Brigadier Gerard’s York downfall can act as a warning to Frankel

First up is Frankel in next Wednesday’s Juddmonte International, the richest race in York’s history, when Sir Henry Cecil’s wonderhorse, the highest-rated racehorse in the world, bids to make it a lucky 13 wins on the bounce as he steps up in trip to 10 furlongs for the first time.

Yet his breathtaking brilliance could be matched in three weeks’ time if Aidan O’Brien’s Camelot wins the Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster and becomes the first horse to win the fabled Triple Crown since a Lester Piggott-inspired Nijinksy won Flat racing’s three premier Classics in 1970.

Comparisons are difficult; Frankel is, arguably, the best miler of all-time while Camelot’s versatility at the highest level will stretch from a mile to one-and-three-quarters if he prevails on Town Moor.

And then there is Sea The Stars – his record-breaking six Group Ones in 2009 began with the 2000 Guineas, won both by Frankel and Camelot, before culminating with victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s richest race.

His most difficult assignment, arguably, was the Juddmonte International at York, a messy four-runner affair where victory was far from easy, as a relieved jockey Mick Kinane testified afterwards.

Bradford-born rider Joe Mercer concurs. He was aboard the luckless Brigadier Gerard whose 15-race unbeaten run came to an abrupt end at York in 1992 when the inaugural International Stakes – then sponsored by Benson & Hedges – was held on Knavesmire.

Hailed as a world-beater because of his phenomenal success at the highest level, including victories on the 2000 Guineas, Eclipse and King George, he was powerless to halt the winning run of the Vincent O’Brien-trained Roberto, whose Panamanian rider, Braulio Baeza, was riding in Britain for the first time.

“He’d won the King George in July – I remember it well because I bought my house that day – and he’d been given a few days off by Major Dick Hern, the guv’nor, and everything was going to plan,” recalled Mercer.

“Just around that time, we had the odd horse in the yard with a few symptoms – some had a temperature and a few had what we call ‘dirty noses’ – but the Brigadier seemed normal. I couldn’t envisage any defeat whatsoever by this time.

“I don’t suppose there had been a bigger crowd at York. It was packed to capacity with people who had just come to see the Brigadier. Most of my family were also there, and it was unbelievable how I was beaten.

“A lot of people said that Baeza stole the race but, to my mind, he didn’t. I thought I would be able to just go and pick him whenever I wanted to. Sadly, I couldn’t. When I pressed the accelerator, the old horse quickened up and I got to within half a length of Roberto – he was a Derby winner – and then I knew I couldn’t beat him and accepted it.”

The result still perplexes many. Peter Willett’s authorised biography of Hern suggests that Brigadier Gerard was simply beaten by the better horse. Both Roberto and Brigadier Gerard broke the course record, with the Derby runner-up Rheingold 15 lengths arrears in third.

Furthermore, Hern believed that the gruelling King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot a month earlier had left its mark.

Mercer, later to become champion jockey in 1979, disagrees. He recalls a conversation with Buster Haslam, Hern’s head lad, a day after the shock defeat at York.

“Buster said that when the horse was being led back to the stables, he allowed the Brigadier to lower his head and a fair bit of mucus came out of his nostrils which isn’t the best of sights,” explained Mercer. “I think very possibly the old horse could have had a slight chill.”

This theory is given added credence by the fact that Brigadier Gerard subsequently ended his career in style by landing the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot before a sublime victory in an emotional Champion Stakes at Newmarket.

Brought up in Bradford’s Victoria Road – Mercer’s older brother, Manny, was an accomplished rider before being killed in a fall in September, 1959 – the jockey is reluctant to compare Brigadier Gerard with Frankel.

He says it is impossible because today’s top-class horses are run so sparingly, though Frankel is an exception to this rule. “What I will say is that I have followed his career from the word go and I think he is a wonderful horse,” added Mercer. “It will be a great day at York.”

One area where Frankel has a definite edge over Brigadier Gerard is his marketability. As part of the Ebor build-up, the British Champions Series and Racing for Change will advertise Frankel’s intended appearance on ITV with a series of 20 second TV commercials.

British Champions Series chief executive Rod Street said: “We believe this is the first time that a racehorse’s intended appearance on the track has been TV advertised in this country so we hope it drives ticket sales and interest from the wider public.”