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With Frankel (comparitively) struggling to get home today.
Missed the break 4l and on the bridle at the furlong pole, struggled badly – he’d of won the ‘Arc by a length or two on that performance.
given frankel’s superlative lung capacity, and all-round class, I doubt very much he would have had a problem going a mile and a half if they had run him at that distance.
certainly he would have won the derby by five lengths on the snaff ala sea bird, that year if they’d have gone for that, considering the field all finished in a heap.
maybe he’d have been even better over a mile and a half, what a scary thought that is
Forget the rest and just watching Frankel compared to York he was never at anytime traveling like we know he can. He cam from way back there without TQ doing as much as blowing in his ear.
I just watched both videos of him going down to the start and he didn’t look to be as full off himself today as he was at York where he went down like a bouncing ball.
And then he has to be pushed out of the stalls? Normally the second the gate opens he flies out.
It may well be all the crap weather you guys have been having had him feeling not quite himself or maybe it was just the ground but one things for sure he’s run well below par but never at anytime was he in any danger of getting beat.
TQ rode a very sensible race and kept him well balanced rode a race on him, gave him a couple of cracks to make sure but there wasn’t any real need.
Ginger reckons they’d be they’ll be glad the never went to the Arc, I reckon it’s more likely they’ll thinking down the way and be thanking their lucky star they never stayed at a mile. The way Frankel ran today and the way Excelebration performed he might well have had a closer call….the times would indicate Frankel may well have been beaten
However he won despite not being at his glorious best. He was never beaten unlike many other past greats ..Frankel was without doubt a True Champion.
Happy retirement
Sad to see him go but cheer up lads there’s another Superstar from Seven Barrows who will keep us every bit as well entertained through the winter months
I don’t expect my views to meet with much agreement, considering that almost the whole racing community seems to have been brainwashed into believing the Frankel hype. but I thank God this nonsense is now over.
To my way of thinking, he is simply a very good horse at his distance who has beaten everything put in front of him, but I doubt very much the quality of the opposition he has faced (when compared with the great Brigadier Gerard, for example), and I think that connections have been totally unadventurous with him.
No doubt he will go down as "the horse of the century" or "the greatest horse of all time", but to me, that is pure hype designed to boost his stud value.He has never raced beyond 10 furlongs, never raced against a truly international field and never really ever been tested outside his comfort zone, to see what he really would have been capable of.
Good horse yes – greatest horse of all time ? – not in my book.
Behave yourself Hurdygurdy how any times has Frankel wallopped Excellebration? Different tracks, different race tempo. Yet again Excellebration franks the Frankel formline. What a horse Excellebration is had Frankel not been around what would people be saying about him?
Well an enormous thank you to Frankel. He was the horse some people (myself included) wait all their lives to see. Magnificently trained by Sir Henry and coolness to die for from Tom Queally, St James Palace aside.
Frankel was nowhere near his best today. As Hurdygurdy said he missed the break four lengths and never looked happy on the ground. He still comes up to Cirrus Des Aigles a furlong out on the bridle and was actually going away at the line and Cirrus on this ground is an extremely good horse.
It has been a privalege and absolute privalege.
Thank you Frankel!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Sid0fqd_4
Actually…
Looking at RUK’s coverage, Frankel wasn’t stopping, final furlong being fastest of the whole race, which suggests he could’ve gone further than 10f if needs be; even in that ground. However, very much doubt whether Frankel would’ve been at his very best over the Arc trip and ground.Last furlong time does ask the question why Peslier and Buick didn’t go faster early on?
Frankel still wasn’t at his best today, but better than I initially gave him credit for. It also indicates Cirrus Des Aigles put up a carreer best performance in defeat.
Value Is EverythingAn emotionally draining day and I am hoarse now. I have screamed him on 9 times before but never with such passion as today. My children were alongside me. 3 years old on Monday and they were there. They will always be able to say that.
This beautiful horse never lets you down and today was no different. Funnily enough the closer we got to race time, the calmer I got (especially after seeing Frankel’s whipping boy deimate his field in the QEII!)
As for the race. Well he missed the break but it made no difference. He looked like he travelled fine to me (haven’t seen the replay yet). As they turned in I was screaming at Tom "hold him, hold him" and he did. It was vital that he didn’t go too early in that ground and against two out and out stayers who love the mud. Tom timed it to perfection and Frankel was still going away at the end. The relied and elation as he passed the post topped everything that done before.
14 out of 14. The greatest. It is plainly obvious now of course.
Today he showed other qualities that his sheer brilliance have sometimes camoflagued. They could have withdrawn him on that ground but they were brave, their horse was brave. His toughness, his determination to please and run for his life.
Tomorrow I will wake up feeling empty but fulfilled. I need never ask for anything from my racing again. This was it. The ultimate thrill, the ultimate ride.
Thanks Frankel. Thanks Sir Henry. Two legends.
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
I’m sitting here with a sore throat too Joni.
I wasn’t going to make the same mistake I had at York. I got to the course pretty much as they opened the gates, bought myself some race cards and a quick cuppa and by 11.00 am I had ensconced myself on the rail a couple of yards from the winning post. I never moved from the spot once until Frankel had disappeared off to the winners enclosure. Not for the loo, not for a drink and not for anything to eat. I just waited, standing in that spot for five solid hours and it was worth every second! The light was too dull for my lens to cope with so I didn’t get any decent pictures but I saw the climax of every race as close as any spectator can get.
Frankel’s win was sublime. He dropped lengths coming out of the stalls and Tom had to use up plenty of horse to get into a viable racing position. I feared the worst, thinking that mud lark Cirrus would sap his stamina from the front but the bottom line is that Frankel was just too good. He had to run a bit for once but was never in any danger whatsoever. If he hadn’t have missed the break I believe he’d have won by an even bigger margin. What a truly brilliant horse he is.
The biggest thrill of all was listening to the cheer for Sir Henry in the winners enclosure. None of the genuine racing fans attending there were questioning his campaigning of the horse. They love him and they’ve loved his horse’s miraculous journey from novice to the best horse in the world.
How crushing it is for it to have to come to an end. I’ve prayed they might surprise us all and keep him in training for another season but who can complain about their decision? Let’s hope the story is continued and he turns into a sire of equal quality to the race horse he was. One of the very best. The very best I’ve seen by a long, long way.
God bless Sir Henry in his continuing battle against that horrendous illness. I doubt there could be a better tonic for him than the mighty Frankel. A horse in ten million!
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u307/ChristopherPHammond/champion2c.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u307/ChristopherPHammond/champion3c.jpg
Hammy you star!!! 5 hours without moving! That’s dedication my friend!!!
And don’t put yourself down – those photos are brilliant!
You and I will go to bed with a big smile on our faces tonight my friend!
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
I thought Frankel looked dull in his coat today, compared to the Juddmonte where he shone like the star he is. When he fell out of the stalls I feared the worst and cast aside my winning margin folly bet. Mixed emotions regarding the performance, Sir Henry’s health and the fact that he managed to maintain his sequence but I think it was the right time for the horse to sign off. In some respects running the horse in the conditions against a proven top class mudlark answered those who questioned the size of the teams "Cojones" and it contrasted sharply with former "peer" Camelot’s double capitulation that ended his season with a whimper. As I suspected, Nathaniel was no match for his former sparring partner and he has not progressed the way his conqueror has this season. Looking back at his races, I think Frankel looked a much more dominant horse this year than last and it is a shame he was unable to show that as much today but he showed that when the going (literally) gets tough the brilliant can sometimes tough it out as well. My two favourite races were the Queen Anne (slamming a Gp1 horse 11 lengths and the Juddmonte, where he silenced the doubters and dismantled a field over a trip some said he would never tackle)
Good luck Frankel, may all your mares be tighter than your races
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
What a fantastic horse, so relieved he went out unbeaten.
Drops out of the stalls, on ground that wouldn’t see him at his best, and he’s there tanking a furlong from home! Just unreal.
I don’t agree with Cirrus delivering a career best. He was only three lengths ahead of Nathaniel, on ground they both relish. I’d say he ran to his mark. Frankel wasn’t ridden to break rating records, he was delivered in the most appropriate way, the jockey easing him to the front before putting the race beyond doubt inside the final furlong. All that was required.
The most exciting thing about this horse is that he can put up performances worthy of a 140 rating with absolute ease. We will never see a horse with the raw ability of Frankel again in our lifetimes.
Particularly enjoyed Hammy and Joni’s contributions… But if only non-racing people would read this thread. They’d realise most of us love racing because of the "racing". Betting is only a small part of it, sometimes only a minute part of it.
Great stuff.
Value Is EverythingWe will never
see
a horse with the raw ability of Frankel again in our
lifetimes
.
Does that mean we’ll
see
one after our
deaths
SDO? Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Value Is EverythingHaha! Thanks for that.
I’ve watched the replay so many times tonight. The BBC side camera angle of the Frankel still on the bridle when about half a length up is amazing to watch.
I didn’t have butterflies in my stomach during the build up to the race, I had flocks of pigeons instead!
What a wonderful performance from Frankel. I felt as though he wasn’t at his best and his win wasn’t as visually striking as some of his others. But it was a performance that was reminiscent and close in spirit to Desert Orchid’s Gold Cup triumph. The relief I felt as Frankel passed the winning line was so cleansing for the soul.
Frankel has broke the thoroughbred mould.
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