Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Picture the scene – you have just won your 14th successive race against the best the world has to offer.
You have secured trophies carrying some of the richest prizes, drawn comparisons with the legendary Usain Bolt and won nearly BD2 million in the process.
Everyone knows your name and even children scream at the television when they see you. Yet you find yourself at a crossroads in your career.
What do you do?
Continue to race and rake in sponsorship and prize money or retire? Surely you would be mad to retire at the peak of your powers?
But you might be swayed if retirement meant going to stud with thousands from around the world willing to pay you BD60,000 per date?
That’s the scenario that is now facing Frankel, the chestnut colt that some are calling the greatest racehorse that ever lived Ö the one some refer to as Usain Colt!
Having secured his 14th successive victory by winning the Champion Stakes at Ascot, his Saudi owner, Prince Khalid Abdulla, is calling time on the racing career of the six-year-old.
Is Frankel the greatest ever? Officially, according to the ranking system, he is not, although it should be noted that this method of appraisal only records the peak performance of the horses. The best horse in modern history is officially the 1986 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner, Dancing Brave.
According to the ratings (introduced in 1977), Dancing Brave was rated at 141, while Frankel shares the 140-rating with Shergar and Alleged. Sea The Stars, another touted by some as the greatest, had a rating of 136. The big difference is that Sea The Stars won over a greater variety of distances and ‘ground’, also winning outside of England. According to some critics this is the weakness in Frankel’s CV.
Dancing Brave, who also carried the silks of Khalid Abdullah, may have won the l’Arc de Triomphe, the King George VI and the 2000 Guineas, but only won eight out of the 10 races he ran in 1985/6.
Frankel won all of his races by a staggering combined distance of over 76 lengths, mixing distance and conditions. Indeed, his final victory was secured after heavy rainfall, defeating the mud-loving specialist, Cirrus Des Aigles. The manner of his victories has been superb. The highest grade of race is Group 1 and Frankel won 10 of these, including nine-in-a-row.
The Queen Anne Stakes victory at Royal Ascot was one race that identified Frankel as a champion-of-champions, beating a strong field by a stunning 11 lengths in front of a 46,000 strong crowd.
However, it was his victory in the 2011 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket that is considered to be his greatest. After six unbeaten starts Tom Quelly, who was the jockey for every one of Frankel’s wins, opened up Frankel early, allowing him to use his immense and powerful stride. A dozen lengths clear by halfway Frankel effectively had the race won at that point.
Frankel’s success also caps a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for his trainer, Henry Cecil. The 10-time champion trainer, and winner of 25 Classics, hit rock bottom in 2005 when he secured only 12 winners with several observers suggesting he should retire. However, the emergence of Frankel has provided a crowning glory for the knighted legend.
How will it all work? Frankel will head for stud at Banstead Manor in Suffolk and his duties will commence in February.
He will be partnered with up to 100 mares per year, each visit securing a fee estimated to be in the region of BD60,000. Providing his libido is good he could cover three mares per day, possibly even four.
However, it can also be dangerous work. If the mare is less than enamoured with the stallion she can kick out, leading to a strong possibility that she can break his leg.
Contracts are usually on a no-foal, no-fee basis meaning that Frankel will have to prove himself all over again. Failure could see him return to the track. If he is successful then his first sons or daughters will take to the racetrack in March 2016 at the earliest. It is only then that the world will know whether his talent has been passed on.
Is it all in the genes? Frankel himself is the son of the 2001 Epsom Derby winner, Galileo, renowned for his stamina, and Kind, famed for her speed in winning six races during her career.
Galileo sired over 70 high-class colts and fillies, including 2008 Epsom winner, New Approach. He himself was the son of the infamous Saddler’s Wells who sired more than 100 European Group One winners.
So what are his physical attributes that set him apart? He has a longer stride than most horses, measured at 22 feet compared to a standard of 20. His top speed was measured at 69kph. To put this into perspective, Usain Bolt was clocked at just under 39kph. However, it is argued that his desire and ‘heart’ set him apart.
As he heads off to his new career, let’s hope, to avoid being kicked by the mares, he has the looks to attract the ladies.
When asked about this, three-time champion jockey Frankie Dettori responded: 'I don’t know, I’ve never seen his face – only his backside!'
