Union Rags and Animal Kingdom Shine Light On Local Horsepower

Union Rags winning the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Florida.

     The depth of local horse power should never be underestimated and 2012 is looking like it might be a banner year. Two very intriguing horses call Fair Hill Training Center home for most of the year - Animal Kingdom and Union Rags.
     The former is the reigning 2011 Champion Three Year-Old and the latter stamped himself as the early 2012 Kentucky Derby favorite with an impressive win this weekend. Cecil Scene mentioned them last month as the Eclipse Awards were approaching. (CLICK HERE)
     Both horses are wintering in Florida before they return to Fair Hill. In the mean time, their connections have set their sights on the more prestigious goals in thoroughbred racing in the Kentucky Derby and the Dubai World Cup.
     Many thought Union Rags should have been Juvenile Horse of the Year. The three year-old trained by Michael Matz was barely beaten by Hansen in the 2011 Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November. The strapping colt made his return to the races at Gulfstream Park in Florida on Sunday and quickly reminded everyone how fantastic he looked in 2011. Ridden by jockey Julien Leparoux, he geared down in the stretch and defeated some accomplished rivals handily.  That win solidified him as the early Kentucky Derby favorite.

Animal Kingdom training at Fair Hill last Spring.

     There was no reason to expect Union Rags wouldn't do well in his return, but the return of Animal Kingdom was a different story. He last ran in the 2011 Belmont Stakes where he was injured. Team Valor principle Barry Irwin and trainer Graham Motion made the decision not to retire the colt, to rehabilitate the 2011 Derby winner and keep him racing in 2012.
     The return to competitive racing is always a tenuous situation. Horses can look healthy and train well, but one never knows if their competitive fire is still there.
     Animal Kingdom returned to the racing on February 18th and cleared up those doubts.  His win made him the first Kentucky Derby winner since Big Brown to win a race after the Derby. 
     With that victory, Animal Kingdom remained pointed for a trip to Dubai on March 31st to run in the $10,000,000 Dubai World Cup, the greatest purse in racing.
     Cecil Scene will keep you posted as Animal Kingdom and Union Rags progress towards their ultimate goals this Spring.
      
     

Animal Kingdom Brings Eclipse Award Back To Cecil County

     Animal Kingdom might be vacationing in Florida right now, but when the four year-old colt returns to his home at Fair Hill later this Spring, it will be as an Eclipse Award winner.

     The Eclipse win was also the first for his trainer, Graham Motion, who is headquartered at Fair Hill and is a Cecil County resident.

     The win confirmed what many people already know about Fair Hill - It is home to tons of great thoroughbred race horses like Animal Kingdom, and other Eclipse hopeful Union Rags. Fair Hill is more than just horses though.

     To many Cecil County residents, Fair Hill is simply home to the Cecil County Fair. If they get to experience FHNRMA, they see a few acres covered with amusement rides and maybe wander over to see the Three Hills Rodeo. What they don't see, or know very much about, is the other 5600-plus acres that comprise Fair Hill.

     Fair Hill is also home to hiking trails, fishing, camping, Junior Ranger programs, hunting, kayaking, several annual equestrian events, the Fair Hill Steeplechase races and the Fair Hill International.

     And, right now, Fair Hill is home to 2011 Champion Three Year-Old and Eclipse Award winner Animal Kingdom.  

     To learn more about Fair Hill and the Fair Hill Training center, visit these links:

Fair Hill NRMA - http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/outdoors.asp

Fair Hill Training Center - http://www.fairhilltrainingcenter.com/




Champion Three Year-Old Animal Kingdom - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Cecil "Residents" Up For Eclipse Awards

     There will be a slight lack of sports coverage over the next couple days as Cecil Scene goes on the road. We are heading to California for the Eclipse Awards.

     The main reason to go is that Eclipse Sportswire photographer Bob Mayberger won the 2011 award for horse racing photography. But, while we are there, we will provide some coverage about Cecil County "residents" Union Rags, Animal Kingdom and Team Valor Stables.

     For those of you who don't know, Cecil County is rich in thoroughbred racing history and just happens to be home to one of the premier training facilities for race horses. The Fair Hill Training Center is home to hundreds of thoroughbreds in training, but this week the focus is on Union Rags, Animal Kingdom and Team Valor.

     Both of these horses and Team Valor are leading candidates to win their own awards. The Eclipse Awards are given annually for outstanding performance by horses, trainers, jockeys and owners. For horses racing in North America, these are the highest honor possible. Winning an Eclipse Award can propel a jockey's career forward, can increase the stud fee for  future stallion and can provide prestige (and potential clients) for trainers and ownership consortia. It is a pretty big deal.

     And, yes, there are Media Eclipse Awards and they are given at the same ceremony. Here is a little primer if you just jumped in at the quarter-pole and have no idea who anyone is.

     Let's start with Union Rags. Until the year-end racing championship for two year-olds in the Breeders' Cup, Union Rags was undefeated. The juvenile colt overcame a bad start and traffic trouble to finish a fast-closing second place to winner Hansen.  Union Rags is headquarted at Fair Hill in the barn of trainer Michael Matz.  As with Animal Kingdom, he is temporarily in the sunny climes of Florida to start of his 2012 racing campaign, but home is Fair Hill. Union Rags is nominated as Champion Juvenile

     Now, Animal Kingdom. If not for some bad racing luck, he could have won horse racing's Triple Crown. There is a reason no horse has done it since Affirmed in 1978 - it is a tough feat.  That said, Animal Kingdom won the 2011 Kentucky Derby, bringing owner Team Valor and trainer Graham Motion their first Derby wins.  Animal Kingdom then had to overcome several factors in the Preakness, but his hard-charging second place finish wasn't enough to overtake eventual winner Shackleford.  Animal Kingdom was then injured in the Belmont Stakes and his racing season was over for 2011. AK is nominated as Champion Three Year Old.

     Team Valor owns Animal Kingdom.  The elite racing partnership is the brainchild of racing-writer-turned-Derby-winner Barry Irwin.  After the 2010 racing season concluded, he made the bold move of putting all U.S.-based horses owned by Team Valor under the tutelage of trainer Graham Motion. Irwin liked the remote training center environment offered by Fair Hill and he like Motion's style of training. Team Valor bought a vacant barn, updated it, upgraded it and Cecil County picked up more than twenty new equine residents. Team Valor is nominated as top owner.

    Please follow our coverage. Maybe some Cecil County residents can bring home some prestigious hardware from today's award ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Wish 'em luck.