Animal Kingdom’s plans to be determined

John Messara, shown hoisting the World Cup trophy, might race Animal Kingdom in Australia (Frank Sorge/Horsephotos.com) Arrowfield Stud’s John Messara is weighing options regarding where Saturday’s Group 1 Dubai World Cup star Animal Kingdom might race again, according to Australian reports. Messara reiterated that Royal Ascot is under consideration, but speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he also dropped a hint that he could run in Australia instead of retiring promptly to stud. It had been expected that the five-year-old son of Leroidesanimaux would enter stud at Arrowfield ahead of the Southern Hemisphere breeding season, which starts in September. “He has never been beaten over a mile and a quarter and he is the best horse racing in the world over that distance,” Messara said. “The push is on now to take him to Royal Ascot for either the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes (at 1 1/4 miles) or the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes (at a mile). I wouldn’t mind having a go as you don’t often get a horse good enough to win at Royal Ascot, and this horse is good enough.”

Messara serves as Chairman of Racing NSW, which is planning to conduct a
Breeders’ Cup-style meeting in Sydney approximately a year from now. The event
will feature the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes to be run over 2,000 meters
(about 1 1/4 miles) at Randwick and carry a purse of at least A$2 million.

“In my heart of hearts, I’d like to see him in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. It
would be an ideal race,” Messara said. “He likes the turf and a Group 1 over
2,000 meters at Randwick would certainly suit the horse.

“The way he won the World Cup also suggests to me he would be hard to beat in
the Cox Plate (Group 1 at about 1 1/4 miles in October). It is more a question
of working out the logistics of it all.”

Messara similarly cited logistics in his interview with Sky Sports Radio,
according to

racingandsports.com.au.

“We will meet tomorrow (Monday) in the cold light of day and see what the
logistics are,” he said.

“They are pushing me very hard to take him to England to run at Royal Ascot.

“I’ll talk to the trainer (Graham Motion) and see if he can handle it. He’s based in America,
so it’s not easy.”

Messara also commented on why the Australian anthem, “Advance Australia
Fair,” was played following Animal Kingdom’s dominant victory in the World Cup,
rather than the American “Star-Spangled Banner.”

“The Australian national anthem was controversial because everyone said,
‘What are you doing, this is an American horse.’ I said, ‘I bought the horse and
I’m playing my anthem,'” Messara recounted.

The Arrowfield supremo last December had purchased a majority interest in the
breeding rights to Animal Kingdom, the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner and champion
three-year-old colt.

On Saturday, Animal Kingdom became only the second horse to win both
America’s iconic race and the world’s richest race. The first was Hall of Famer
Silver Charm, who landed the 1997 Derby and 1998 World Cup.

Silver Charm’s trainer,
Bob Baffert,
tweeted his response to the historic occasion.

“Animal Kingdom is a great horse to win Ky Derby and World Cup. Wow race,”
Baffert said.

“Great training job,” the Hall of Famer added in a tip of the cap to Motion.

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