Frankel, the best racehorse in the world, lived up to all the hype and won the QIPCO Champion Stakes on British Champions Day at Ascot to complete his unbeaten career.
Trained by Sir Henry Cecil and ridden by Tom Queally, Frankel has now won all of his 14 starts. He will now be retired to stud.
The four-year-old son of Galileo was slow to leave the stalls but quickly settled to the outside of the field in fourth place, with his brother and regular lead horse Bullet Train making the pace with the French-trained winner of this race last year, Cirrus Des Aigles.
Queally made his move on Frankel with two furlongs to go and swept past the mud-loving Cirrus Des Aigles to a tremendous roar from the capacity crowd.
But the very soft ground made Frankel work harder than he has usually had to and he couldn’t stretch away in the manner of his dramatic wins at Goodwood and York this summer.
He reached the winning post a comfortable length and three-quarters ahead of the game Cirrus Des Aigles with Nathaniel – who finished second to Frankel in their first ever race as two-year-olds – back in third place.
“He’s the supreme equine athlete,” said Lord Grimthorpe, Frankel’s owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah’s racing manager. “We won’t see his like again.”
Sir Henry Cecil said: “I can’t believe in the history of racing there’s ever been a better racehorse. I’ve enjoyed every moment of training him, although it’s been slightly strenuous at times. He didn’t enjoy the ground, although I think I’ve got him too relaxed now — he had plenty in hand.”
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