A n old Chinese proverb states that "the journey is the reward".Graham Motion's references to the "Kentucky Durby" are a reminder of the 30 years he has spent in America, but now the man who was born six miles outside of Newmarket, has returned, aiming for a glorious finale to his odyssey when Animal Kingdom runs at Royal Ascot on Tuesday.

This year's fixture will be domin-ated by thoughts of Sir Henry Cecil, regarded as the quintessential Englishman despite being born near Aberdeen, with a minute's silence on the opening day marking the trainer's death last Tuesday.

But it is the Englishman from abroad who will be attempting to win the Queen Anne Stakes, the same race Cecil won with the imperious Frankel last summer.

When Animal Kingdom won the Kentucky Derby two years ago, the royal meeting was not on Motion's itinerary. However, a mixture of injuries, a sporting sense of endeavour and an ambitious marketing plan have brought the trainer back to his homeland.

Royal Ascot has become a global event over the past decade but the last Kentucky Derby winner to contest it was more than 75 years ago. In 1929 Reigh Count finished second to Invershin in the Gold Cup and in 1936 Omaha, the third horse to win the American Triple Crown, was beaten just a short-head by Quashed in the same race.

Animal Kingdom's own Triple Crown season ended with a hock fracture injury sustained in the Belmont Stakes that put him out for the rest of the year. As a Kentucky Derby winner the route to the breeding sheds was the obvious one but Motion, backed by the horse's owners, took the path less travelled.

An attempted comeback for last year's Dubai World Cup was scuppered by a second major injury to the same leg, keeping Animal Kingdom off the track for another nine months. Motion then went about the slow, painstaking rebuilding process which came to fruition in the two minutes and three seconds it took Animal Kingdom to win the World Cup in Dubai in March.

Now the task is to build the five-year-old's profile as a potential stallion in the Queen Anne before his likely retirement to stud.

"He's had a chequered career, because of his injuries, but I think that makes it all the more remarkable," Motion said. "I'll never have another horse like this. When a Kentucky Derby winner is injured, they usually don't come back into training. They were significant injuries to come back from and, because he's been so lightly raced, some people in America have been sceptical about him. But he's a tough horse and had to be to be able to come back and prove himself. The World Cup was the end of a long plan and very gratifying.

"We talked about Ascot before but it was only after Dubai that we really decided to come here."

It is a bold decision and, compared to the £3.6 million on offer in Dubai, not one based on the all-out pursuit of Mammon. Animal Kingdom has proven himself hugely adaptable; whether it be racing on dirt for the first time when he won the Kentucky Derby or for any of the seven different jockeys who have ridden him in his 11 career starts.

He will need more of that quality when he runs over the straight mile at Ascot, which will be unlike anything he has encountered before, but Motion said: "I think it's what racing is all about. I think, in the States, we've moved more and more away from taking on these challenges because there are so many races to choose from so there's not the lure of going elsewhere. And it's a big challenge for this horse. We're not ducking anybody and he's got to run his race in uncharted territory."

That sums up much of the past two years and that is likely to be in Motion's thoughts when he puts the saddle on "AK" and offers the final benedictions before the race.

"I keep trying to remind myself to enjoy this," Motion said. "I try not thinking about this being his last race. I was very emotional on the morning of Dubai because I thought that could be his last race. But all good things come to an end and we've had a great run."

And a journey's end in the winner's enclosure would be a fitting reward.