No fireworks as Frankel does enough

ANYTHING less than a perfect replica of the 2000 Guineas was always going to be a disappointment for Frankel fans, but connections issued no cause for alarm as he took his unbeaten record to seven in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Frankel’s display at Newmarket over six weeks ago, when he had broken his rivals by halfway, still takes the breath away and jockey Tom Queally was even more affirmative here, urging the colt to chase his pacemaker Rerouted and sailing clear before the home turn.

He could not maintain his merciless pace to the line, allowing Zoffany to get within three-quarters of a length, but Queally and trainer Henry Cecil maintained Frankel had merely decided he could take it easy for the final furlong.