Arguably the greatest racehorse to set foot on a British racetrack, Frankel has gotten off to an explosive start with his first runners.
Frankel – big winners
The unbeaten son of Galileo, and highest rated horse in Timeform history – Frankel was rated 147 and has an impressive 16 group/graded winners from his first two crops.
This tally includes impressive Gr1 Qipco Champion Stakes winnner Cracksman, rated 130 on the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings in 2017. Somewhat unlucky not to win a European Derby, Cracksman has three group wins to his credit, and ended his season with a treble of group race victories-by an aggregate of 16.5 lengths!
The late Sir Henry Cecil with Frankel at Royal Ascot
While Frankel benefitted from covering some truly exceptional broodmares, there can be no quibbling over his impressive statistics.
He is siring nearly 10% stakes winners to foals, the hallmark of a top sire in the modern era, and this record looks sure to increase with a number of lightly raced 3yo’s of promise. In comparison, Frankel’s legendary sire Galileo is siring 11% stakes winners to foals.
Frankel’s first two crops have, so far, produced 26% black type performers to runners
Of Frankel’s first 16 group winners, 14 are out of mares by different stallions. Kingmambo features as the broodmare sire of Frankel’s high class Gr2 winning son Eminent and Gr3 Prix Daphnis winner Last Kingdom.
Inbreeding to Sadler’s Wells appears in the pedigrees of Eminent, Last Kingdom, and Gr3 Classic Trial winner Cunco – Frankel’s first ever runner and first ever winner.
Frankel looks on track to build on his impressive start in 2018. The champion, whose triple Gr1 winning brother Noble Mission will be represented by his first two-year-olds this year, has another well bred crop of three-year-olds representing him this season.
So what are the chances that Frankel will have a first English classic winner this year?
Among his potential Classic contenders this year are:
Elarqam c Frankel –Attraction
Truly bred in the purple, Elarqam (whose Dubawi half-brother made 1.35 million guineas at Tattersalls October Sale last year) is currently rated as the third betting choice for the first British classic of the season, the QIPCO 2000 Guineas – a race Frankel won so impressively in 2011. Unbeaten in two starts, the colt ended his campaign with a fluent two and a quarter length win in the Gr3 Tattersalls Stakes over 1400m at Newmarket. The form is tricky to assess with the runner up Tip Two Win having gone on to win twice in Qatar.
However, third home Tangled (beaten 2.3 lengths by Elarqam) did finish a half length back in the Gr3 Horris Hill Stakes subsequently. Tangled has since been well beaten in his two other outings in 2018.
Should Elarqam win the 2018 2000 Guineas, his potential stud value will be considerable. Not only is he the son of a truly great racehorse, but his dam Attraction (Efisio) won five Gr1 races -including the 2004 1000 Guineas. The colt was one of three group winning 2yos representing Frankel in 2017, the others being Rostropovich (Gr2 Futurity) and Nelson (Gr3 Juvenile Stakes).
Herculean c Frankel-African Rose
Another regally bred son of the champion, the flashy Herculean is a full-brother to Fair Eva, winner of the Gr3 Princess Margaret Stakes, and Frankel’s very first group race winner. Herculean is out of the top class race mare African Rose (Observatory) whose wins included the Gr1 Ladbrokes Sprint Cup. African Rose is, in turn, a full-sister to high class racemare Helleborine-who ran second in the 2010 Gr1 Prix Marcel Boussac. Herculean made only one start in 2017 but impressed many when scoring an emphatic 1.75 length win in an EBF Maiden Stakes at Ascot over 1400 metres
Veracious f Frankel –Infallible
Frankel could also be represented in the 2018 QIPCO 1000 Guineas. His daughter Veracious looked promising at two, running third over 1400m at Newbury on debut before sauntering home to break her maiden by four lengths at Newmarket. Winter Lightning, beaten four lengths by Veracious at Newmarket, has since gone on to win the UAE 1000 Guineas this season.
Veracious is bred on the same Frankel/Pivotal cross as the outstanding Cracksman. As with her Frankel sired male counterparts, this filly lacks nothing in pedigree, produced by Gr3 Nell Gwyn Stakes winner Infallible, who was runner up in the 2008 Gr1 Coronation Stakes. Infallible is out of a stakes winning daughter of top sprinter and highly successful broodmare sire Cadeaux Genereux, and her third dam is Gr1 Frizette Stakes winner Some Romance (by Fappiano).
Without Parole c Frankel –Without You Babe
Yet another regally bred son of Frankel to catch the eye last season. He made only one outing, but caught the eye when sauntering home to post a six length score. While winning at the less fashionable Newcastle, Without Parole could hardly have made an easier winning debut and he could well be anything. He is a half-brother to Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile hero and sire Tamarkuz (Speightstown), and his Lemon Drop Kid sired dam is a half-sister to Belmont Stakes second Andromeda’s Hero (Fusiachi Pegasus) and multiple Gr1 winning sire Stay Thirsty (Bernardini).
