In his longest work of the year to date, Animal Kingdom breezed six furlongs on the Palm Meadows Training Center turf Feb. 14.
In his second-to-last work before he makes his 4-year-old debut in the $150,000 Tampa Bay Stakes (gr. IIIT) on Feb. 25, Animal Kingdom was clocked in 1:15 4/5 on the firm turf course. The son of Leroidesanimaux has now worked five times since arriving in South Florida for trainer Graham Motion, three of them on turf.
Last year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner will use the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Stakes as a prep for the $10 million Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) next month. A homebred of Team Valor International, Animal Kingdom will make his first start since last year’s Belmont Stakes (gr. I) when he injured his left hock.
