Why Frankel will rule the world

[LD73]

Well I had a double up on Without Parole & Monarchs Glen so that has paid for my whole week and a little more – Dettori rode for luck and got it whilst Mirage Dancer from the home turn was give an average ride, although I think 12F is his correct trip.

[Jonibake]

Brilliant stuff LD congratulations!!! I picked the wrong one as you probably know. I DID say that James MacDonald needed to have his wits about him and of course he didn’t. Missed the break, then tried to come wide in the straight and got blocked. Frankie was right behind him all the way and took the gamble which paid off. Really pleased for Monarch’s Glen though as he has always been a talented horse, just a bit of a hot-head! Maybe they’ll think about the Eclipse with him now…?

But what about Without Parole?!! He was so brave to hold on as they had gone so quick and he was the only one to see it out from those that went with the pace. He is an absolute stunner to look at – a mini version of his dad – and his future must look bright now as this was only his 4th run. I guess it will be the Sussex next but I reckon we will see him over 10f at some point – maybe next year.

So the dream start for Frankel. 2 races, 2 winners. Roll on tomorrow!!!

"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"

[Devonian]

Great stuff indeed.

Would like to see Without Parole follow the Frankel path and clean up in the mile division before stepping up to 10 furlongs next year. Why not follow exactly in Dad’s footsteps from here and retire unbeaten ?

Good to see the school bad lad back to winning ways. I am sure there is a Group 1 in him if on best behaviour. Shame they had to remove his plums to get the best out of him.

[chaos50]

What a great day for Frankel, 3 winners with Phantasmic winning at Beverley. He is now the leading sire of Group 1’s in Europe this year.

Joni, as for EMINENT i do worry that he’s back so soon after the heart problem at Chester.

All comers, all ground, all beaten

[LD73]

Monarch’s Glen is always going to need a strong pace and fast ground and even today’s race he was at one stage starting to take a hold but Gosden said he just wants to get on with things and even taking his boys away hasn’t done much to kurb that.

An Eclipse (depending on who turns up) maybe a bridge too far for him but I could quite easily see him doing well in the US (more than likely guaranteed to get the fast conditions he loves) and we know both Gosden & Abdullah are not opposed to sending horses over there to further their career.

WP’s win yesterday was more impressive than the margin suggests as the 2nd & 3rd came from well off a brutal pace whereas he was on the sharp end from the start – I don’t think they will be in any rush to go 10f and the Sussex seems the logical next step for him but the further into the year we get the more likely the ground will turn against him (races like the Moulin & QE2).

I think after the Sussex they could look at giving him a break and maybe training him for a BC Mile (again ground would likely be what he needs and his owners are American as well) and then look to keep him in training and go Lockinge, POW, Eclipse & Juddmonte route.

I was fortunate enough to be at Sandown to see him in the Heron Stakes and it was noticeable that he was on the tubby side but he was so laid back walking around considering it was only his 3rd race and there was a big crowd around the paddock and Joni you are right in that he is a mini me of his sire. I expect him to have learned an awful lot from yesterday and he could very well take another big step forward and I would be amazed if his rating doesn’t reach the mid to high 120s come years end.

Just hope that Cracksman is fully over his Epsom exertions and can gives us all the wow moment later today and I am really looking forward to seeeing how Sun Maiden gets on in the Ribblesdale, think it could be a big ask for her but it would be kind of nice if Sir Michael were to pass his friend and great rival Sir Henry to become Royal Ascot’s winning most trainer with a Frankel half sister to Midday.

[LD73]

Interesting to note that Gosden revealed: “Without Parole came back from the St James’s Palace Stakes with a cut on his leg after a rival struck into him at the end of the first furlong and pulled off one of his hind shoes.

[Jonibake]

After the disappointment of Cracksman yesterday, Frankel is right back on track with yet another stakes winner in France as Frankel Light makes all under an excellent front-running ride from Boudot. A very promising filly.

"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"

[Triptych]

Just back from my hols in time for day 3 at Royal Ascot and hope you had a great 2 days there paddock watching Joni and looks as though you made a few bookies have shivers down their spine when they saw you coming tbeir way .. Great write up on the prospects and so pleased to see Frankel making his mark at Royal Ascot with 3 winners now.
Knew the writing was on the wall for Cracksman as soon as JG mentioned he was welcoming the fillies home from the previous race..he just didn’t have his mind on the race, similar with OOSG today who made Ryan Moore work hard just getting to post.
Kicking myself for not backing Monarch’s Glen yesterday I let the Racing Post analysis put me off him instead of following my heart like I usually do but today I did just that and backed Baghdad who did Frankel proud and although his half brother First Eleven was unlucky in running I don’t think he would have caught him..the are both winners in my mind..Frankel rules at Royal Ascot Jac

Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...

[chaos50]

Another great day for Frankels, with so many runners today he has a great chance of ending up the meeting as the top sire. After the disappointment of last years RA this has been better than expected.

Hope you enjoyed your holiday Jac i have to disagree about First Eleven, he would have won and that was FD’S mistake in getting boxed in.

All comers, all ground, all beaten

[Triptych]

Looking at it again I think he possibly could have Chaos but to my eye he just didn’t have the speed when needed to get through before Jim Crowley (travelling better at the time) closed the gap. He then picked up speed when switched and was flying home but of course it was too late. Lessons learnt from what Joni is always saying about keeping the Frankels up with the pace, it’s where they do their best work.
I’ve always liked Baghdad he seems a genuine little horse to me and Mark Johnston always seems to keep his best horse under his extremely large topper. Nice to see him get one on the board this week, remember when he used to dominate the meeting and also what’s happened to Richard Hannon who is yet to score..not sure if he has any Frankels’ lurking in his yard but surely time to bring them out on stage if he has.. Jac

Thanks Chaos I had a very nice holiday, will need another one after all these late nights studying up the Royal Ascot cards..LOL

Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...

[Jonibake]

Welcome back Jac!! Hope you had a lovely break? Great to have you back!!

It’s been an amazing week so far. Yesterday I was delighted for Baghdad obviously but gutted as I had First Eleven as the last leg of my accumulator. What might have been….. But it’s only money and my overriding feeling this week is of delight as Frankel proves the doubters wrong once again. I fancy doing a full write up on all the RA runners after the week is done so the kids will have to play by themselves on Sunday ;)

Baghdad was one of 3 winners for Frankel yesterday (remember he rules the world so he has runners everywhere!) In France Frankel Light won a listed race and she is well on her way to competing in group races and in Ireland Spanish Point was a convincing winner of his maiden. There will be lots of fun to be had with him over further.

Today he has 7 runners – the 6 at Ascot and the brilliant Al Jazeera in France. Very interesting to see all the money that has come for Veracious. She was 16’s earlier this week and is now about 7’s. She is obviously very highly regarded so will be fascinating to see how she goes. Fingers crossed for another great day for Frankel and hopefully he can secure the crown of Leading Royal Ascot Sire!!

"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"

[Triptych]

Thanks Joni and look forward to your Royal Ascot blog always a very interesting and informative read.
It’s been such a great meeting.

Veracious is my Nap of the day and hoping to see her in the winners enclosure this afternoon so happy that our lad is doing so well in so many different countries.

Noted Betty F is running in the Sandringham Stakes and I will be having a small saver on her at 16’s but my heart is always with Tajaanus hugely overpriced at 25/1 to produce her scintillating form of last season and give Richard Hannon his first Royal Ascot winner,

Francesca Cumani said yesterday how Frankel stamps his stock in so many different ways as she was looking at Silver Quartz and then Baghdad…
For me it’s like having a beautiful garden and watching it mature…as one bloom fades another is in bud and ready to burst into colour to make you smile and brighten your day..Frankel is the ‘Capability Brown’ of the thoroughbred world Jac

Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...

[chaos50]

FRANKEL is the top sire this year at RA

All comers, all ground, all beaten

[chaos50]

Frankel has now had 100 winners from 168 runners

YOU ALONE and GUILD won today.

All comers, all ground, all beaten

[Jonibake]

100 winners Chaos!! And many hundreds more to come…

A bit later than promised but here are my thoughts on last week.

Well hopefully the last remaining doubters were silenced as Frankel was crowned Champion Sire at Royal Ascot in the first year where he had eligible runners in all races. A remarkable week where 10 of his 18 runners won or made the frame, 12 out of 18 ran to RPR’s of over 100 (with 2 more running to 98 and 99) and where he produced another Group 1 winner to bring his tally to 4. Here are my write ups for all the Frankel’s at RA:

Without Parole – Winner St James Palace Stakes (121) – what a start to the week that was. I was one of many who doubted whether he was good enough to handle the huge step up in class but he proved everyone wrong with a performance that combined talent with bravery. Following the suicidal pace of US Navy Flag, he quickened at the top of the straight and hit the front probably earlier than Frankie would have wanted. Watching from the stands, I was sure he was going to be nabbed as Gustav Klint came at him a furlong out. But he stuck on gamely to win by a length in a fast time with a big gap back to the 3rd. We can now wonder if he would have won the Guineas as the runner-up there was well beaten. Personally I am not sure he would have been ready to beat Saxon Warrior even if he hadn’t been injured but what we DO know is that we have a proper Group 1 horse to go to war with. The Sussex will be next I would think.

Mirage Dancer – 5th Wolferton (112) – given a poor ride I felt. I wrote before the race about how James MacDonald needed to be on his game as MD is not a horse that quickens and so he needed to be very handy and try and kick on at the top of the straight on a horse that gets 12f well. He found himself trapped on the inside and then tried to come wide finding trouble in running. He was running on at the end but the race was gone. He will be back at Newmarket for the Group 2 Princess of Wales Stakes and that should be more to his liking. He is definitely a Group horse in the making but he does need riding well.

Monarch’s Glen – winner Wolferton (121) – kicking myself for not backing him this time because he always had the ability to win this race IF he didn’t do what he did at Meydan and get all worked up. Frankie followed James but took the gamble of sticking to the inside as they turned in. The gamble paid off as a gap appeared (oh if only Frankie had done the same thing later in the week!! More of that later) and he quickened clear to win well. A pretty big performance as he was carrying a double penalty and that RPR is the same earned by many of the Group 1 winners last week. I was really pleased for the horse obviously and I am sure we will see him step back up to Group company next time. They might even have a look at the Eclipse…

Nelson – 3rd Queens Vase (104) – he really was asked to do a lot wasn’t he? I can’t really complain as I’ve been on at jockeys to ride the Frankel’s more aggressively but perhaps Donnocha took it a bit TOO far. He did really well to stick on for 3rd behind an impressive winner and Donnocha was full of praise for him after saying that he thought he’d make up into a cup horse next year as, despite the ferocious gallop, his stride never shortened. We have all seen how well he handles cut so don’t write him off for the Leger JUST yet. If it got boggy he would definitely come in to the reckoning.

Cracksman – 2nd Prince Of Wales (121) – I was gutted to see him get beat and have read lots about the race since. There are so many different opinions on what happened. JG thinks he has become lazy. Frankie thinks he is not the same horse. Some of the speed-figure guys are even arguing that it was a perfectly decent performance on the clock and that he was just beaten by a speedier horse over that trip on that ground. I hear that argument but, for me, there is something not quite right when a horse is being niggled at after one furlong as he has been in his last two races. His class got him though at Epsom but it wasn’t enough here. I am not actually saying that he would necessarily reverse the form with Poet’s Word given the same race conditions as there was always a doubt that 10f on fast ground would suit him as well as 12f on softer ground BUT the Coronation was run with those conditions and he produced a similar performance. I have to say that the winner looked magnificent in the paddock and could well be on the up (he wouldn’t be the first older horse to improve for the great Sir Michael Stoute – another who silenced his doubters) but it is certainly going to test all of Gosden’s skills as a trainer to find a way of coaxing the best out of Cracksman. The King George will still probably be the target as Anthony Oppenheimer desperately wants to win that race but there is certainly plenty for the horse to do now to prove that he is more than just a very good horse capable of being brilliant only on soft ground.

Eminent – 5th Prince Of Wales (99) – another disappointing run from a horse that is regressing. Martyn Meade seems a very nice man but he doesn’t help himself by bigging up this horse every time he runs. He creates unnecessary expectation and, unfortunately, the horse seems to let him down more often than not. I would do a Henry Cecil trick with Eminent now; run him in a listed or conditions race and try to give him back some confidence. Then you could always try him in that Group 2 at York over 10f in August. Maybe I’ve missed something and the horse isn’t right but he is certainly not one to trust. A shame after he promised so much last season.

Wadilsifa – 9th Hampton Court (98) – I was disappointed with how he ran but having watched the race again he was a bit keen and was forced to run wide throughout. Still, I thought he ran a bit flat and didn’t really show much in the straight. Back to the drawing board and I suspect we won’t see him running on ultra quick ground again.

Silver Quartz – 12th Hampton Court (82) – looked outclassed and probably needs to be running in handicaps.

Sun Maiden – 3rd Ribblesdale (105) – ran an absolute stormer for one so inexperienced and showed she belonged in this grade. She had a terrible draw and was a bit keen in the first couple of furlongs but she eventually settled and ran on really well down the straight. Obviously the winner won easily and SM has some improving to do but it was interesting to read Sir Michael’s words after saying that she still had a lot of growing to do to fill her frame and that she is going to be a very good horse in time. Very exciting for the future and hopefully we will see her in something like the Lancashire Oaks next.

First Eleven – 3rd King George V (103) – forgive me but I am still waking up in cold sweats about this race. I lost money at Royal Ascot but I would have been thousands up if this one hadn’t got caught in all that traffic. He was my bet of the week and the last leg of an accumulator. Of course that is racing and I have to take it on the chin but he WAS desperately unlucky. If only Frankie had been as brave as he had been on Monarch’s then it would have been different but he came wide and bloody Jim Crowley wouldn’t let him out. JC was within his rights of course but my god I was cursing that man for the next few hours!! Anyway – my personal misfortune aside – he ran a great race and is a very exciting middle-distance prospect for the rest of this season and next. He is a gorgeous looking horse and I think we will see him eventually running in group races. Hopefully there will be recompense down the line.

Bagdad – winner King George V (101) – I told you that my family love this horse as he is named after my dad and it was great that my disappointment at First Eleven was tempered by the fact that another Frankel won it. I was just livid with myself for not backing him! He always looked well handicapped but then so did several others. He never knows when he is beaten this horse and I am sure there will be other big days for him though I am not sure he has quite the scope of the 3rd.

Rostropovic – 2nd King Edward VII (109) – ran an absolute stormer and proved he stays 12f. He is one who likes quick ground and I think we might just see him go over to the States and run in some of the Grade 1 races over there like the Arlington Million – rather like Treasure Beech did a season or two ago. I think his style will be suited to races over there and he could make hay.

Gidu – 5th Commonwealth Cup (107) – another who ran a great race. I must confess I took my eyes off him 2 out as I had backed Sands Of Mali and thought that Gidu was fading so I was really surprised when I saw he had finished 5th. I’m convinced they should have run him in the Jersey as I think the 6f was a bit on the short side. He might not have beaten Expert Eye but he might have finished 2nd. Thanks to Twitter I have been able to tell the owner directly that they should bring him back next year for the Queen Anne. The owner hasn’t yet responded funnily enough. He is a big, beautiful specimen and I really hope we DO see him again next year.

Veracious – 3rd Coronation Stakes (104) – wow what a run! First time out in a Group 1 – so unlike Sir Michael – but she proved that she belonged in that company even if she was beaten a long way by that Irish machine!! Again, could we argue that she would have won the Guineas but for that injury? All the Newmarket protagonists were behind her last week… I’ve written before that Frankel may struggle to get Classic winners as his progeny need a bit too much time to be competitive in those early season races but what is certain is that this one will be running in Group 1 races from now and, if she can avoid the machine, may even win one.

Qazyna – 8th Sandringham (83) – this was the most disappointing race of the week for Frankel as I genuinely thought all 3 had a chance. This one travelled really well but didn’t let herself down on the ground. She is a big, strong filly who will be seen in a better light when the rains come.

Betty F – 17th Sandringham (63) – never really looked like getting involved and is another who has failed to meet the expectations set by her trainer.

Ganayem – 15th Sandringham (62) – maybe I am clutching at straws but this one had had two quite tough runs and looked like she ran flat. That win on soft ground a few days before might just have taken its toll. I think she will be given a bit of a rest and may come back stronger later.

Count Octave – 3rd Queen Alexandra (103) – ran really well and proved he stays that long trip. They could have some fun with him in staying handicaps and he may even develop into a group horse one day.

So there we have it. A great week with the usual highs and lows but overall extremely positive. Frankel now sits 2nd in the table of leading sires behind only his dad despite having way fewer runners than most of the other leading sires. Of course he still has some way to go to get anyway near daddy but this was a start and there is the promise of lots, lots more to come…..

"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"

[Gingertipster]

I was sceptical about Gosden saying Cracksman got coltish when the fillies came back from the previous race, but have seen a you-tube clip which confirms it. So might have been a contributory factor. I do think he’s lazy though. Hope Johnny G puts the blinkers on him for the King George.

Value Is Everything

[Gingertipster]

Great write up Joni, agree with the vast majority.

Think you’re being a bit tough on Martyn Meade though.
Eminent’s last four starts:
Eminent won the Group 2 in good style in France.
Then beaten just 2 1/4 lengths in last year’s Irish Champion, with Poet’s Word just 1 3/4 lengths in front of him.
This season:
Returned with a fibrillating heart on reappearance.
Then, last week getting in to a pace duel with Hawkbill. A race you can forget for the pair.

ie If in a race where Eminent is likely to get an uncontested lead I’d expect a far better performance.

Value Is Everything

[Author]

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