Horse trainer Graham Motion doesn't have long to enjoy his May 7 Kentucky Derby win with 3-year-old colt Animal Kingdom. The Preakness Stakes is Saturday in Motion's home state of Maryland and there's plenty to do to get the young horse ready.
Motion tells NPR's Neal Conan that Animal Kingdom had run only a few races before his upset win at the Kentucky Derby, and never before on dirt. So, naturally, no one picked him to win the Derby
"He just appeared to be an exceptional horse," Motion says. And since he was the right age for the Derby — 3 years old — Motion decided to run him. He says Animal Kingdom's body language let him know the horse was ready.
"We gave him a pretty strong workout the week before the Kentucky Derby, at Churchill Downs, which he handled very well," Motion says. But a good workout doesn't always make a win.
An Englishman by birth, Motion trains about 100 other horses with a routine that differs from that of most American trainers — he trains horses to run over hills and through fields, not on the track.
"It's just something that keeps the horses in surroundings that they're more accustomed to," he says. "It's just a much more natural setting for the horses, and probably makes them more comfortable."
Motion says he's trying to take things one race at a time, but speculation about whether Animal Kingdom will be the first Triple Crown winner since the 1970s has already begun.
"I'd be foolish to say I haven't thought about it," he says. "And I'm sure there will be plenty of people looking to take us on if we get to that situation."
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