by JASON COOTE Who doesn’t remember Frankel? A talented thoroughbred described by some as a ”wonder horse” like Pegasus without wings. He was trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil at Warren Place in Newmarket the home of several of his most outstanding performances.
Frankel was foaled on 11 February 2008, bred by Juddmonte Farms in the ownership of Khalid Abdullah. He was named after the legendary American trainer Bobby Frankel who was known as one of the most successful and respected trainers in the history of thoroughbred racing.
Frankel was sired by Galileo, an outstanding horse in his own right, out of the mare Kind. A bay colt who achieved greatness on the racecourse unbeaten in 14 races. He was identified as one of the best 2yo horses in training by Group Horse who have a reputation for pinpointing horses with star potential.
His successes included:
- Royal Lodge Stakes (2010)
- Dewhurst Stakes (2010)
- Greenham Stakes (2011)
- 2000 Guineas (2011)
- St James’ Palace Stakes (2011)
- Sussex Stakes (2011, 2012)
- Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (2011)
- Lockinge Stakes (2012)
- Queen Anne Stakes (2012)
- International Stakes (2012)
- Champion Stakes (2012)
In May 2012, Frankel was the highest-rated horse in the world. The World Thoroughbred Racehorse Ranking Committee stated after recalibrating their ratings in 2013 that he was better than Dancing Brave, Alleged & Shergar.
What other record did Frankel set?
He achieved nine consecutive Group 1 wins which has only been equalled by U.S.A filly Zenyatta. Frankel won almost £3million in prize money but is conservatively estimated to be worth £100million by Philip Mitchell, Manager of Banstead Manor Stud.
From a personal point of view, I remember Frankel winning on debut at Newmarket on 13 August, 2010, in a one-mile maiden, ridden by Tom Queally.
It was ironic that he beat another very talented horse in Nathaniel, trained by John Gosden. As readers know, this victory was the first of many and a story made all the more poignant when learning that Sir Henry Cecil was struggling with illness.
Frankel retired to Banstead Manor Stud, in Cheveley, the place he was born. He covered his first mare on Valentine’s Day 2013. The stud fee set at £125,000.
Did you know in the first year he covered 133 mares?
On 13 May 2016, the first of Frankel’s offspring made his debut, a bay colt called Cunco, trained by John Gosden.
He won. The first of many of his offspring to show they have their father’s star quality.
If you are interested in knowing the best unraced and lightly raced two-year-old horses in training take a look at Group Horse which details the latest information from trainers large and small across the country.
Perhaps this year, we will identify the next Frankel.
Hi Graham. Agree. Firstly i am Australia. Nobody in Australia bagged Black Caviar more than me before she went to England. A protected species. I always said that Frankel was a better horse by a few lengths only over 1200. Any other distance Frankle would have won by more..
Frankel was a great horse and reminded me of our best sprinter of the last 50 years Vain. The defining point to me was that Frankel never broke a track record against average horses. Small fields set up for Frankel. Winx which some say was the best horse ever to race in Australia has been retired after 33 straight wins.Yes tracks are slower in England but i am going to make a few comparisons anyway because they were both at the top of their game. Gosden said Winx would beat Enable up to 2000. I agree on any track in the world that includes heavy going. Winx was better in the mud. Right or wrong you compare good horses against other good horses even though are on the other side of the world. In nine starts over 8f Frankel never got within 4 seconds of Winx’s best time, That is around 20 lengths. Frankel in those nine starts over 8f only beat Winx’s worst time on heavy going once .Frankel was a leader and if he was a freak would have set track records but couldn’t. Winx had three track records Yes i think Frankel was overrated but still a great horse.
Although I count myself a great admirer of Frankel, I think on occasion the praise for him can get a little over-hyped.
Frankel was a fantastic racehorse, and his wins in the Royal Lodge, Queen Anne, and Juddmonte were breathtaking. However, I feel that he did not start to mature until his first (again very impressive)Sussex Stakes victory. Although much the better horse, he was nearly caught by Zoffany in the St James’s Palace, and Zoffany failed to win a race at three.
Although at first glance Frankel’s demolition of his Two Thousand Guineas field was awe inspiring, was it as good as it seemed? The second and third in the race, Dubawi Gold and Native Khan, were definitely not top drawer. Depending on the commentary that you listen to, after five furlongs Frankel was either twelve or fifteen lengths in front. He had the whole field strung out like three mile chasers in the mud. Just after this point he started coming back to the field, or they started catching him! From twelve/fifteen lengths his winning distance was whittled down to six lengths at the post. I quite accept that six lengths was a big winning margin, but there have been plenty of others who would imo have treated this field with similar disdain . I include the Brigadier (of course), Sir Ivor, El Gran Senor, Dancing Brave, Nijinsky, Nearula, Tudor Minstrel (especially of course) Big Game, Colorado. Before you ask, I did not witness (really? Ed) any of the above winning prior to Sir Ivor. I was actually born sixty years to the day before Frankel.
Channel Four Racing once ran a computer race of what they thought were the best Guineas winners, although none were earlier than Brigadier Gerard, so no Sir Ivor or Tudor Minstrel.
To the presenters utmost consternation, Frankel failed to win there race. I think he finished either third or fourth behind Brigadier Gerard and El Gran Senor. One of the presenters (Rishi Persad?)said words to the effect that something wasn’t right, and to ignore the race. It was never mentioned again. I actually believe that the computer was right, and had Sir Ivor and Tudor Minstrel been included, he would have finished behind them to. He was not the finished article on Guineas day, nor at Ascot.
Of course from Goodwood on I think he would have beaten all of the above with the possible exception of Tudor Minstrel and Brigadier Gerard. Possibly someone could organise a computer race between these three.
Finally, numbers of Group One wins from different era’s can be misleading. For instance, by today’s reckoning, Brigadier Gerard would have won twelve Group One races, whereas if Frankel had raced in 1970/71 his total would have been cut by three, from eleven down to eight. In those days, the Lockings, Prince Of Wales, and St James’s Palace were Group Two, whilst the Queen Anne was only Group Three. All wre just as hard to win as now though. All swings and roundabouts when trying to assess the various merits.
As a stallion, I do hope Frankel is a success, but one thing is for sure, he will NEVER sire anything as good as himself. The very best never do. With Galileo as his sire, and Danehill close up on his distaff side, it will be interesting to see the mares that he attracts. THe European gene pool seems to be shrinking with Galileo and Danehill in a preponderance of pedigrees, and it would be interesting to see how Frankel would (or will)fare with Japanese and US mares with rather less Northern Dancer in their make-up. No doubt Juddmonte will blend Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song, no Northern Dancer) and Frankel blood in the future.
Cheers.