Super horse Frankel has tempted connections to head to France for the Group 1 €4m QATAR Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe (1 mile 4 furlongs) at Longchamp on October 7 after securing his thirteenth win at York on Wednesday.
Frankel retained his ‘best horse in the world’ tag when he careered away from the rest of the field with a seven lengths victory in the Group 1 £725,000 Juddmonte International Stakes (1 mile 2 furlongs 88 yards) to remain unbeaten from thirteen starts.
The Sir Henry Cecil trained super star took his official rating to 140 for the second time when he left the well performed Farhh and Group 1 winner St Nicholas Abbey in his wake in front of a massive 30,000 plus York crowd.
Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe winner Danicing Brave is the only racehorse to achieve a higher rating at 141 in 1986.
“To achieve 140 twice in his career is a ground-breaking performance by the world’s best racehorse and he could yet go on to match or even top Dancing Brave’s 141, perhaps on Qipco British Champions Day,” said the British Horseracing Authority‘s head of handicapping, Phil Smith.
Frankel’s final appearance was to be at Ascot on October 20 in either the Group 1 £1m The QIPCO Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (1 mile) or the Group 1 £1.3m The QIPCO Champion Stakes (1 mile 2 furlongs).
But if Cecil and owner Prince Abdullah agree, a late nomination for the Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe might be considered and Frankel could travel for the first time outside of the Great Britain.
“Henry didn’t want him in the race and he’d have to be supplemented. There will be a discussion and we’ll have to see. The plan was always Ascot but we’ll have to see how he comes out of the race,” said Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for Prince Abdullah.
“I will discuss things with Henry and it depends on what he wants to do. I didn’t think a mile and a quarter was a problem, but further than that, I’m not sure,” Prince Abdullah added.
Grimpthorpe was ecstatic with the way Frankel was able to dominate his opposition at his first attempt beyond a mile in front of an enthusiastic crowd and more importantly in front of Cecil who had been receiving ongoing treatment for cancer.
“For Henry and the team to bring Frankel in such great shape to York, in front of a brilliant crowd who appreciated him, is absolutely fantastic. Then for the horse to perform like he did, it’s a dream, isn’t it?” Grimthorpe said.
“The way he just comes there and does it is simply wonderful. It’s hard to believe and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Cecil had been staying away from the races to avoid picking up other infections while undergoing cancer treatment but was glad he made an appearance at York to watch his outstanding world class racehorse.
“That was great, wasn’t it? It’s fantastic. It’s great for Yorkshire, they are very supportive of racing and they deserve to see him,” said Cecil who went on to say that it made him feel “twenty years better”.
Trainer Saeed bin Suroor said that he would be looking for a race for runner up Farhh without Frankel, conceding that is impossible to beat the world’s best.
“My horse has tried very hard, but he has finished second again. As we knew before, the winner is in a different class to everything else,” said Saeed bin Suroor.
“We have no plans for him, but we will try to find a race without Frankel.”
Winning jockey Tom Queally can’t believe his luck that he was able to team up with Frankel and partner the unbeaten champ on their magnificent journey which led the pair to capture the attention of the world with their thirteenth straight victory in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York.
“It was awesome and he was absolutely amazing,” Queally said.
