Frankel Is A Horse with no Equal

October 19, 2011 Leave a comment

This will probably my final flat post of the season but how could any horse racing blog, be it dedicated to the National Hunt or otherwise not dedicate a few lines to what is undoubtedly one of the best thoroughbreds ever seen grace a racecourse in generations?

With a ninth straight victory and a fifth at Group One, Frankel must now be regarded as the most valuable horse in the world and that by some distance. His win the other day in the QEll Stakes over a mile on Champions Day against a very decent field confirmed him as the best miler the planet has seen since the days of Brigadier Gerard back in the early 1970’s. The win earned him a RPR of 139, the highest ever known, equalling the figure bestowed upon Dubai Millennium in 2000. Remarkably his average career winning distance has been recorded as between 4-5 lengths whilst at Group One level, he averages 3.6 lengths ahead of the second horse. Moreover, being the son of the incomparable Galileo his stud value has rocketed into ‘mind boggling’ proportions which is why his owner, Khalid Abdullah should be warmly congratulated for keeping him in training for 2012.

Of course next year he will be running without weight for age, which in theory will handicap him against the younger horses, but he is also open to more improvement which is why there is plenty of confidence about him going three seasons unbeaten. Should he do so and the betting says he will, he will better the feat of Brigadier Gerard who won 17 from 18 races.

It had been hoped by many that the 2000 Guineas winner would go across the Atlantic to contest the Breeders Cup Mile as his finale to this season, but that will not happen and the colt will now be put away for the winter, with the intention of stepping him up on trip next year. Whether or not he could get 12 furlongs of the ‘Arc’ is open to debate, but there are a number of ten furlong Group One’s that he can be aimed at, with perhaps his career target now becoming the 2012 Breeder’s Cup Classic.

Congratulations are in order as well for his trainer, Sir Henry Cecil, who has nurtured, coaxed and cajoled him into greatness, after realising at a very early stage that he had a ‘racing monster’ on his hands. Cecil did say at the beginning of this season that he believed that Frankel was the best horse he had ever trained, which, given Cecil’s illustrious career, (he has saddled the winners of 34 classic races at home and abroad) were very telling words indeed.

Jockey Tom Queally should also be ‘patted enthusiastically on the back’ for riding the exuberant colt with such control even though he was criticised by some for his ride in 2000 Guineas. Looking again at that ride now, with the benefit of hindsight it could be strongly argued that it was the ride of the flat season. Queally of course adopted completely different tactics last Saturday, holding Frankel up with a great deal of difficulty, before freeing him to burst to the front with such a devastating turn of foot.

Roll on 2012!

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Can Workforce Land Back-to-Back Arcs?

September 13, 2011 Leave a comment

Sir Michael Stoute who saddled his first ever winner of Europe’s richest race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, last season with his Epsom Derby winner, Workforce, is  intent on claiming a back-to-back victory with the same horse again this year. Should he do so, then the horse will be joining an elite group of six horses that have already achieved the feat, the last one being Alleged in 1977 and 1978.  However, can Workforce realistically win?

The first consideration to take into account when it comes to finding the ‘Arc’ winner is to hoist aboard the fact that three year olds receive a handy 8lb weight allowance on older horses which arguably accounts for the reason why three year olds have won fifteen of the last twenty renewals. Workforce this time around will be conceding weight to the likes of Nathaniel, who comfortably holds him on the form shown in the Group One King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes back in July. Andre Fabre, already a seven time winner of this most prestigious of races will run Meandre also a three year old, who won the Group One Prix de Grand Paris at Longchamp in July in great style, where he had Irish Derby winner, Treasure Beach well beaten back in third.

In Workforce’s favour however, is the fact that there are not that many three year old’s entered this year and those who, other than the two mentioned above can be regarded as absolute lop class.

Current favourite in the arc de triomph odds Sarafina, third in the race in 2010 where many believed she would have won had it not been for the bumping she had to endure. She has looked supreme on her two runs as a four year old, but having not been on a racecourse since June, there has to be some doubt and besides, colts like Workforce usually beat good filly’s like Sarafina. However, she did look good when landing the Prix Foy at weekend but the fact that Zarkarva is only the second filly in 25 years to win the race back in 2008 doesn’t bode well for the hopes of the current favourite.

Apart from Nathaniel, Stoute will be concerned about the Aidan O’Brien entry, So You Think, who at this stage is still not yet been committed to running. However, So You Think beat Workforce over ten furlongs in the Group One Eclipse Stakes in July at Sandown Park and looked very impressive in the process. Whilst there are question marks about him getting the trip, it should be remembered that he finished in third place in the 2010 Melbourne Cup and that was over two miles which makes the 12 furlongs at Longchamp look easy.

There is no doubt that it was on the Ballydoyle agenda for So You Think to have a tilt at the ‘Arc’ however, although winning the Eclipse and the Irish Champion Stakes last weekend, there are clearly some doubts about him. It is these doubts that inspire Stoute to believe that he may just have the winner of the race with Workforce, whose best form is always shown over 12 furlongs. The defeat by Nathaniel can be put down to a rare meandering by Workforce in the final furlong in a race that was not helped by having no pace. Stoute knows his horse ran far below his best on that day and although he will be conceding a few pounds to Nathaniel he clearly believes he reverse the ‘King George’ form with him.

The ‘Arc’ was a hard to race to win last year and it will be even harder for Workforce this time. However, It would appear that stable confidence is high enough to believe that he has the measure of both Sarafina and So You Think over the 1m 4f trip and as a result, he should be fully expected to make his presence felt and looks the pick of the older horses but it remains whether the younger runners can take advantage of their weight allowance to add to the dominance of three year olds in the race.

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Cecil Pair Dominates International Stakes At York

August 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Sir Henry Cecil saddled the first two home in the Group One Juddmonte International Stakes on day one of the York Ebor meeting. First of the two home was dual Champion Stakes winner and the least fancied of the race’s three principles, Twice Over, who got the better of the multiple Group One winning mare Midday, who battled all the way but lost out in the final 50 yards. Twice Over went off at 11/2 while Midday was the second favourite with odds of 5/2 with odds on favourite, Await The Dawn back in third.

It was an interesting talking point before the race that Midday must have been the preferred horse of the two Cecil entries as the stable number one jockey, Tom Queally, was on the ride. However, Cecil himself confirmed to the media that it was he who selected the runner which of his two jockey’s would ride and he wanted his number two rider, Ian Mongan, on Twice Over.

Hot favourite Await The Dawn ran extremely disappointingly finishing five lengths off the pace in third place and ending the hype about his potential superstar status or him having the ability to win the Breeders Cup Classic. The truth is, Await The Dawn, no matter how impressive he looked when winning the Group Two Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, has never raced at Group One level before and based on this performance he is never likely to. Even having Windsor Palace, the pacemaker in the race did not help him, he conceded defeat a long way out and failed to rally under the encouragement given to him by his jockey, Joseph O’Brien – a sight that will have disappointed the many punters who had backed him to win at 8/13!

The race was a second successive big race failure at the meeting for the Ballydoyle stable, who had earlier seen another odds on favourite in the form of Seville get turned over in the Group Two Great Voltigeur Stakes.

Where Twice Over and Midday go next is not completely clear yet however, Cecil did hint that they both may take their chances in the Champions Stakes, a race that Twice Over has won for the past two years whilst Midday, who become the first mare to win the Group One Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, three times consecutively, maintained her incredible record of consistency with this run and she will be hard to oppose wherever she features next.

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Top Sprinters of 2011

July 13, 2011 Leave a comment

As I countdown the days until the Autumn and the start of the new National Hunt, I thought it would be best to at least post something on this blog, even if it is pertaining to the flat season. Whilst Jumps Racing is my first love, I do still follow the Flat with keen interest so thought I’d have a look at the top sprinters who’ve impressed so far in 2011.

When attempting to identify the very best sprinters on the flat it is often best to decide who goes best over five furlongs and who is best suited over six, but probably the real truth is that the very best sprinters are equally as quick over both.

The first major ‘acid test’ of course for the top rated sprinters comes at Royal Ascot where there is a Group One race for both trips. They are of course the Kings Stand Stakes run on the first day, over five furlongs and the Golden Jubilee over six furlongs on the final day. It is the winners and those that run well in those two races that become the ‘talking horses’ before the next big sprints, which comes in July with the July Cup over six furlongs at Newmarket, followed by the Nunthorpe Stakes over five furlongs at York’s Ebor meeting and then the Haydock Sprint in September also over six furlongs.

Society Rock from the yard of James Fanshawe was a solid winner of the Golden Jubilee last month at Royal Ascot, making up for his bold second place in that race 12 months previously. It seemed strange that he attracted such scant market support for that race, ending up going off at 25/1 but he will be eager to stake further claim to being hailed as the best of British sprinters by the season’s end. Unfortunately he missed the July Cup having picked up a foot injury, but the Haydock Sprint will be his next main target.

The Aidan O’Brien trained, Zoffany, who ran Frankel so close in the St James Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot will also be dropped in trip to contest the July Cup. It is not often we see Ballydoyle horses concentrating their efforts on sprint prizes, but based on his run at the Royal meeting and in the Group One, Prix Jean Prat, where he finished second, he will surely have a big race in him before the season’s out.

Another who missed the July Cup was Prohibit, whose trainer, Robert Cowell believes five furlongs is the 6 year old’s absolute limit. Instead, he will be aimed at Glorious Goodwood, before taking his chances in the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes at York in August. He is clearly a top class sprinter but due to his distance restriction we will never really see the best of him.

The winner of the July Cup was Dream Ahead, who was the top rated juvenile last year alongside Frankel. The David Simcock trained Colt had won all three starts at two but after flopping on his seasonal debut over a mile at Ascot in the St James’s Palace Stakes he was switched back to six furlong where he made it four wins from four over the distance and won well enough to suggest there should be more to come and with the ability to hand both good and softer ground, he’s sure to be the main protagonist over the minimum trip deep in to Autumn and the Sprint at the Breeders Cup is sure to be the ultimate aim.

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2011 Royal Ascot Review

June 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Royal Ascot is over once again for another year, but the five day racing extravaganza provided its usual amount of thrills and spills and in the process produced some exceptional winners.
Arguments will no doubt rage regarding the star of the show, but already it is clear that the Richard Hannon trained, Canford Cliffs, with his defeat of Goldikova in the Queen Anne Stakes, would be amongst them. It is true that jockey, Olivier Peslier did put up 2lb overweight on Goldikova but that alarming lack or professionalism would in all probability not have been enough to reverse the placings, but it probably does mean that if the two meet later on in the campaign then an even closer race will ensue.

Canford Cliff’s win was probably not enough to rate him higher than 2000 Guineas winner Frankel, who followed up his Classic success by taking the St James Palace Stakes over one mile. However, such was Frankel’s performance that there is no doubt that Hannon would not shy away from facing him later in the season. Frankel won the race of course, but he looked far from impressive and was hanging on in the end to hold off the determined challenge from the Aidan O’Brien trained, Zoffany. Should the two meet then it will probably come in the Group One Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood at the end of July.

The major disappointment of the week probably came from So You Think, who got collared by Rewilding in the ten furlong Prince of Wales Stakes. This four year old, regarded by most as a genuine superstar appeared not to have stayed the trip, however, O’Brien confirmed after the event that he had him undercooked for the race and a similar mistake would not occur again. Indeed, So You Think had never been beaten over ten furlongs in his career which made his defeat all the more worrying.

Rewilding however, can now be generally regarded as a huge improver and should go on from Royal Ascot as one of the ‘stars of the season’. Trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni for Godolphin, the one time favourite for the 2010 ST Leger is next likely to go for the King George & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

O’Brien also had a good win with Await The Dawn who took the Group Two Hardwicke Stakes in great style. The win gave the four year old his fourth on the trot and looks bound for the Breeders Cup Classic later on in the season. That win in fact gave O’Brien his fourth of the week which confirmed him as top trainer, while jockey, Ryan Moore also managed to overhaul Richard Hughes to win the top jockey’s crown.

There was plenty of expectations surrounding the ability of Star Witness who had been sent from Australia to contest the two Group One Sprints, The Kings Stand Stakes over five furlongs on Day One and the Golden Jubilee Stakes over six furlongs on the final day. In the event, despite running really well he had to settle for third place in the Kings Stand and second in the Golden Jubilee. The races were won by Prohibit for trainer, Robert Cowell and Society Rock for the James Fanshawe stable.

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Fame And Glory Wins Ascot Gold Cup

June 16, 2011 Leave a comment

Fame And Glory proved that there is no substitute for sheer class when he comfortably won the Ascot Gold Cup by three lengths from Godolphin’s Opinion Poll on the third day of Royal Ascot.

Punters ignored the many pundit suggestions that the colt would not stay the 2½ mile trip and backed him remorselessly prior to the off, much to the chagrin of Bookmakers, who undoubtedly got hammered for a change. Commenting afterwards trainer, Aidan O’Brien said that he had only a minor doubt that the colt would stay the trip, believing that his class would see him home, which is exactly what happened.

Fame And Glory of course won the 2009 Irish Derby after finishing second to the legendary Sea The Stars in the Epsom equivalent three weeks earlier and he also took the 2010 Group One Coronation Cup. This win was his fifth in total at Group One level and he will next go to Glorious Goodwood to contest the Group Two Goodwood Cup, before going on to Longchamp for a third attempt of glory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

O’Brien also confirmed that he will be kept in training next season with the intention being to emulate Yeats and win the Gold Cup for a second time but whether or not he can fully emulate Yeats by winning the Royal Ascot ‘Blue Riband’ four times remains to be seen.

The race itself was well contested until Fame And Glory hit the front two furlongs from home. Ridden superbly by Jamie Spencer, the horse had been held up without any fuss not too far off the lead and when Spencer ‘pressed the button’ he was off and glided to the front with consummate ease. A brief challenge was launched by the staying on Opinion Poll, but he was well beaten at the end and there was a also a strong finish by the third horse home, the Andre Fabre trained, Brigantin. The two placed horse’s in fact are very likely to go to Australia later this year to try their luck in the Melbourne Cup, but that, at least at this stage, does not seem a likely option for Fame And Glory.

Bookmakers were at least brave enough to quote the winner as the 3/1 favourite to win the Gold Cup at the 2012 Royal Ascot meeting and have already reported plenty of money for that outcome.

O’Brien has now saddled the winner of the Ascot Gold Cup five times in the last six years.

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Frankel: The New Brigadier Gerard?

June 7, 2011 Leave a comment

With the Flat season now in full swing and dominating the Racing headlines, there’s not much to blog about from the World of National hunt so thought I’d put my “Sport of Kings” hat on and look at the one horse everyone seems to be raving about on the Flat, Frankel, who is due to have his first run since a pillar to post effort in the 2000 Guineas in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot next week.

Following that awesome victory in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket the question most of us ‘old fogies’ were asking immediately in the aftermath of that race was, could the Henry Cecil trained, Frankel become the new Brigadier Gerard, regarded by most as the greatest miler in the history of flat racing?

To earn that type of accolade Frankel will probably need to stay in training as a four year old and to race over further than a miler as he matures. Certainly that is the way Brigadier Gerard was managed who, as history will tell us went on to win 17 out of 18 races with 13 of them being at Group One level.

Frankel of course has already racked up six wins, with two at Group One level and will next be aimed at the Group One St James Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. This is exactly the same path as the ‘Brigadier’ took, who after winning the Guineas in 1971 went on to take the prestigious ‘St James’.

One big difference between the two already however is the fact was that Frankel was the Champion Two Year old whereas Brigadier Gerard was rated only third in his equivalent year, behind Mill Reef and the French trained My Swallow. However in the 1971 Guineas, it was Brigadier Gerard who won the race putting in a devastating finish to eclipse both of his major rivals. Mill Reef who was second went on to win the Epsom Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and was never beaten in a horse race again.

Following his win in the St James Palace, which was raced on his least favoured heavy ground, the ‘Brigadier’ went on to win the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood by 5 lengths, the Goodwood Mile by over ten lengths and the QEII Stakes by eight lengths. He finished up the season by winning over ten furlongs for the first time when he took the Champion Stakes at Newmarket. At this stage in his career he was unbeaten in ten races.

Henry Cecil, trainer of Frankel has not got himself carried away with how great his horse could possibly be, but has hinted that he would like to give him a run over more than eight furlongs before his three year old career is over. However most pundits believe that his next biggest target this season, after the Guineas, will be the Breeders Cup Mile a race of course that was not available to Brigadier Gerard in his day.

Should Frankel win that race, difficult decisions will have to be taken as to what happens next; will they keep him in training at four, will they keep him over the mile or will they go for the longer trip? Should he be given a four year career, including the longer trips then there is more chance of a true comparison being made, provided of course that Frankel remains unbeaten.

As a four year old Brigadier Gerard won his first five races, including a record breaking run in the Prince of Wales Stakes and a first time victory over a mile and half in the King George & Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Sandown. His only defeat came in the Benson & Hedges Gold Cup (now Juddmonte sponsored International Stakes ) at York which was run over an extended mile and a quarter. In that race he was beaten by the resurgent 1972 Epsom Derby winner, Roberto, whose blistering front running tactics proved too much for Brigadier Gerard who had to content himself with second place three lengths adrift.

Before retirement, Brigadier Gerard went on to claim a second victory in the QEII Stakes, winning by six lengths in a new course record time before winning his final race, which was once again, the Champion Stakes at Newmarket.

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