- This topic has 17 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 10 months, 3 weeks ago by
.
- Posts
Wouldn’t it be nice if York / Juddmonte rename the Juddmonte International as…
“The Frankel (sponsored by Juddmonte)”
Value Is EverythingI remember after he retired there was all this talk about how he must have a race named after him which ideally would be at either Newmarket or Ascot and yet nothing has ever come of it.
Odd that Juddmonte themselves haven’t done anything of the like themselves (unless that is on purpose) but I think that too much time has now passed to see him finally get a race named after him now, although the Frankel Juddmonte International has a nice ring to it.
That being said both York and Ascot do have life sized Frankel statues which I guess are a much more fitting and indeed more permanent testament to the great horse especially consider how a great many of our famously named races are now either being reduced to a moniker of ‘registered as’ or being dropped from the race title altogether.
If they named the race The Frankel, then I don’t think it would matter what they officially changed the name to, LD. It would forever be known by the racing public as “The Frankel”.
Value Is EverythingWould that only be the case assuming that Juddmonte make their current sponsorship of the race permanent?
Juddmonte I believe started in 1989 (wow didn’t realise they had been doing it that long) but you would imagine that at some point there might come a time when they decide to walk away from it and then another sponsor’s name would be added instead. If that were to happen, who knows whether said new sponsor would want to even keep the International part of the race title (which came into effect in 1986 when Matchmaker took over from the original sponsor Benson & Hedges), when the original race name was just the Gold Cup.
Don’t get me wrong I think Frankel should have a race named after him and given that he was a 10 time G1 winner, 9 of them consecutively (which is a European record) then ideally said race should also be a G1, so the International would be the perfect option.
Just not sure it will happen as Juddmonte have had more than enough time to make that name change.
Fair comment LD.
I suppose if Coolmore ever took over the sponsorship, they wouldn’t want to keep the name.Maybe wait another 20 years and he’ll get a Group 1 named after him. Seems a shame though.
Value Is EverythingAlso a stunning statue of Frankel in the grounds of the Horseracing Museum at Palace House, Newmarket.
The Rowley Mile course has a Frankel Bar covered in pictures of ‘himself’ and a huge mural of Frankel running away with the 2000 Guineas in 2011.Agreed..he really deserves a Group 1 race of his own so that his name lives on into racing history
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...This thread got me thinking about races named after the ‘greatest’ horses rated 140+ by Timeform
Sticking with British-trained they are:
Frankel 147
Brigadier Gerard 144
Tudor Minstrel 144
Abernant 142
Mill Reef 141
Dancing Brave 140
Dubai Millennium 140
Harbinger 140
Shergar 140To the best of my knowledge none of these have been honoured with a Group 1 run in their name, a lone G2: the Mill Reef Stakes, and two G3s: the Abernant Stakes and Brigadier Gerard Stakes
Have I missed any, barring the thoroughly unsuited Shergar Cup? Poor horse, he must be spinning in his grave, wherever that is
Overall, a pretty poor show. Frankel is not alone in being ignored
For that matter are there any pattern races run elsewhere named after the foreign-trained 140+ pantheon:
Sea-Bird 145
Flightline 143
Ribot 142
Sea The Stars 140
Vaguely Noble 140Re Frankel, seeing as he was the very best I would choose a different race to commemorate him – The Frankel Champion Stakes.
Why bother with that att all? Do the French have any Group 1s or 2s flat races named after a horse? Couldn’t find a single one. Could be different over the jumps, I think.
ERL, I like it when the champion horses of the past are commemorated in race names.
If it’s not common practice in France, that doesn’t seem like a good reason for not doing it here either.
You are right about horses being commemorated….. somehow. But is there a Saddler’s Wells or a Rock of Gibraltar G1 out there? I think you’d have too many races to be named after a race-horse and there would be too many debates about what horses would deserve or not. That’s why I don’t mind the French way of handling it.
There are plenty of examples in France, but they’re usually restricted to Group 3 and Listed races.
Examples of Group 3 races named after past Group 1 winners – Prix Exbury, Prix Djebel, Prix Sigy, Prix Allez France, Prix Miesque.
But there is one Group 1 race named after a famous horse, the Prix Vermeille. Although that dates back to the late 19th century and Vermeille was famous as the dam of multiple top class racers, rather than as a racemare.
You also have the G3 Prix Gladiateur (believed to be France’s oldest surviving horse race) which was re-named (from the Grand Prix de l’Empereur) after Gladiateur who won the race in 1866 when it was run over 6,200 metres (3m7f).
He was bred in France by Count Frederic de Lagrange (who also owned him) but was sent to race in England and became the 2nd English Triple Crown winner in 1865, the year in which he also won the Grand Prix de Paris (where he picked up his nickname of The Avenger of Waterloo) and the Grand Prix du Prince Impérial (now known as Prix Royal Oak aka French St Leger) and for good measure he went on to win the Ascot Gold Cup in 1866 reportedly by 40L.
He has a life sized statue at ParisLongchamp racecourse.
Thanks for the examples APR and LD73
ERL, it is of course of no real importance that G1 horses aren’t commemorated with G1 race titles; it would just be quite nice, that’s all
Yours
Drone – by Sir Gaylord ex Cap and Bells, by Tom Fool
4 starts, 4 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, US$12,825
An imposing gray, Drone was lengthy and strong with a well laid back shoulder, powerful hindquarters and a strong hind leg. He could be faulted for slightly short pasterns and shelly feet. He had a difficult disposition as a stallion. Drone usually passed on good bone and substance but also passed on less than ideal feet
Yep
The 1966 version
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.