Frankel has confirmed his status as the best horse in the world Wednesday by
becoming the first horse in history to run to an official rating of 140 twice in
his career thanks to his seven-length victory in the Group 1 Juddmonte
International Stakes at York.
Just as remarkably, he has achieved that rating over two different distances,
once over a mile in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and
Wednesday over an extended mile and a quarter.
It is not just his almost unbelievable superiority over the best of the rest,
it is also his exceptional consistency which marks him as a horse the like of
which many have never seen before.
Frankel is unbeaten in 13 races, nine at the Group 1 level, with his average
winning distance an incredible 5 3/4 lengths, and the Sir Henry Cecil charge has
run to a rating above 130 in each of his last six outings.
The Prince Khalid Abdulla colorbearer now has the opportunity to match or
even beat the end-of-career 141 awarded to Dancing Brave in 1986, most likely in
the Group 1 Champion Stakes, Europe’s most valuable 1 1/4-mile race and the
highlight of QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on October 20.
“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,” British Horseracing
Authority’s Head of Handicapping Phil Smith said. “I took into account the ease
with which he went seven lengths clear yesterday to equate that to a nine and a
quarter length victory, which at 1 3/4 pounds per length puts him 16 pounds
clear of the pair who fought out second place.
“Farhh’s rating has been raised from 122 to 124 to match that of St Nicholas
Abbey, who was a nose behind him in third, while I have upgraded Nathaniel’s
mark in winning the Eclipse and finishing second in the King George to 125 from
124.”
Rod Street, Chief Executive of British Champions Series, said: “We are
obviously hoping that Frankel’s swansong before he retires to stud will come at
Ascot in the QIPCO Champion Stakes (on October 20) when his legions of fans can
bid the greatest racehorse any of us are ever likely to see a very special
farewell.
“If last year’s winner, Cirrus des Aigles, who is the second best middle
distance horse in the world behind Frankel this season on a rating of 128, four
pounds higher than Farhh and St Nicholas Abbey, takes him on, then he will have
the perfect opportunity to produce that all-time best performance that everyone
craves. He has now won eight QIPCO British Champions Series races, such that it
is almost as though the Series was created for him last year, and he now sits
proudly at the top of the Mile and Middle Distance ratings tables for this
season like a colossus.
“Ticket sales for QIPCO British Champions Day are already running well ahead
of last year at this stage and if Frankel’s participation is confirmed, we could
have a very rapid sell-out indeed!”
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