Her Majesty The Queen on Tuesday unveiled a statue of the legendary racehorse
Frankel at Ascot Racecourse during the first day of this year’s Royal Meeting.
The striking bronze statue, created by sculptor Mark Coreth, will now be
displayed overlooking the Parade Ring, facing the Winners’ Enclosure, at the
racecourse.
Frankel, trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil, is widely considered to be the
greatest flat racehorse. Ascot Racecourse is delighted to display the piece
prominently on the course that Frankel ran at more than any other. He was
unbeaten in his 14-race career, with five of those victories at Ascot, including
two during the Royal Meeting.
The piece was commissioned by Juddmonte Farms, the breeding operation owned
by Prince Khalid Abdullah. The statue is one of a set of four, with the others
intended for Banstead Manor near Newmarket where Frankel now stands as a
stallion, the National Museum of Horse Racing and York Racecourse.
Speaking about the sculpture and its unveiling, the sculptor, Mark Coreth
commented:
“It was an honor to be asked to create this sculpture of this extraordinary
horse. The creative process was a delight and the sculpture tries to capture the
power and vitality of Frankel.
“I’ve been to Ascot many times and have fantastic memories of days spent
there. Today was different though, having a sculpture of arguably the finest
racehorse ever unveiled at the greatest racing venue in the world, was
incredibly daunting. It was nevertheless a very proud moment and I hope the
sculpture helps people to remember the excitement and exhilaration that they
experienced when watching Frankel during his racing career.”
Sculptor Mark Coreth was selected to produce the commission after a
competitive process. Coreth’s loose, impressionist style perfectly captures the
power and dynamism of this extraordinary horse. The life size statue took eight
months to produce. Coreth made multiple visits to Frankel’s stables, measuring
the horse and studying his poise and posture. The artist also interviewed those
who work closely with Frankel, including his grooms.
After drawing a range of initial sketches, Coreth then produced the sculpture
in his studio near Shaftesbury on the Dorset-Wiltshire border in England. The
artist created an aluminum wire skeleton which was then covered in clay and
sculpted into shape. From this clay model, a mould was created and Coreth then
cast sections of the sculpture in bronze before they were joined together.
The result is a distinctive bronze statue of Frankel, in a positive, powerful
pose. The sculpture has a textured, shimmering surface. Frankel is depicted in a
tall, powerful pose and the head is slightly twisted so that the horse appears
to be gazing into the distance.
The statue is now on permanent to display overlooking the Parade Ring at
Ascot Racecourse, facing the Winners’ Enclosure that Frankel made his own. The
Royal Meeting takes place every day up to and including Saturday 20th June.
Attendance was up from last year’s opening day, with 47,250 attending Tuesday
compared to 46,047 on the first day in 2014.
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