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Derby win a fairy tale: Animal Kingdom trainer
Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Graham Motion laughed when asked if he thought Animal Kingdom had a shot at winning the the elusive Triple Crown.
The muscular chestnut defied 20-1 odds and a new jockey to win the Run for the Roses on May 7 but winning the Preakness and then the Belmont Stakes is another matter, said Motion.
“I don’t even want to think about it,” Motion told reporters on Monday at his home base in Maryland. “I’m excited to go to the Preakness with the Derby winner.
“That’s something I never expected to do in my lifetime. That’s a thrill as it is.
“Obviously, you have to think about the Triple Crown, but I’m not going to put that type of pressure on myself.”
Motion, 46, appeared at ease on Monday after saddling his first Derby champion but admitted dealing with the attention over the past two weeks was “almost overwhelming.”
“It’s fairy tale stuff,” the soft-spoken, British-born trainer said. “A lot of what’s involved in the Derby is fairy tale.
“The Derby, it’s almost an unreasonable goal to set out to win because it’s so high, so many things have to align to win the Derby that I think it’s almost unfair to put that kind of pressure on yourself.
“For us, I just feel like it was fate, it was our turn. It is such an incredibly hard thing to win just by circumstances, let alone having the best horse.”
Few people, even Motion, believed lightly raced Animal Kingdom was the best horse at venerable Churchill Downs.
The Kentucky-bred had never before raced over the dirt in his four career starts. His jockey, Robby Albarado, was hurt in a spill just days before the Derby and Motion turned to John Velazquez, who had never reached the winner’s circle in America’s most prestigious race in 12 career attempts.
‘BEST HORSE’
But Animal Kingdom exploded down the stretch and won the race by 2 3/4 lengths. Luck often players a role in the Derby but not this time.
“He was the best horse,” said Motion, whose stable is just 60 miles northeast of Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course, site of the Preakness. “He did it very easily, in fact.”
Animal Kingdom galloped easily for a mile-and-a-half on the dirt Monday at the Fair Hill Training Center. Motion said he might ship Elkton’s newest celebrity to Pimlico just hours before the $1 million Preakness on May 21.
“I’m leaning more toward Saturday morning,” he said. “That’s what I normally do with my other horses. I have quite a few horses to run on Saturday. That’s what they’re going to do.
“I don’t really know why I need to do anything differently with him. He’s very happy here and I just want to keep things as normal as they can be.”
Normal is a foreign concept for Motion since winning the Derby as he now tries to saddle the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
Motion admitted he did not place a bet on Animal Kingdom in the Derby and will probably stay away from the betting window on Saturday.
“I tend not to bet on my horses because, quite honestly, if they win you’re over the moon anyway,” he said with a smile.
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