Six winners in 7 days for Animal Kingdom
Several progressive winners are raising Animal Kingdom's profile in Australia. (PHOTO: Bronwen Healy)
Six winners in seven days have made it a productive week in Australia for Animal Kingdom whose fourth crop of Southern Hemisphere foals arrive this Spring while he remains at Darley America in 2018.
Four of those winners are Arrowfield graduates and all but one of them are 3YOs, including the latest, Wild Planet (ex Salutations by Redoute’s Choice). He confirmed the promise shown in his two Listed seconds last season with a 2.5 length win over 1200 metres at Ballarat on Sunday.
Watch Wild Planet win at Ballarat.
He was a $280,000 Inglis Easter buy for trainers Hawkes Racing & agent Andrew Williams and is raced by Rupert & Cheryl Legh and partners.
Bob & Sandra Peters’ home-bred filly Mystery Miss (ex Mystical Miss by More Than Ready) was equally convincing at Belmont in Perth, and on the Gold Coast, The Kingdom (ex Helena Girl by Commands) prevailed despite covering more ground than any other runner.
On Wednesday Animal Kingdom posted a double, thanks to 3.5 length Doomben maiden winner Al’s Kingdom (ex Alexandrova by Snitzel), and the New Zealand-owned 4YO mare I Am Queen (ex Cat By The Tale by Tale of the Cat), who sustained a big finish to win at Cranbourne. These two horses and The Kingdom are all graduates of Arrowfield’s Magic Millions consignments.
Watch Al’s Kingdom win at Doomben.
This sequence of success began with a game country maiden win by the Paul Perry-trained Onyar (ex Girona by Giant’s Causeway) on 17 September.
Other winners for Animal Kingdom earlier this month were Seductive Miss (ex Armed For Action by Exceed and Excel) who notched up her fourth victory at Moonee Valley on 8 September, and Doctor Doolittle (ex Miss Diagnosis by Medicean) who broke his maiden on 5 September.
This steady accumulation of results has allowed the Dubai World Cup champion to move into fourth position on the list of Australia’s Third Season Sires after the first 8 weeks of 2018/19.
Mares that have already foaled to Animal Kingdom this Spring include dual Group 2 winner Dilly Dally (by Rubiton); Double Ranga (by Exceed and Excel), dam of G2 winner Scarlet Rain; La Pelegrina (by Redoute’s Choice), full sister to champion Miss Finland; Ouachita (by Canny Lad), sister to G1 winner Preserve & half-sister to G1 winner Denman; and Group 3-placed city winner Smart Manoeuvre (by Smart Missile).
