Animal Kingdom to return on Tampa turf

USA: Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom will make his comeback in a Grade 3 event on turf at Tampa Bay on February 25 as a prelude to the Dubai World Cup.

Owned by the Team Valor syndicate, the Graham Motion-trained four-year-old has not run since sustaining an injury in the Belmont Stakesin June last year.

Rather than taking in options at Gulfstream Park or Meydan, Motion has earmarked the Tampa Bay Stakes over 1m½f for Animal Kingdom, who has posted six timed workouts since his return to training - including a ‘bullet' on Wednesday at the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida.

"The Tampa Bay will allow him enough works to be fit enough to start back," said Motion, speaking to the Blood-Horse.

"Any of these earlier races would have been pushing it. We want to have him fit for his first race so it doesn't take too much out of him for the race that we're really pointing for.

"I think a turf race will be easier on him coming back. It's a little kinder than the dirt. If the race in Dubai was on dirt, it would probably be a different story."

Shackleford and Ruler On Ice, winners of the other two legs of last year's Triple Crown, remain on course to clash in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream on February 11.