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Animal Kingdom to face 12 in Queen Anne Animal Kingdom will face 12 rivals in Tuesday's Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, with trainer Graham Motion hoping that the rains stay away for the next few hours. Speaking of the 2011 Kentucky Derby hero, who recently added this year's Dubai World Cup to his enviable tally, the conditioner was taking a cautious approach as the big occasion nears. "I do feel confident, but if we were running at Gulfstream or Belmont I would feel very confident," Motion said Sunday. "There are a lot of unknowns going into this, including the ground. I think he will handle almost anything and I did speak with (Clerk of the Course) Chris (Stickels) this morning and he feels we should have good going on Tuesday unless we get any rain that we are not expecting. "I think it is one less tangible to throw in his direction, so I would rather see him run on firm ground. I would feel more comfortable with that, but I do think he would handle softish ground and he worked fine on it the day we took him to Ascot." Stickels reported a small amount of rainfall on Sunday, but is happy that the meeting will not start on the testing ground that has been prevalent for the past two years. "The forecast remains that there is the chance of a light shower or two between now and before Tuesday, but there's not a significant amount of rain forecast," Stickels stated. "We wanted to start the meeting on ground somewhere near good and I'm very happy with where we are." Drawn in 13 against the stand's rail, Animal Kingdom will be met by European champion and multiple highweight Elusive Kate (Elusive Quality) as well as Group 3 victor Declaration of War in what could be termed a below-average renewal of the race. One race following the Queen Anne, Magician has been declared for the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes after overcoming a late setback. Suffering bruising late last week, the Irish Twp Thousand Guineas hero has been given the green light to take on Dawn Approach and Toronado in the one-mile clash. "Magician is an incredibly exciting horse and he was very impressive at The Curragh," said trainer Aidan O'Brien, who will also saddle Mars and last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner George Vancouver. Trainer Roger Charlton has opted to run Dundonnell in the contest instead of Wednesday's Group 3 Jersey Stakes, while Kevin Ryan will put forward the surprise Two Thousand Guineas runner-up Glory Awaits. Ryan believes the Choisir sophomore is entitled to be in with a shout due to his latest classic form. "The clock doesn't lie and that wasn't a fluke," Ryan said. "The horse will do the talking. We were very hopeful before the Guineas, he was on the pace throughout and there was 2 1/2 lengths back to the third. He's a very tough horse and we always felt that blinkers would bring out a lot of improvement in him. Last year, he idled in his races and we saved them for the Guineas and they have put him on his 'A' game. "He's come out of the race very well and I feel he's improved again. He's a lovely horse with a great walk and super temperament and his work has been very good." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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