Frankel takes starring role
Superstars abound at Royal Ascot tomorrow, but all eyes will be on Frankel when Henry Cecil’s superstar defends his unbeaten record in the St James’s Palace Stakes.
The Galileo colt left the racing world stunned when he made all in astonishing fashion under Tom Queally to claim the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in May, having things wrapped up at halfway to spark applause from the crowd.
Connections resisted the temptation to have a crack at the Investec Derby and stick to a mile for his next assignment, where he faces eight rivals.
Cecil, who picked up a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List at the weekend, said: “I’d love him to continue to be a champion because racing needs horses like Sea The Stars, Mill Reef and Arkle.
“I think it lifts the whole industry as people not really involved begin to catch on and show interest.
“He’s more complicated than most horses. He’s very sensible in most cases, but he does want to get on with things and you’ve just got to ease off a little.
“When you’ve got a horse like him you need to be careful. Every day you dread something happening and you are on tenterhooks, but he is a lovely horse to train.
“I just hope that he’ll go on and continue doing it as well as he has been.
“I’ve had to bring him back from the Guineas carefully. Because of his long stride he gets himself there quicker than a lazy, idle horse.
“He is likely to get a little warm but that’s just because he is slightly highly-strung. I don’t like the fact that he sweats, and he probably will between his back legs, but he does it. I’ve got his full-brother and he does it too.
“He’s actually warm blooded because when it was cold we put a rug on him like we did with all the others and we could see on the CCTV that he was trying to pull it over his head because he was too warm, so now we just give him a sheet.
“Everybody has tried to make out he’s some sort of monster and that’s he’s very highly-strung. He’s not really, he just wants to get on with things.”
However, Cecil is fully aware that nothing in racing is as straightforward as it looks.
He told At The Races: “In any Group One you’ve got to respect the opposition.
“Marco Botti’s horse (Excelebration) has improved from when I beat him at Newbury. I thought Richard Hannon’s horse (Dubawi Gold) was unlucky in Ireland and there’s the Japanese horse (Grand Prix Boss), who I haven’t seen but by all accounts he’s very powerful.
“It’s not going to be easy, but I’d love to see him win and to carry on.
“There’s no such thing as a certainty, but I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t (win).
“I’ve been disappointed many times in my life before, though.”
