LONDON — Kentucky Derby champion Animal Kingdom could not go out a winner, fading quickly and finishing 11th in the Queen Anne Stakes yesterday in his last race before retirement.
Animal Kingdom, the 5-4 favorite, had a mediocre start and was no factor in the prestigious race — a straight mile on a humid opening day of the Royal Ascot meet.
Animal Kingdom won the Derby in 2011 and the $10 million Dubai World Cup this year. The last time a Derby winner ran at Ascot was in 1936 when Omaha, the 1935 Triple Crown winner, finished second in the signature Gold Cup race.
Declaration of War, ridden by Joseph O’Brien and trained by Aidan O’Brien, won by three-quarters of a length.