QIPCO
BRITISH CHAMPIONS DAY 2012
RACENEWS
RACECOURSE SERVICE
ASCOT,
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20
FIFTH
RACE WINNING QUOTES
QIPCO
CHAMPION STAKES (GROUP 1)
FRANKS
FOR THE MEMORIES
Owner
Prince Khalid Abdulla confirmed that Frankel had run his last race after the
greatest horse of modern times made it 14 wins from as many starts in the
QIPCO Champion Stakes.
The
four-year-old appeared not to relish the testing underfoot conditions but
still held off last year's winner Cirrus Des Aigles to score by a length and
three-quarters.
"That
is the end of it and he will retire to stud now. Today was important because
it was his last race," said Abdulla. "I knew he was going to win
beforehand and I think he would have been further in front of the other
horses if it hadn't been for the ground."
Abdulla's
racing manager, Teddy Grimthorpe, added "Frankel is the greatest and he
has brought a whole new generation of people and a wider audience to the
sport. He's the ultimate equine athlete. He's been important because he has
brought the sport from the back pages of the papers to the front pages.
Hopefully a new generation of interest he has spawned will be a fantastic
legacy
"This
was a career-defining performance. He was slowly away but the great thing is
that he is so relaxed and he got into a rhythm again. He's unhustled and
relaxed and he had a trouble-free run into the straight. I was confident that
he'd put the race to bed and that's what he did.
"I
was worried last night when everybody kept ringing me to tell me how much
rain there had been at Ascot but Henry was insistent that he would run. When
I walked the track this morning I was more than happy. If you watched the
race before (won by Excelebration, who had finished behind Frankel five
times) it tells you what kind of class he is. Then to beat Cirrus Des Aigles
and Nathaniel at their optimum distance was a star performance.
"Prince
Khalid has said that he has run his last race and I think that's the correct
decision in every way. He was a champion at two, three and four and if you
haven't made your mind up about him now then you never will.
"Henry's
re-emergence as a trainer is not just one of the greatest stories in sport
but one of the all-time great stories generally. He's has come back from the
Conference to the Champions' League and Henry is a master of his profession.
He is very determined and his handling of this horse is masterly. He was
determined to do the right thing by the horse and taught him to settle, which
you saw today.
"We
must also mention Thomas P Queally. They have grown into one of the great
sporting partnerships."
Frankel
is set to stand as a stallion at Prince Khalid's Banstead Manor Stud in
Cheveley, near Newmarket, and Grimthorpe added: "I won't miss him
because he'll be 200 yards from my office! He'll let down first back at
Warren Place Stables and come to Banstead Manor when he's ready. He's been on
high octane fuel so it's a gradual letting-down process and when everyone is
happy he'll come to the stud.
"Interest
in him as a stallion has been worldwide and I mean from every part of the
world. The next process is to decide on a stud fee which Prince Khalid and
(the stud's general manager) Philip Mitchell will do. People wanting to breed
to the horse will send their mares' CVs in and Prince Khalid will send his
best mares that suit. They will also decide how many outside mares will go to
him. It would be good to get a good breadth of mares in terms of size, scope
and pedigree and that is an ongoing process."
Fifth
race - QIPCO Champion Stakes
Quotes
FRANKEL'S
CONSISTENCY MARK OF A GREAT, SAYS HANDICAPPER
Frankel
did not annihilate his rivals in the QIPCO Champion Stakes, but his
performance was that of a horse who consistently runs to a very high mark.
That
was the overriding element that should be taken from today's race, said
senior BHA handicapper Phil Smith when reflecting on the Group One contest.
He could not say Frankel's final rating will be the highest of all time - the
figure will be decided at a conference later this year - but in terms of
stellar performances Smith said he had never known a horse who could achieve
top-class marks every time he ran.
Smith
said: "He's won nine Group One races, is the first horse to produce two
140 performances - in the Queen Anne Stakes and Juddmonte International at
two different distances - and his consistency is the element that
handicappers love to see.
"He
has been metronomic, giving performance of 130-plus over and over again. The
conditions were not helpful today but he has put up another 130-plus effort.
The ground concerned us all, and I think back to great horses of yesteryear,
Brigadier Gerard being the obvious one, who were all out to win on this type
of ground against significantly inferior horses. Frankel certainly wasn't
running against significantly inferior horses today - they were some of the
best he has faced and yet he still went past them looking like a champion.
"It
will be a very easy contest to rate, compared to some of his races because
they have finished in the order we hoped they would. Frankel was on 140,
Cirrus Des Aigles on 130, Nathaniel on 126 and so on. That helps us - the
distance between the second and third was two and a half lengths, and we
would call that 4lb over this distance so you would have to think they have
run to their maximum.
"Then
you have to assess the one and three-quarter lengths by which Frankel beat
Cirrus Des Aigles - I think he was value for a little more than that,
although he wasn't as extravagant as in some of his other wins. I believe
there was a little in the tank and that he was value for two and a half lengths
and possibly more, which makes Frankel's run today a 134-plus performance.
"We
just don't get that level so consistently. Five years ago, in 2007, there was
not a single 130-plus performance in the world, yet this horse does it time
and again. Last year there were two horses in the world rated 130-plus,
namely Frankel and Black Caviar, and Frankel has done it again this year.
I've never seen a horse who is so consistent. He never throws in a below-par
performance.
"His
final rating is not purely a BHA decision, but an international handicappers'
decision, which will be discussed at the end of the year in Hong Kong among
20 handicappers. After today his 140-rating won't change, however it could go
up, it could conceivably go down at that conference, although that is
unlikely."
Asked
if Excelebration's win in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes could have a bearing
on Frankel's mark, Smith's colleague, Dominic Gardiner-Hill said
Excelebration did not run to his true mark in the Queen Anne Stakes when
trounced by Frankel. Excelebration was rated 125 before today's victory, but
Gardiner-Hill said he could nudge 130 after today's race is assessed.
Frankel's
top-speed 37.5mph
Statistics
provided by TurfTRax show Frankel's top speed in the QIPCO Champion Stakes
was 37.5mph and the fastest single furlong he ran was from the 3f to 2f
marker - he covered that distance in 12 seconds dead.
FIFTH
RACE - QIPCO CHAMPION STAKES
WINNING
QUOTES
MORE
QUEALLY QUOTES
Tom
Queally continued his wonderful association with Frankel when steering the
world's best racehorse to his 14th and final victory in the Group One QIPCO
Champion Stakes at Ascot this afternoon.
Although
the Frankel conceded a couple of lengths at the start, Queally rode the son
of Galileo with the confidence we have come to expect from the 28-year-old,
producing him for an easy length and three-quarter success over Cirrus Des
Aigles.
Queally
said: "I'm really proud of Frankel and we have been on an amazing
journey. He was slowly away at York and he was a little bit slower today but
I have so much belief in the horse and I suppose that we have pushed that to
the limit in the past but he is amazing. We lost a length at the start but a
length is nothing to him.
"It's
fair to say that he is better on better ground but the 4x4 kicked in and he
is everything that you could imagine in a horse. He didn't really enjoy the
ground - he didn't bounce of it like he can do - but that shows you what sort
of horse we are dealing with. Under the circumstances I would say it's up
there with his best performances.
"Frankel
is the biggest chapter in my life and it's great that it has happened. Sir
Henry (Cecil) has had some great jockeys and for me to be there at that time
when the horse of a lifetime comes along is just amazing.
"I
can think of harder things than being Frankel's jockey on the grand scale of
things. There is pressure but there is pressure in all walks of life and I
would gladly take it all on board - the chances of me being the guy on board
or even the chances of a horse like him coming along.
"I
am by no means at all a showman but it unusual for a Flat crowd to get behind
a horse - you come in and say to yourself "wow". That sums the
horse up in every way.
"Connections
had to make the call whether to run and it was the right one. I am just proud
to be associated with him - I am fortunate, privileged. My family are here
and it's nice for them too. Everyone at Warren Place is like a big family
that pulls together and everyone gets a kick out of it.
"I
don't get too nervous because I am so close to it and have control over
what's going on, but I can imagine what some of the other people were
feeling. It's a big thing and you can see how much it means to people."
"I
could stand here and talk to all night about what he means to me and I am
very proud to be associated with him. I went down an extra 100y yards in
front of the stands to let the crowd soak it all in and so I could have
another 20 seconds on his back."
Fifth
race: The QIPCO Champion Stakes
Placed
quotes
NO
DISGRACE FOR CIRRUS
After
running the great Frankel close, in what has proved to be his final race, the
Group One QIPCO Champion Stakes, Cirrus Des Aigles' trainer, Corine
Barande-Barbe, said: "I heard that the British public were worried that
we could beat him (Frankel) - I thought maybe that we could win but Frankel
is the best. There is no disgrace in being beaten by Frankel."
Cirrus
des Aigles, who won this race last year, will continue his racing career in
2013, with the trainer adding: "He (Cirrus Des Aigles)will decide when
we run again - we will continue with our travelling."
Olivier
Peslier, who rode the one-and-three-quarter length second, added:" He
went very well with two furlongs to go I thought we have a chance we have to
make him (Frankel) fight. Cirrus Des Aigles fought very well."
John
Gosden, trainer of the third home Nathaniel, reflected: "I am thrilled
with the result. I think that is what we all wanted. I love the way Frankel
came in but he had to race in the end - in the last half furlong he was
having a race. What a great horse."
On his
own charge the trainer said: "Nathaniel has done everything, a mile and
a quarter and a mile and a half, fast groundsoft ground. He's run a great
race and has had a great season. He's just always run great races. He's a
very genuine, proper racehorse. He is now off to stud at Newsells Park."
BARNETT
DELIGHTED
There
was a sell-out attendance of 32,348 at Ascot today, compared to 26,749 last
year.
Charles
Barnett, Ascot's Chief Executive, commented: "It's great to get a
sellout crowd in only the second year of QIPCO British Champions Day. It was
fantastic to see Frankel confirm himself the best horse in the world at any
trip and on any ground.
"It
has been a tremendous year for British racing and we have seen champions like
Frankel and Black Caviar here this year and thanks to the connections of
those horses in particular for their support through the year."
BOOKMAKERS
APPRECIATE FRANKEL'S EFFORTS
Frankel,
who ended his career today with his 14th consecutive victory in the QIPCO
Champion Stakes today at odds of 2/11, has been sent off favourite every time
he has been to the racecourse.
The
only time he was sent off odds against was when he beat Nathaniel on his
debut at odds of 7/4 at Newmarket in August 2010, but bookmakers have been
surprisingly thankful for his resounding contribution to racing.
Paddy
Power said: "Frankel has cost us about £5 million over the course of his
career which averages out at around £360,000 per run.
"But
it's been money very well spent as he has increased the profile of the Sport
of Kings immeasurably and hopefully attracted many new fans to our amazing
game."
David
Williams of Ladbrokes said: "We roared him home with all the punters. It
scarcely matters a jot that he's emptied our satchels once again.
"He's the best thing we've
had to promote our sport to a whole new audience and we're so grateful for
that. Frankel will be remembered fondly by the bookies."
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