Frankel produced one of the greatest performances seen on a British racecourse when running away with the 2,000 Guineas here, propelling his much-loved trainer, Henry Cecil, back to the top of his profession long after his career had seemed in its twilight. Incredibly, the manner of this all-the-way victory matched the wildest hopes held for the colt, whose reputation has grown with each appearance on the gallops as well as with each of his six wins.
Seasoned racing fans should be inured to the claims made on behalf of any wonderhorse after so many disappointments but tales of Frankel duffing up his work companions helped to bring a large, excited crowd through the gates and they sent him off as the 1-2 favourite, the shortest in this race since 1974, when Apalachee could finish only third. On one occasion, while working parallel to the train tracks at Newmarket, Frankel was seen overtaking a train.
It almost seems possible to believe every word in light of Saturdays race, in which Frankel burst from the stalls and immediately went clear of his field, to the audible astonishment of the crowd. By halfway, the contest seemed over and the applause began before he had reached the furlong pole.
Briefly, that seemed premature as the three-year-old lost momentum close home, but defeat never appeared remotely in prospect. At the line, he had six lengths in hand of Dubawi Gold and Native Khan, with the rest beaten a further 11 lengths and more.
In the 235-year history of English Classic races, there can hardly have been a more dominating performance, but Cecils natural inclination towards understatement prevented him from making any grand claims. Its difficult to compare years and different champions but he must be up there with them, was the trainers assessment as he stood in the winners enclosure, visibly struggling with his emotions.
Cecil was given repeated bursts of applause, including after acknowledging the racegoers support. Its lovely and I want to thank them all very much. It makes me feel quite embarrassed and almost sort of weepish, he said.
The trainer, now 68, earned the adoration of every punter through the 1980s and early 90s, when he was a highly reliable source of winners each summer. But the last of his 10 champion trainers titles came in 1993 and his tally of winners dwindled as low as a dozen in the whole of 2005, since when he has been treated for stomach cancer.
Now, the continued faith of Frankels owner, the Saudi prince Khalid Abdullah, has brought Cecil the chance to train another champion. Its lovely to be back here, said the trainer, whose previous 2,000 Guineas winner was Wollow in 1976, and I hope Im here again one day, in one form or other.
Saturdays sensational tactics seem to have had their birth in Frankels prep-race, the Greenham at Newbury a fortnight ago, after which his jockey Tom Queally felt that settling him behind a pacemaker had been a mistake.
Hes a horse thats happiest when hes galloping, Queally said. I felt at Newbury, we were kind of upsetting him by holding him back. We thought wed maybe lost a length at the start we could have used at the end. I said to Henry, if we had let him jump to make the running, he might have won better.
Gallops-watchers got a suspicion of what was to come when Frankel led throughout in a recent piece of work but he still had a pacemaker, Rerouted, in the race. He took them by surprise, said the jockey, who has now won one Classic to Cecils 25. Im delighted we did it like that.
Queally denied any nervousness about executing such astonishing tactics. Thats where you switch off, he said. Some people are happiest behind the wheel of a car or at an office desk. When Im in the saddle, thats where Im happiest.
He may get a chance to relive the experience in less than a fortnight, as the next race suggested as a target for Frankel is the Dante Stakes at York on 12 May. That race, over a quarter-mile further than Saturdays mile, is established as the premier trial for the Derby over a mile and a half, but Cecil still has reservations over Frankels stamina for the Epsom Classic.
Well see how he comes out of this and what we want to do, the trainer said. Whether hell get a mile and a half is another matter. Obviously, if hes very well and he ran in the Dante, we know where were going.
If Frankel does not seem likely to relish the extra distance at York, he could skip Epsom and return to a mile in the St Jamess Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, Cecil pointed out. He also trains the Derby second-favourite, World Domination.
The fear would be that this performance may leave its mark on Frankel but the trainer was sanguine on that score. It worked out exactly as I wanted it to work out and as Id planned.
I thought he could do it like that if he relaxed in front but I didnt actually think that, having been in front so long, he would wonder where the other horses were. He was going to sleep and waiting for them. But thats not a bad thing, he hasnt taken too much out of himself.
Having collected himself, the trainer set off to celebrate in exactly the style that his followers would expect. Right, he said. Im going to have some tea.
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