Mighty Frankel can be even better this year, says Cecil
SIR Henry Cecil believes Frankel has the potential to be an even better horse this year but warns that a glorious finale in the Breeders’ Cup is unlikely to be on the colt’s agenda.
The unbeaten son of Galileo, rated the best horse in the world after wins which included the 2,000 Guineas plus the Sussex and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, is reported to have matured mentally and physically and will return in Newbury’s Lockinge Stakes on May 19.
But before that Cecil plans a racecourse gallop at the Berkshire course on Greenham Stakes day (April 21).
How well the Prince Khaled Abdullah-owned colt settles in his races will be one factor in how quickly he is stepped up from mile races to events over a mile-and-a-quarter.
Cecil said: ‘He’s a quite hot-blooded horse and if he had continued like that he would have burnt himself into the ground. He is beginning to grow up and settle. If he stays right there is no reason why he should not be better with age
‘He’ll tell me what to do next after the Lockinge, whether we go to Royal Ascot for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (over 10 furlongs) or the Queen Anne Stakes (over a mile).’
Being named after the late US trainer Bobby Frankel means there is an emotional pull for a career finale in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November which is run on dirt in California, but Cecil is not keen on the idea.
He added: ‘ He is a grass-bred horse and there is a good chance he will stand at stud in Europe. Why fire him into a different country on a different track if it is going to be his last run.’
Meanwhile, Cecil says Frankel’s brother Noble Mission, a Derby entrant who finished second at Yarmouth on his only outing last term, could make his reappearance in a maiden at Newmarket’s Craven meeting this month with a view to establishing if he is good enough to run in a Classic trial
Cecil said: ‘He had sore shins last year and was very short of work for his one run when he got tired in heavy ground. I would expect him to be a much better horse this year.’
Two older stable stars could also return this month with Twice Over in the Earl of Sefton Stakes and World Domination bound for Sandown’s Gordon Richards Stakes.