Team Valor International announced Saturday that Kentucky Derby (G1) winner
ANIMAL KINGDOM (Leroidesanimaux [Brz]) has been cleared to resume exercising, 60
days after he underwent season-ending surgery on his left leg.
Dr. Dean Richardson of the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center was
pleased with follow-up X-rays taken on Friday. Richardson performed the surgery
on June 30 to stabilize a hairline fracture of the left hock, detected in the
wake of Animal Kingdom’s troubled trip in the Belmont S. (G1).
Since then, Team Valor International’s homebred colt has been limited to
hand-walking for 10 or 15 minutes each day.
Trainer Graham Motion has devised an initial schedule to prepare Animal
Kingdom for the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) next March. He will begin exercising on
the Aquatred at Bruce Jackson’s Fair Hill Equine Therapy Center immediately and
continue through the entire month of September.
In October, Animal Kingdom will jog on the track at Fair Hill, and then start
galloping in November. Motion ran the regimen past Richardson, who said it made
good sense.
As Animal Kingdom progresses, Motion and Team Valor CEO Barry Irwin will come
up with a specific plan to get him ready for the World Cup.