Frankel: Timeform's greatest racehorse

By Timeform — published 11th February 2015

Seven years on from the birth of Frankel, reminisce about some of his most iconic performances, as described after the event by Timeform

Dewhurst Stakes

16 Oct 10

Nmr

1/6

Turf

Gd/Sft

Tom Queally

1.67

1.71

2.46/-

125

126+

Frankel completed the perfect season, beating everything put in front of him so far, looking every inch a champion and achieving the ratings_including timefigures_to match, even though this wasn't quite the anticipated acid test with Dream Ahead and Saamidd disappointing; all the same, it didn't go smoothly for Frankel as a bump departing the stall left him last and lit up, not settling at all, and that he still cruised through before asserting under a hand ride says it all about his exceptional talent, as well as his standing potential, unextended all along and physically the type to make an even better 3-y-o; though it's a long way off, the Guineas is at his mercy, reportedly set for a spring prep run, understandable if only to get the freshness out of him, as his natural exuberance (always wears crossed noseband) is the only apparent chink in his armour so far, not that it held him back here, nor would it in the Guineas, but getting him to stretch to the Derby trip may be another matter; Timeform's highest-rated 2-y-o in Europe since Xaar in 1997, Frankel has raced only on good or softer ground, but his smooth, fluent action suggests he'll be equally effective under firmer conditions.

2000 Guineas

30 Apr 11

Nmr

1/13

Turf

Gd/Frm

Tom Queally

1.5

1.59

1.59/-

136

135+

Frankel is on the threshold of becoming one of the greatest Flat racehorses in Timeform's history, no other way to put it after a performance in which even the huge rating from the bare facts of the result doesn't do him full justice; it takes something extraordinary to do what he did, shades of Dubai Millennium in the World Cup and Hawk Wing in the Lockinge from recent memory, only that pair were both fully-mature 4-y-os on their landmark day, and comparatively Frankel went harder sooner in his defining race; in an attacking policy, refreshing to see but needing a special horse to pull it off, he was more or less let loose from the start, rolling along at a speed that looked comfortable to him but none of the others could cope with, to the extent he was well clear by halfway, and just as impressive was the way he kept up the gallop, the outspread field in behind_amongst them several Group 1 winners who had a brief go at pursuit_a testimony to him; indeed, breaking it into sectional times as best we could does strongly suggest that Frankel overdid things in the first half of the race, covering the furlongs like a top-notch sprinter, which inevitably told on him late on even though he still won by a clear-cut margin, leading us to believe that he's even better than the bare form of the race; it's hard to see what can stop him over a mile, even in something of a golden age with the likes of Canford Cliffs and Goldikova around, and the suspicion is that Frankel could outrun the best sprinters, too, if given the chance, but that's not on his agenda, nor is the Derby reportedly; an inherent ebullience, wanting to get on with things, has always been part of his make-up, connections' plan of attack for this big day almost an admission as much, and he won't be asked to stretch to the Derby trip, allowing him to concentrate on what he does best, next stop Royal Ascot for the St James's Palace Stakes and that will be a formality, though it's conceivable he'll be given a try at 1¼m later on, the Juddmonte International the logical race for that; right now, though, Frankel has to be lauded and savoured as one of the all-time greats of the sport, potentially the best there has ever been in our experience, and there's plenty of time and opportunity yet for him to prove the point outright; this was a twenty-fifth British classic for Henry Cecil, whose role in the Frankel phenomenon shouldn't be underestimated, the horse produced in immaculate shape for this, notably well conditioned and muscled, and relaxed throughout the extended preliminaries, all enabling him to serve up an explosive performance that will be talked about for years to come, part of the legacy Frankel is creating.

QEII Stakes

15 Oct 11

Asc

1/8

Turf

Gd/Frm

Tom Queally

1.36

1.41

1.64/-

105

143+

Frankel is a phenomenon of the sport, extraordinary for his achievements in terms of both ratings and race-record, completing another perfect season with this latest awesome performance, also the most substantial of all of his 9 wins; in any other year, the horses he left trailing here would be extolled, Excelebration and Immortal Verse Group 1-winning 3-y-os with strong form themselves, and it takes a very special racehorse to deal with them (and some other high-class milers) in the manner that Frankel did; compared to his Guineas running, which had an almost reckless element to it, he's now much more the finished article professionally, apparent in the Sussex and even more so here, held up, not entirely settled with little pace on early, but clinical about his completion of the job, quickening on request to soon run down Bullet Train 2f out, then gradually drawing away from his pursuers, strong to the line, and he again took some pulling up; all of a sudden, the prospect of Frankel moving up to 1¼m next year is an exciting one, also increasing his scope to achieve the sort of rating that would elevate him to the top of the Flat rankings in Timeform's history, and he's only 2 lb behind Sea-Bird after this performance; it's rare nowadays for a champion like Frankel not to be retired to stud at the stage and standing he's at, and so there's much to be thankful for as well as plenty to still look forward to as a result of Khalid Abdulla's bold and refreshing decision to keep him in training as a 4-y-o.

Queen Anne Stakes

19 Jun 12

Asc

1/11

Turf

Good

Tom Queally

1.1

1.12

1.13/-

128

147+

Frankel has produced many astonishing performances already but this one breaks new ground, not just Frankel's best yet but achieving the highest Timeform rating ever on the Flat, surpassing Sea-Bird's 1965 Arc rating by 2 lb, a staggering effort, and it's remarkable that he has now shown bare form in excess of 140 on 3 consecutive starts, a point in itself that adds substance to him being the greatest Flat racehorse of all time; in a well-run race, Frankel was in touch from the outset and always travelled powerfully, tanking into the lead with over 2f to run before being unleashed by Queally, the response even more sensational than he'd produced before, bursting further and further clear right to the line, hardly even feeling the whip as he did so; if it's been possible to pick holes in Frankel at any stage then it's been that he hasn't always looked the most tractable, needing a gung-ho ride to make sure in last year's 2000 Guineas for instance, and his vast ability always saw him through, but he's now 100% the finished article, even bigger and stronger in physique as well as mentally mature, and that all manifested itself this day; he's still only 2 races into this defining season and new tests await, set to step up to 1¼m either in the Eclipse or Juddmonte International, and there's no concerns over whether he'll stay, more anticipation and excitement for what a longer trip and different challengers (in particular top-notch 3-y-o Camelot) could bring, the potential still there for Frankel to go higher still in the ratings; barring accidents, he'll never be beaten.

Champion Stakes

20 Oct 12

Asc

1/6

Turf

10f

Soft

Tom Queally

1.18

1.29

1.5/-

3sK

134

139+

Frankel is the horse of a lifetime, not just a generation, and he completed his exceptional career with another Group 1 success, his tenth in total, ensuring that he'll retire with the race-record to match his status as the greatest racehorse in Timeform's history, a pefect 14 from 14, and, although this performance itself wasn't quite so special as some that Frankel has produced before, it was still another outstanding effort faced with testing ground on only his second try beyond 1m; the day wasn't without scares it has to be said, heavy rainfall having briefly left Frankel's participation hanging in the balance, but after connections walked the track in the morning he was thankfully given the thumbs up; there was a scare as the race started too, Frankel dwelling in the stalls, losing a couple of lengths and needing to be rousted up by Queally to recover into a mid-field position, but once he got on terms it was pretty much plain sailing, breezing through the gears from the home turn, swiftly making up ground early in the straight, leading on the bridle under 2f out and shaken up to assert, perhaps lacking the brilliant acceleration that he's constantly produced on good/good to firm ground but still well on top of another fresh top-class middle-distance rival (arguably his toughest yet) in Cirrus Des Aigles_he's now defeated a total of 23 individual Group 1 winners throughout his career; his 11-length demolition of Excelebration (who earlier on Champions Day gained his third Group 1 success) in the Queen Anne will go down as Frankel's best performance, but there's great depth to his achievements generally, 4 times having achieved a bare form rating of at least 143, a level itself that only 3 others (Sea Bird, Brigadier Gerard and Tudor Minstrel) have shown even once since Timeform ratings began, plus there's been plenty of other remarkable performances for which the bare facts don't do him justice, most notably his explosive display of dominance in last year's 2000 Guineas; tribute must be paid to his connections, and in particular Sir Henry Cecil, who has handled Frankel expertly since day one, maturing him from the ebullient 3-y-o of spring 2011 into a fully-relaxed, consumate professional that has been on show throughout this defining 4-y-o season; the Frankel legacy is one that will last forever.

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