Goodwood win puts Frankel on top of the world

As Frankel – the best horse that Cecil has trained – pulled effortlessly clear of Canford Cliffs, one of Flat racing’s elite performers over a mile, the colt served notice that an extra two furlongs in the Juddmonte International on August 17 would not be a hindrance.

This one-and-a-quarter mile contest, York’s richest race, would be a stepping stone to the QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot in October and Frankel’s owner Prince Khalid Abdullah has every incentive to win the opening day feature of the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival – he sponsors the Juddmonte and has never won this prestigious contest that has been won, in the past, by the likes of Sea The Stars.

Yet the newly-knighted Cecil is only in a position to contemplate racing Frankel at York in three weeks’ time after a faultless ride in the Qipco Sussex Stakes by Tom Queally, who judged the pace to perfection and did not stretch his mount to breaking point.

In doing so, he silenced those who questioned his audacious front-running tactics in the 2000 Guineas, and then the early injection of pace in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

This time Queally had little choice. None of the four runners wanted to make the running. Crucially, he settled Frankel as the field dawdled before gradually winding up the speed in a controlled manner while using every opportunity to snatch glimpses at his opponents. His only difficulty was that he did not enjoy a clear view of the giant television screen two furlongs from home as the 8-13 favourite pulled away from 7-4 shot Canford Cliffs who veered across the track in the closing stages.

“He’s absolutely amazing. I’ve said it before – he’s a freak. He’s got that turbo and he settled well today. He gradually picked himself up furlong by furlong and he was rolling before I wanted him,” explained an ecstatic Queally after Frankel extended his unbeaten record to eight races. “Plan A would have been having him in behind getting him relaxed. We had to resort to different things and I just had to use my initiative and thankfully it worked out.

“I tried to have a look at the big screen but there was something blocking it. He made the other horses look ordinary and they are very good horses. It’s a fantastic day.”

Canford Cliffs, a two-time Royal Ascot winner in his own right, was conceding 8lb to his rival because he is a year older than Frankel, but few could have expected such an emphatic victory.

There’s now talk of Frankel being declared the best horse in the world when his revised official rating is revealed next week.

Rated joint top with crack Australian sprinter Black Caviar going into the race, he is likely to be rated a minimum of 132 after this triumph.

Dominic Gardiner-Hill, the BHA’s senior mile handicapper, said: “My initial reaction is that this performance will undoubtedly put him top of the world rankings. He’s proven today that he’s a 130+ horse. In my opinion he is worth at least 132 and very possibly more.”

After being serenaded with ‘three cheers’ as Frankel returned to the winner’s enclosure, Cecil, the 10-time champion trainer, reflected: “I think it’s a facetious thing to say, but he’s the best I’ve ever seen.

“I suppose the only ones I could compare would be Shergar and Blushing Groom at his best. I can’t go back to the days of Tudor Minstrel and match races, but he’s the best in my lifetime.”

Cecil, who looked nervous beforehand, was asked whether he was surprised by the display. “It sounds awful, but no,” he replied. “My job was done and it was a bit like going to the dentist’s beforehand, just waiting for it to be over.

“I think he will get a mile-and-a-quarter and whether he has one more run or two we’ll have to see. He’s in the Juddmonte International at York and he’s 50/50 to go there and all being well he’ll go there and all being well he’ll go to Ascot at the end of the year for either the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes or Champion Stakes.”

However Richard Hannon, the trainer of the defeated Canford Cliffs, believed the track did not suit his stable star as he contemplated a rematch. “He doesn’t like going downhill, so we’ll see,” he said.

“We scoped him and blood tested him and everything is perfect inside. I wouldn’t be worried on a decent track to have another go.

“I thought the race went well. They didn’t go fast early, but when they went round the bend and came into the straight, they went a hell of a good gallop.

“We’ll have to go home and rethink it, but I’m sure it’s the racecourse. That wasn’t his run. Either Frankel is just unbeatable or we should have been closer.”

A deserved Goodwood Stakes win for Hollins (20-1) provided Micky Hammond with his first taste of success at the course after jockey Paul Hanagan thwarted the challenge of Seaside Sizzler.

“He’s been doing well hurdling and I just ran him back too quickly at Pontefract last time, so I gave him a break,” explained Middleham-based Hammond.

“He has given the owners tremendous fun as he has run at Royal Ascot and two Cheltenham Festivals and he was due a decent race.

“He just outstayed them, and he was sixth last year off a 10lb higher mark. We were actually thinking about novice chasing now, although he’ll have an entry for the Cesarewitch.”