Animal Kingdom's first Group 1 performer
It’s been a progressive fortnight for second season sire Animal Kingdom, with three new winners in Australia and his first Group 1 performer in the United States.
Untamed Domain, already a Grade 2 winner this northern summer, made a big impression when second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf G1 on 3 November, after coming from the back of the pack and running 68 feet further than the winner Mendelssohn.
Sent out by Animal Kingdom’s trainer Graham Motion, Untamed Domain, out of two-time stakeswinner Ciao (by Lear Fan), is raced by West Point Thoroughbreds who have every reason to look forward to plenty more success with him.
Untamed Domain heads a group of seven winners that have driven Animal Kingdom’s rise to third position on the US First Crop Sires’ list. with prizemoney of $US803,254.
Back in Australia this week, two Arrowfield graduates from Animal Kingdom’s first Southern Hemisphere crop won successive races at Ballarat.
First-up was Peaceful State who fought out the finish of the 1400-metre maiden with his stablemate Captain Henry, leaving six lengths of daylight back to the third horse.
Watch Peaceful State win at Ballarat.
Peaceful State is the last foal of Weekend Beauty (by Helissio), celebrated as the dam of Horse of the Year Weekend Hussler, and he is trained by Darren Weir for Katsumi Yoshida, who bred him with Arrowfield. The colt’s likely next assignment will be the $250,000 Sandown Guineas G2 on 18 November.
In the next race, Roar (ex Line Honours by Hussonet) led all the way and proved too strong over 1600 metres, winning by a length from Pollinator & Bradbury.
Roar (ex Line Honours by Hussonet) was a $200,000 purchase for Champion Thoroughbreds & Matchem Genetics from Arrowfield’s 2016 Magic Millions draft. He is trained by Robert Smerdon who said after the win, “[Roar] has really improved with blinkers and he enjoyed getting out to 1600m today…he will only get better the further he goes.”
A couple of promising placegetters look close to breakthrough wins. Team Valor’s 3YO filly Oleksandra was third at Randwick on Tuesday, and Godolphin’s 2YO colt Rheingau was third on debut at Rosehill on Saturday.
