Promising sire Animal Kingdom sold to Japan

Kentucky Derby winner and champion Animal Kingdom has been sold to Japan, according to a tweet from Winchester Farm owner Naoya Yoshida and confirmed by Darley head of stallion nominations Darren Fox, who said the stallion was acquired by the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association.

John Messara's Arrowfield Stud owned the majority interest in the 11-year-old son of Leroidesanimaux out of the German-bred Acatenango mare Dalicia and negotiated the purchase, according to Fox. The stallion is still at Darley at Jonabell and will be preparing for quarantine.

Arrowfield bought the majority interest in Animal Kingdom's breeding rights in 2012 and covered his first book of mares in Australia in 2013, making him the first Kentucky Derby winner to launch his stud career there.

The stallion then shuttled to Darley at Jonabell for the 2014 northern hemisphere season. He shuttled three more times to Arrowfield in 2014, 2015, and 2017 and has remained in the US for the past two breeding seasons.

Animal Kingdom has sired 12 black-type winners worldwide, led by Australian Group 1 winner Angel of Truth, who won this year's Australian Derby.

From his five northern hemisphere crops, Animal Kingdom has been represented by eight black-type winners, including three Graded winners.

His top North American performers on turf are multiple Graded winner Regal Glory, who won this year's editions of the Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes and the Grade 3 Lake George Stakes; Untamed Domain, who won the Grade 2 Summer Stakes and was runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf; and Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes winner Elsa.

Worldwide, his progeny have earned more than $12.2 million and averaged $40,595 per runner.

Animal Kingdom raced as a homebred for Barry Irwin's Team Valor International (Arrowfield and Sheikh Mohammed joined the ownership before his final start).

He got his first win in his second start at two when trained by Wayne Catalano, then captured his first stakes victory in his second start at three in the Grade 3 Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes with trainer Graham Motion.

Animal Kingdom made his first start on dirt in the Kentucky Derby and won by two and three quarter lengths. He finished a close second to Shackleford in the Preakness Stakes and then suffered an injury right after the start of the Belmont Stakes, which put him on the shelf for the summer. He still was honoured as the 2011 champion three-year-old colt.

At four, he made only two starts, but one of those races produced a runner-up effort to eventual Horse of the Year Wise Dan in the Breeders' Cup Mile. In 2013 as a five-year-old, he was second in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap and then was sent overseas to contest the Dubai World Cup, which he won by two lengths.

"This horse has had some kind of saga, up-down, up-down," said Irwin after the World Cup victory. "We all knew he had a race like this in him. We saw it in the Derby, we almost saw it in the Breeders' Cup. This was it."

Animal Kingdom retired with a 5-5-0 record in 12 starts and earned $8,387,500.

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