FRANKEL : AN IMMACULATE ENDING

Click above to watch Frankel winning the QIPCO Champion Stakes (G1)
(Photo : news.com.au)

QIPCO CHAMPION STAKES (G1)
Ascot, Turf, 2012m
20 October 2012

He faced real adversity for the first time in his glory-strewn career yesterday, but Khalid Abdullah’s greatest gift to racing, Frankel (GB) (Galileo) duly overcame unfavorable testing ground and a blown start to sign off victorious in the G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Long targeted at the £1.3-million race that could almost have been revamped with him in mind, the sell-out audience and millions glued to TV sets and the internet around the world were made to wait until late morning for him to be confirmed a definite runner after persistent rain in the week had turned the Berkshire turf to heavy in places. Memories of his blitz on Newmarket’s slick surface in last year’s 2000 Guineas led the mind to wonder if he could cope with a slog in these conditions, and the usual flood of cash was stemmed slightly to produce a starting price of 2-11.

As the clouds broke over Ascot in the build-up to this finale, the tension rose in parallel, and a final bout of showers on Thursday into Friday created a crucible in which his champion status would be challenged most acutely. Months of nurture and expert horsemanship saw him enter the buzzy parade ring with nonchalance, and that casual air saw him surrender a normally crucial margin of three lengths out of the stalls. Ian Mongan on Bullet Train (GB) (Sadler’s Wells) dropped anchor in front to allow Tom Queally to ease into the pack, which forced Olivier Peslier on Cirrus des Aigles, to take up the running after 1 1/2 furlongs, with Frankel coasting along in fourth. Bullet Train came back to pester the French raider and was in front again on the approach to the home turn, but by now his customary honest pace-setting role had been shot to pieces, and as Cirrus des Aigles took control with Peslier apparently full of horse at the top of the stretch, Frankel was still over two lengths down.

That deficit had been wiped out with the minimum of effort by the furlong marker, where Queally became animated for the first time, and after administering one slap with the whip with just over 100 yards left to race, immortality was sealed.

His rider, who has played no small part in the success story, was full of admiration afterwards. “I’m so proud of him and it’s been an amazing journey,” Queally commented. “I can’t tell you what it’s meant to be part of it. He’s just getting more and more relaxed as time goes on, and waited until the gates were open. He was slowly away at York, and he was slower today, but I’ve so much belief in the horse and in the past I’ve pushed that to the limit. We lost a length, but a length is nothing to him. He traveled through, and I suppose it’s fair to say that he’s better on better ground, but the turbo, 4x4, everything kicked in. It was pointless getting him on his head before I had to. We were in no rush today, the way the ground was. I was happy all the way and his class really showed today, as I walked the track and I was a little worried about the conditions. Having walked it in the home straight, I knew it wasn’t too heavy for him to quicken up and go about his business. You want every angle covered and everything in your favour, so in that respect there was always a little worry, but he was in great heart today, and he looked a lot better than he did 12 months ago on this day.”

On being Frankel’s jockey, he added, “There is pressure and there’s pressure in all walks of life, but I gladly take that on board. I could stay here all night and tell you what it means to me. The people at Warren Place are one huge family that have pulled together. I don’t get nervous because I’m close to it and I have control, but I can imagine what other people were feeling.” He concluded, “It’s only been a few years, but it’s been a long road and everybody that’s worked with him can take a bow.”

Juddmonte’s Racing Manager Lord Grimthorpe commented, “He’s wonderful - the greatest, isn’t he? He didn’t enjoy that ground as much as he normally does, but he got into a rhythm and was happy. He wasn’t pulling and had a straightforward, trouble-free passage. He had it under control in the straight, but that’s him. He’s brought a whole new generation of people to the sport, and he’s brought wider public recognition to the sport. He was something to savor, the ultimate equine athlete, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Khalid Abdullah announced Frankel’s immediate retirement, “That is the end,” he stated simply. It was left to Sir Henry Cecil to pay the ultimate tribute. “He is the best I’ve ever had and the best I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I’d be surprised if there has ever been better.”

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

LAST CHANCE TO SEE FRANKEL IN ACTION

Click above to watch the Frankel QIPCO British Champions Day Film
(Image : British Bloodstock Marketing - Footage : OfficialBCSeries)

QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS DAY
Ascot Racecourse
20 October 2012

www.britishchampionsseries.com

A RIVAL FOR FRANKEL?

Nathaniel (IRE)
(Photo : Ascot Insider)

QIPCO CHAMPION STAKES (Group 1)
Ascot, Turf, 2000m
20 October 2012

We all thought that the Buick motorcar was a relic of a former age, but when it comes to racehorses, there is a new version in the riding ranks. William Buick has been central to the wave of success which trainer John Gosden has enjoyed in the past few seasons, piloting a veritable stream of Group One winners for the Newmarket-based yard. Yesterday, Buick pointed to Nathaniel as the main rival to Frankel in the G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot October 20.

Following the scintillating performance of Khalid Abdullah’s world highweight in Wednesday’s Juddmonte International (G1) at York, Buick is looking forward to taking him on with Lady Rothschild’s 2011 G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and 2012 G1 Eclipse Stakes winner.

“I think Frankel is probably unbeatable, but we’ve got a horse in Nathaniel who will probably at some stage have a go”, said Buick. “If Ascot came up testing and stamina came into it, he will definitely give him a run for his money and I think he is the horse to get nearest to him. If stamina comes into it, I would be putting emphasis on that and try to find any chinks that Frankel does have, but he probably doesn’t. You have to give it a go”, he continued. “It’s a pleasure to be riding in races with Frankel. I’ve never seen a horse who can accelerate like him, he just leaves everything standing. He’s the best horse I’ve seen and he’s probably the best horse there’s ever been, so being around when he’s around, is a pleasure”.

HISTORY OF THE SUMMER CUP

In pursuit of fortunes… Johannesburg, South Africa
(Photos : DVMinerals/ABDN/VinatgePC)

SANSUI SUMMER CUP

Saturday 28 November 2009 will witness the staging of Johannesburg’s most historical race, the Grade 1 R2,000,000 Sansui Summer Cup to be run over 2000m at Turffontein Racecourse.

The Summer Cup is almost as old as Johannesburg itself with the inaugural event taking place in 1887, a year after the dusty mining camp that would become Johannesburg sprang to life on a farm called Turffontein, following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand. It’s fitting then that the race is run at a venue that overlooks the city’s landmark mine dumps.

Nicci Garner writes on Tab Online that these dumps form an integral part of the Summer Cup history. Well into the 1880’s, news about the “discovery of gold” on the Witwatersrand resulted in an influx of fortune seekers who came from all walks of life in coaches and ox wagons, as well as on foot and horseback.

Johannesburg was then a bleak region dotted with the occasional marsh, but what the settlers had in common was that they were prepared to gamble their lives on the chance of making a quick fortune.

The first horserace in Joburg took place in December 1886 and the inaugural Summer Cup was run the following year as the Johannesburg Handicap. The race was won by outsider Haco, a five-year-old trained by Mr du Plessis and ridden by J Bundy, and no one could have imagined that from its humble beginnings, the Summer Cup would become one of South Africa’s most famous racing events.

In its heyday the Summer Cup was the highlight of the Johannesburg feature-race season and one of the city’s social events of the year, but following Cape challenger King’s Guard’s victory in 1971, the name of the race was changed to accommodate a new sponsor. As the years rolled by further changes were made to the event’s name, conditions and date which diminished the race’s glitter until it eventually became the Champion Stakes, run annually in April.

In 1999 horseracing and tote betting company Phumelela reintroduced the Summer Cup to the racing calendar in its traditional format.

Many famous horses have won through the years and they include Pamphlet (1917), Lenin (1940), Cuff Link (1963), Caradoc (1966) and Home Guard (1970).

One horse who really grabbed attention was the Jack Butler-trained four-year-old, Java, who pulled off a remarkable Summer Cup hat-trick from 1956 to 1958.

Elevation was to repeat those exploits almost 20 years later. Trained by the inimitable George Azzie, the chestnut landed his first victory in 1972 when the race was run as the Holiday Inns for the first time. He went on to score again in 1973 before completing a fantastic hat-trick under a big weight in 1974.

SUMMER CUP HONOURS ROLL 1999 - 2008

YEAR	HORSE	OWNERS	TRAINER	JOCKEY
1999	EL PICHA	Messrs Brian B Roux, TM Millard, A Swersky	Geoff Woodruff	Robbie Hill
2000	DELTA FORM	Mr & Mrs MA Airey, Messrs WI Geary, OV Leibrandt, RJ Simpson, BB Sinclair	Mike de Kock	Guillermo Figueroa
2001	INGLESIDE	Mr B Kantor	Mike de Kock	Kevin Shea
2002	EVENTUAIL	Mr & Mrs L Jaffee	Geoff Woodruff	Piere Strydom
2003	WOLF WHISTLE	Mrs PM Sargent, MP Egan, HR Enderle, WW Fenner, PK Harris	Mike de Kock	Kevin Shea
2004	TYSON	Messrs MK Naidoo & R Pancham	Stuart Pettigrew	Piere Strydom
2005	ILHA DA VITORIA	Mrs M Slack	Mike de Kock	Weichong Marwing
2006	MALTEME	MC Gerber, J Gerber, GL Blank, DI Catterall, MA Currie, GC Chamberlain & PG Joubert	Alec Laird	Brett Smith
2007	STRATEGIC NEWS	Messrs CG Snyman, JJ Snyman, L Steyn, MG Gramenie, DL Cunha, LL Cunha	Dylan Cunha	Glyn Schofield
2008	RUDRA	Messrs Tony Moodley, P Bayvel, MF De Kock, MC Gerber & F Ladeira	Mike de Kock	Kevin Shea

NEW APPROACH retired after victory in Champion Stakes

Kevin Manning celebrates aboard New Approach
(PA)

Princess Haya of Jordan’s New Approach (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) became the first G1 Epsom Derby winner to follow up in the G1 Emirates Airline Champion Stakes in the same year since the 1968 hero Sir Ivor with an emphatic six-length success on Saturday.

The Thoroughbred Daily News reports that capping a memorable afternoon for Jim Bolger following the surprise win of Intense Focus (Giant’s Causeway) in the G1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes a half hour earlier, the 6-5 crowd’s choice opened up when committed by Kevin Manning with three furlongs remaining and by the time he reached the line, he had smashed the previous track record set by Palace Music in this race 24 years ago.

“Everything went according to plan,” his typically understated jockey commented afterwards. “He really impressed me today and of all his wins, I’ve no doubt that today was his best.”

Khalid Abdullah’s Twice Over ran second and previous Herman Brown inmate, Linngari, ran a very creditable 3^rd.

New Approach has been retired to stud and will stand at Dalham Hall.