Moehat – I am convinced Frankel would have won the Derby that year and would have stayed 12F as a three year old let alone as a 4yr old, he won his first race over 1m on soft ground on Newmarket’s July course which has a stiff uphill finish and we all saw what he did in the Royal Lodge at Ascot over 1m.
I know Sir Henry was always worried that he wouldn’t settle early in his races especially give the natural speed he had but when he ran him after that 2000g next in the St James’s Palace Stakes he settled perfectly fine and we all saw how well he settle in front in the Sussex Stakes after Ascot so in retrospect I think it wouldn’t have been an issue.
It is notable how much stamina he imparts on his offspring and yes I know the dam plays a big part in that side of things too but he has sired Yorkshire Cup, St Leger and Ascot Gold Cup winners and most of his best progeny have been middle distance horses.
To me the only quibbles I had with Frankel’s career was the fact they didn’t go to the Derby and after that as a 4 yr old they should have stepped him up to 10F in the POW at Royal Ascot especially given what he did in the Queen Anne, in that form imagine what he would have done to So You Think in the POW – baring in mind that Farhh (beaten 7L in the Juddmonte later that season) was only beaten 2L by So You Think).