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Frankel, Canford Cliffs target QEII Sir Henry Cecil confirmed that the October 15 Queen Elizabeth II S. (Eng-G1) will be the seasonal finale for the unbeaten FRANKEL (Galileo [Ire]). He is slated to be campaigned next year at four. Following Frankel's five-length success over CANFORD CLIFFS (Tagula) in Wednesday's Sussex S. (Eng-G1), Cecil reiterated the desire to send out the Khalid Abdullah homebred out one more time this term. "I was thrilled and he seems fine afterwards, so I'm looking forward to the next time he runs," Cecil said. "He'll have one more race and he'll have a rest. If he's well, he'll run in the Queen Elizabeth S. at Ascot and then the idea, all going well, is that he'll stay in training next year. You've seen him four times already and, hopefully, if we don't abuse him, you'll see a lot of him next year." Abdullah's Racing Manager Teddy Grimthorpe added, "He's great and ate up, so there are no problems. After we've seen how he is, the Prince will decide where he goes, but it has always been said that he would end up on Champions' Day. What he does before that will be up to Prince Khalid. "It's not totally impossible that we might see him again before then, but the Juddmonte International ([Eng-G1] at York August 17) just might come a little bit soon, and the Breeders' Cup (at Churchill Downs on November 5) is unlikely this year as he stays in training (in 2012)." Trainer Richard Hannon stated Thursday that Canford Cliffs would square up against Frankel again in the QEII. Despite the Sussex being billed as the "Duel on the Downs," his five-length defeat left connections deflated as they ponder running against the Cecil stable's star. "We will run a few tests and see if anything comes to light, but that was definitely not the Canford Cliffs that we know," Hannon said. "Had we been beaten a couple of lengths I could have accepted it, but to be beaten in that manner has left us scratching our heads, and, hopefully, we will get another crack at Frankel at Ascot. The first thing that Richard Hughes said when he got off was 'he is not himself.' He claimed that he was off the bridle before halfway, and Canford Cliffs has never been off the bridle in his life. He went to Goodwood in top order -- his blood was good and he scoped well, too, and, while Henry (Cecil) might be right in saying that Frankel is the best horse that we have seen, I would have expected to have been able to stay with him longer. "Canford Cliffs has won five Group 1s, so we know that he is a very good horse, but it was worrying to see him hang so badly left in the final furlong. He did it both in the Greenham (Eng-G3) at Newbury (in 2010) and the Prix Morny (Fr-G1) at Deauville (in 2009), but it is the first time that he has gone walkabout this season. "I know he won the Sussex last year, but I still maintain that Goodwood is not his course. He prefers the likes of The Curragh or Ascot, where the ground comes back at him at the finish, but I don't want to make too many excuses. At the end of the day we got beat, but we know that Canford Cliffs is better than that, and he'll be back. We won't make any plans until we see how he is, and I'll speak to the boys from Coolmore, but Ascot would be the obvious target."
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