Animal Kingdom, Shackleford connections square off at Belmont Stakes media luncheon
926 views · Published 7 June 2011 · 0:54 · Indexed 18 October 2026
Channel: The New York Racing Association · 2011 · Sports
Team Valor International's Barry Irwin, the outspoken owner of Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, was the first to throw down the gauntlet in advance of Saturday's showdown with Shackleford, saying he wasn't worried at all about the rematch with the Preakness winner in the Belmont Stakes. "I'm not concerned at all about Shackleford," said Irwin at Tuesday's Belmont Stakes Media Luncheon at 620 Loft & Garden at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. "Mucho Macho Man is the horse I'm worried about." Trainer Dale Romans, who saddled Shackleford to a half-length victory over the Derby winner at Pimlico, was quick to fire back. "That's not the dumbest thing that Barry's ever said, but it's close," Romans said. Irwin also hinted at an unorthodox summer campaign for Animal Kingdom. "After the Belmont Stakes, the Breeders Cup Classic would be a long-term goal at the end of the year," he said. "But I have my own idea of how to get there that wouldn't include the Haskell or the Travers." To which Romans responded: "I'll meet Animal Kingdom on any track, at any distance." Saturday's 1 ½ mile Belmont Stakes will mark the 22nd time the individual winners of the Derby and the Preakness have met in 143 editions of the "Test of the Champion." Of the 21 prior rubber matches, Preakness winners have won 10 runnings, while Derby winners have emerged victorious in five. Most recently, Preakness winner Afleet Alex took the 2005 Belmont, in which Derby winner Giacomo finished seventh. The last Derby winner to triumph in a rubber match was Swale in 1984, when Preakness winner Gate Dancer was sixth.
