The Best Horse Ever? - Part 3

Race 5 - Totesport.com Greenham Stakes, Group 3 (7f)

A Champion On Trial - Result

Sir Henry Cecil was always adamant that Frankel would run in a trial before his date with destiny in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. Ironically the master trainer was uncertain of his own ability to have the horse 'spot on' without the benefit of a race. The race chosen for his seasonal reappearance was the Greenham Stakes at Newbury. The previous season Canford Cliffs had been defeated in this very race by his stable companion Dick Turpin. But it would have been an even bigger shock if Frankel were to have lost his unbeaten record. The opposition was headed by Strong Suit, himself a very smart animal, but not in the same league as Frankel. There was also the unexposed Excelebration. The bookies had Frankel as the very warm favourite at 1/4, with Strong Suit next best at 9/2, with 18/1 bar the pair. Sir Henry had installed Picture Editor, a fancy for the Derby, as pacemaker to ensure the test was true. In the end Frankel was an easy and convincing winner with Excelebration giving him most to think about 4 lengths back in second. Inside the last furlong he readily drew clear in the manner of a very good horse. It appeared that the dreams were well and truly alive with the prospect of much more improvement to come. The trial was dealt with in the manner we had all expected. All that was now required was for Frankel to confirm his superiority over the best of his generation, something that he had done at 2, but something that many juvenile champions had failed to repeat.

Race 5 - Qipco 2000 Guineas, Group 1 (1m)

Brilliant. Extraordinary. Unprecedented. - Result

Juvenile champions are remembered for their precocity and brilliance, but few will ever threaten the annuls of greatness, though there are notable exceptions (Arazi). It is inevitably their Classic career that will define the legacy of a true champion. The importance of the 2000 Guineas cannot be underestimated in the career of Frankel. Everything that had gone before was merely a prelude to this day when his ability would be put to its sternest test yet. Whether he would be up to the challenge would go a long way to determining if he was just another juvenile champion, or one of the greatest horses we have had the pleasure to witness, as so many already believed.

On a warm May afternoon the best 3yo colts around assembled to try and dethrone the champion elect. Both Dream Ahead and Wootton Basset bypassed the race but the opposition remained strong. The list was headed by the unbeaten Irish Group 1 and Group 2 victor Pathfork, Group 1 Racing Post Trophy and Group 2 winner Casamento, Group 1 Criterium winner Roderic O'Connor, Group 2 Champagne winner Saamidd, Group 3 Solario and Craven winner Native Khan, French Group 3 winner Broox, dual Listed scorer Dubawi Gold, big sales race victor Fury and even the designated pacemaker Rerouted was a Group 3 winner! There could be no doubt that the field assembled represented the best that Frankel's own generation could throw at him. 

In the paddock Frankel looked well. Not spectacular but he was certainly ready to do himself justice. In spite of the opposition in front of him Frankel was priced as the 1/2 favourite. So often the juvenile champions of years gone by had fallen at this very hurdle under the weight of public expectation. It was now Frankel's time to show what he could do. Had the hype got ahead of the horse or was he really every bit as good as people thought.

The answer was emphatic. In a truly breathtaking display, Frankel destroyed his rivals from the gates. He took the lead right from the start as the rest of the field, including his supposed pacemaker Rerouted, valiantly tried to stick with him. Ultimately those who tried hardest to stay with him suffered the highest price. Casamento, a Group 1 winner, was simply unable to keep up as Frankel set a blistering gallop in front. At this stage the stands were very quiet. There was a genuine fear that even the mighty Frankel could not keep this up. People started to turn to their neighbours and ask "What is Queally doing?!" As the field headed towards halfway Frankel was a comfortable leader, around 10 lengths clear of the field. It seemed impossible that he could keep it up. But whilst he was travelling strongly in front there were already plenty in behind finding the going tough. As he entered the final 2f the rest of the field were starting to send out distress signals, and the crowd was beginning to cheer him home. The jockeys had now realised that he was not coming back to them, they were going to have to catch him. And that was not a task that any would get near accomplishing as Frankel passed the post 6 lengths in front, with the rest of the field strewn at long intervals down the Rowley Mile. Frankel had confirmed beyond all doubt that he was a very special horse and the stunned spectators were equally certain that they had just witnessed a very special moment in the history of horse racing.

It was a performance as unconventional as it was brilliant. Nick Luck said on Racing UK "All the way and all the way the best. The best by far. Brilliant. Extraordinary. Unprecedented." No horse has ever managed to win any race in such a manner, let alone a Group 1 Classic race. Such was his superiority that many of his rivals were struggling at half way. The way he destroyed them was something to behold and a memory that i will cherish forever.