55Roberto 69Irule 68=Birkhahn (Ger) 45=Lis (Ger) 60=Reliance II (Fr) 62=Suncourt (GB) 52=Combat (GB) 44=Phaetonia (GB) 45=Mr. Jinks (GB) 26=Gentlemen’s Relish (GB) 26Northern Dancer 61Goofed 60Drone 66Olmec 66=Sparkler (GB) 68=Antwerpen (Ger) 72=Rheffic (Fr) 68=Diu (Ger) 69

Red God 54

Runaway Bride (GB) 62

Lyphard 69

Prodice (Fr) 69

*Lorenzaccio 65

=Helen Nichols (GB) 66

=High Line (GB) 66

Sookera 75

=Literat (Ger) 65

=Surama (Ger) 70

*Aggressor II 55

=Raven Locks (GB) 45

Lyphard 69

Navajo Princess 74

=Aspros (Ger) 77

=Dorle (GB) 74

Blushing Groom (Fr) 74512 fls, 92 SWsSI 4.76 DI=1.52

Bubble Company (Fr) 7710 fls, 3 SWsDI=1.88

=Ahonoora (GB) 75467 fls, 45 SWsSI 2.00 DI=3.00

=Kerali (GB) 8410 fls, 3 SWsDI=1.21

=Surumu (Ger) 74517 fls, 60 SWsSI 1.64 DI=0.29

=Aggravate (GB) 669 fls, 3 SWsDI=3.00

Dancing Brave 83412 fls, 38 SWsSI 2.47 DI=2.36

=Diasprina (Ger) 8612 fls, 3 SWsDI=0.00

Candy Stripes 822 wins, $47,357, Spl1001 fls, 61 SWsSI 2.31 DI=2.11

Dissemble (GB) 89Unraced9 fls, 3 SWsDI=1.29

=Acatenango (Ger) 8216 wins, $164,296Champion588 fls, 80 SWsSI 2.52 DI=0.71

=Dynamis (Ire) 91Placed, $5,3825 fls, 1 SWDI=1.91

Leroidesanimaux (Brz) 00152 fls, 3 SWsSI 3.40 DI=1.67

Dalicia (Ger) 012 fls, 1 SWDI=0.78


HIS YEAR’S KentuckyDerby Presented by Yum!Brands (G1) was one of the

cleanest-run editions of America’smost famous race, leaving the con-nections of the beaten horses behindwinner Animal Kingdom to ruminateon their experiences surrounding therace rather than on the “what ifs.”

The wide-open nature of thisyear’s race allowed the attention tobe spread among the field. Threewomen had a chance to become thefirst woman to ride or train a Derbywinner; local connections featuredprominently; and the concept ofwhat an ideal Derby prep scheduleshould look like continued to evolve.

Derby runner-upNehro had the busiestprep schedule, racingfive times in fivemonths before the

Derby, recording a pair of runner-up finishes in the Louisiana Derby(G2) and Arkansas Derby (G1) afterwinning a maiden race in his thirdcareer start on February 21.

“To think he was just a maidenwinner seven weeks [ago], I’m veryproud of what he’s accomplished,”said Steve Asmussen, who trainsthe Mineshaft colt for AhmedZayat’s Zayat Stables. “He’s doneit with talent and has just shown un-believable class.”

If any element of this year’s Derbycaused trouble for some starters, itwas the pace of the 11⁄4-mile race.Shackleford set the tempo throughquarter-mile splits of :23.24, :25.39,:24.77, and :24.09 to a mile, andthat dawdling pace may have com-promised the chances of closerssuch as Nehro and 5.20-to-1 favoriteDialed In.

“There was way less pace than Ithought there would be, and thankgoodness [jockey] Corey [Nakatani]was smart enough to take advan-tage of that,” Asmussen said.

Another changing ele-ment to the prep sched-ule is the amount oftime between races,andtrainer Kathy Ritvo

thought the six weeks betweenMucho Macho Man’s third-placefinish in the Louisiana Derby (G2)and the Kentucky Derby may havecompromised his chances for a bet-ter performance. The Macho Unocolt was rolling late, but his rally fella neck short of catching Nehro forsecond. Nehro finished second inthe Louisiana Derby but ran back inthe Arkansas Derby three weeks later.The Arkansas Derby is three weeksbefore the Kentucky Derby and inrecent years has produced classicwinners Smarty Jones (2004),Curlin(2007), and Super Saver (2010).

“He’s only going to get better,”Ritvo said. “[Jockey] Rajiv [Maragh]said he gave it his all and tried reallyhard.”

Ritvo credited being involvedwith Mucho Macho Man and co-owners Reeves Thoroughbred Rac-ing and Dream Team One RacingStable with generating positive pub-licity for organ donation and heartconditions.

KENTUCKY DERBYP O S T- R A C E

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Ahmed Zayat’s Nehro finishes second for third consecutive timeafter taking a brief lead in the stretch

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A celebration even in defeatFew excuses, other than a slow pace, were offered after the race by Derby connections

BY ED DEROSA


unleashed on dirt for first time, animal kingdom reigns in ...€¦ · animal kingdom filled in the...

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