Former Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom displayed that an American horse can win the world's richest horse race on an all-weather track, pulling away down the straight Saturday in the $10 million Dubai World Cup.
The 2011 champion of the prestigious Kentucky Derby left behind the Bill Mott-trained Royal Delta with almost 500 yards left, opened up a three-length lead and thwarted off a fast-charging Red Cadeaux to emerge victorious by two lengths.
"He's a tremendous horse," Animal Kingdom jockey Joel Rosario said. "I let him do his thing, whatever he wanted to do."
An American horse hadn't won the race since 2009, and specifically since it was moved to Meydan Racecourse in 2010, the Americans have struggled to tame the all-purpose turf.
Trainer Graham Motion said before the race that he liked to show that the Kentucky Derby victory was no fluke and that he had ignored injuries that refrained the five-year-old from racing at the Dubai World Cup last year.
"It was fantastic. He's just an extraordinary animal," Motion said. "He reminded me very much of the Derby today, the way he won. It was the same kind of run he made, turning for home. He just seemed so confident and so full of run."
The win may be the final destination for a horse that has been sold the Australian company Arrowfield for breeding purposes. Hence, the Australia national anthem rather than the American was played during the trophy presentation.
Arrowfield chairman John Messara explained he would have to talk about the racing future of the horse with Motion and the American owner Team Valor and its founder Barry Irwin. There has been talk of it racing once more at Royal Ascot.
"We came into this horse basically as a stallion proposition," Messara said. "It's been great to win this race and certainly underpinned his stallion value. It would be one step further if he went to England and won at Royal Ascot. But there are risks and logistics involved."
Two-time Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic champion Royal Delta, ridden by U.S. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, ended 10th followed by the other American entrant, the Dale Romans-trained Dullahan. She was bidding to be the first mare to win the race.
The win was one of the few stints for the Americans in the nine-race, $27.25 million card.
Breeders Turf winner Little Mike finished 11th in the $5 million Dubai Duty Free and Private Zone, owned by a group that contains paralyzed jockey Rene Douglas, came ninth in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen.
It was a mixed day for the race host and Dubai ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, whose Godolphin stables resulted in two wins. Sajjahaa beat The Apache to win the $5 million Dubai Duty Free and Cavalryman beat stablemate Ahzeemah in the $1 million Dubai Gold Cup.
Godolphin had four entrants in the Dubai World Cup, apart from the favorite Hunter's Light, but only finished fourth with African Story. Hunters Light was seventh and defending champion Monterosso was scratched just before the race.
