Saturday, May 07, 2011

ANIMAL KINGDOM WINS THE KENTUCKY DERBY!

Animal Kingdom quickened strongly in the Churchill Downs homestretch to win the 137th Kentucky Derby (gr. I) by just over a length.

The winner, who is owned by Team Valor International and trained by Graham Motion, settled off of a moderate early pace set by Shackleford and Comma to the Top. Decisive Moment and Pants On Fire were also up close in the early going, and Nehro wasn't far behind either.

Under John Velazquez, Animal Kingdom made a bold run to reach contention turning into the homestretch. Shackleford was still gamely clinging to the lead, and Nehro was right in contention as well. But Animal Kingdom proved just too good, charging home on the far outside to win the race.

The final time was 2:02.04. Nehro finished second, followed by Mucho Macho Man and Shackleford. Dialed In failed to close sufficiently off of the slow pace and finished ninth, I believe.

-Keelerman

No comments:

Post a Comment