Roderic the each-way alternative to Frankel

THE odds on offer for Frankel in this afternoon's Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket fall below those that appeal to the average betting shop punter and so much of the concentration on the season's first Classic must surround the effort to find the value against the raging hot favourite.

If St Nicholas Abbey was deserving of his place as the even-money favourite in last year's race then it's hard to argue that Frankel, officially higher rated as a juvenile and with a prep run under his belt, is not worthy of his current quotes.

It's fine to proffer that he was workmanlike on his reappearance in the Greenham but he pulled hard in the early stages of the race and yet found plenty as he stretched clear of his rivals in the closing stages.