Louisville: The glorious uncertainty of horse racing produced an unlikely winner of the $2.2 million (Dh8 million) Kentucky Derby on Saturday when Animal Kingdom stormed to victory in the 137th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.
A record crowd of almost 165,000 let out a mighty roar as John Velazquez, who only got the ride when his own horse was scratched and Animal Kingdom's original jockey was injured in a freak accident, surged into the lead approaching the shadows of the iconic twin spires.
Riding high on emotion after a bizarre chain of events led him to Animal Kingdom's saddle, Velazquez kicked clear to win his first Kentucky Derby at his 13th attempt.
"I guess it was meant to be," Velazquez said.
"A lot of things happen for a reason."
Animal Kingdom, a longshot who started at odds of 20-1, was untroubled in his run to the wire, taking out the first leg of American racing's Triple Crown by 2 3/4 lengths .
Nehro, who had briefly looked the winner when he grabbed the lead at the top of the straight, finished second, while Mucho Macho Man came third, a neck behind the runner-up.
The 5-1 favourite, Dialed In, could only manage eighth after being last in the 19-horse field for most of the mile and a quarter trip.
"He had a good trip," said Dialed In's jockey Julien Leparoux. "It went the way we planned it in the back but they didn't back up to us today."
Velazquez was booked to ride the one-time favourite Uncle Mo but looked destined to miss America's greatest race when the colt was scratched on Friday because of a mystery illness.
But he picked up the mount on Animal Kingdom on the eve of the race when the horse's original jockey Robby Albarado broke his nose and was kicked by a horse in a midweek race. Animal Kingdom's English-born trainer Graham Motion also captured his first Kentucky Derby winner after cursing his bad fortune earlier in the week.
Lone runner
His Wood Memorial winner Toby's Corner, one of the early favourites for the race, was withdrawn a few days ago after suffering an injury, leaving the less-fancied Animal Kingdom as his lone runner.
"Somebody said are you surprised to win with a second-tier horse and I said ‘I'm not sure we would categorise him as a second-tier horse," Motion said.
"He's just a very special horse and I was so impressed with how he handled everything."
