Frankel's class leaves rivals in wake

Perth Turf Talk | Australian Racing | Thu 23 August, 2012

THEY came from far and wide to be among the 30,000 on the Knavesmire and weren't disappointed.

From all walks of life, all codes of sport, the infant and the infirm, they descended on the former site of public hangings to celebrate two public heroes.

Neither let them down. Frankel dismissed yet more top-class opposition in the Juddmonte International with an authority unimpaired by an alien distance. His trainer, Sir Henry Cecil bore the ravages of his cancer treatment with poignant dignity and drew tumultuous applause simply for being present.

Cecil, too weak to go racing since June, wore an unfamiliar trilby and needed the support of a stick. He is painfully thin and, during the preliminaries, looked as if he longed to be alone. Yet afterwards, his voice barely above a whisper, he said that the day had made him feel "twenty years better".

We may never know quite what a tonic and inspiration Frankel has been to Cecil but it is safe to say an already colourful life has been immeasurably enhanced. Safe, too, to conclude that Frankel is the Flat horse of all our lifetimes.

Desert Orchid, Best Mate and Kauto Star have corralled huge public followings with their enduring exploits over fences but the summer code finds such enchantments elusive. The cleverest marketing cannot create a celebrity horse. Only unique talent can do that.

It is not quite the end of an ardent affair but days like this will soon be a cherished memory. Frankel's connections were careful not to dismiss international options, notably the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, but he will probably be retired to stud after one further race, in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on October 20.

Tom Queally, on board for all 13 of his wins, is pining already. "He's not even gone yet and I'm missing him," he said in a clamorous winner's enclosure. "Words can't describe what we are dealing with here."

Queally had felt the heady rhythms of the day while still in his car, gridlocked on the streets of York. "I hope that's the end of my traffic problems," he said, referring to the expected tactical battle with a three-horse team from the Irish stable of Aidan O'Brien.

For Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to Prince Khalid Abdullah, the owner of Frankel, this was a day of dual responsibilities, as he also chairs the York committee.

"I don't know who scripted this day but it has the makings of an epic, one way or another," he said.

Not for the first time, Frankel had travelled in advance, spending Tuesday night under secure guard in the racecourse stables. From early morning, his supporters began arriving and, long before noon, the course was a hectic hubbub.

I met a family who had travelled from America just to see this fable animal and a group of scrapworkers from Lancashire who had taken the day off. Henry Daly, a jumps trainer who would not normally cross the road for a Flat meeting, had been persuaded to bring his entire family.

Mick Kinane, who rode the last great horse of this era, Sea The Stars, was here in retirement. And Brendan Foster, fresh from Olympics heroics, came to compare athletes. "I've been commentating on Usain Bolt and Mo Farah," he said. "I want to look at this horse and put him in perspective."

Prince Khalid struck the first blow against his Coolmore rivals when Dundonnell took the Pinsent Masons LLP Acomb Stakes but he suffered disappointment in the following race. Noble Mission, younger brother of Frankel, could not respond to an enterprising front-running ride by William Buick on Thought Worthy in the Neptune Investment Management Great Voltigeur Stakes.

And so to the main course, and a build-up of breathless anticipation. Frankel was given a police escort to the saddling boxes where Cecil, still wearing his lucky blue shirt and socks, closed the door on predatory cameras.

Every space on terraces around the parade ring was taken and, up above, people stood on rubbish bins and hung from railings for some sort of view. Frankel was cheered wherever he went and, in contrast to his boisterous youth, he looked totally relaxed.

That demeanour never left him in the race. Robin Hood and Windsor Palace attempted a relay of pace-setting for their exalted stablemate, St Nicholas Abbey, but could never travel fast enough to take Frankel out of his comfort zone. Queally brought him to the stands' side, took up the running two furlongs out and put the prize beyond doubt within strides.

"It puts it into context to see a horse like St Nick struggle like that," Queally said. "He was cooked when I went past him. Frankel has been an amazing part of my career and you don't get a feel like that riding at Wolverhampton."

As a record first-day Ebor crowd filed away, the wonder of the day was summed up by Kieren Fallon. The six-times champion had just ridden the last-race winner but he was speaking of Frankel. "He's just different," he said, shaking his head. "Not like a racehorse at all, more like a machine."

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