• 2000 Guineas

Stunning Frankel storms to 2000 Guineas victory

Frankel storms clear of his rivals to win the 2000 Guineas © PA Photos

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Frankel produced one of the most devastating performances in British Classic history with a pillar-to-post success in the 2000 Guineas.

The only concern connections had prior to the race was with the colt's temperament as he had often pulled hard in his races. A pacemaker was put in the race, but jockey Tom Queally elected to jump out of the gate and make all.

Within a furlong, Frankel had put daylight between himself and his rivals. With half a mile to run, Frankel was ten lengths clear of his toiling rivals. Frankel's raking stride took him further and further clear and at the three-furlong pole Queally took a look between his legs and it was a long way back to his rivals.

Dubawi Gold and Native Khan emerged from the pack to give chase and Frankel's stride began to shorten as he raced towards the final furlong. But although he wandered off a true line in the final furlong, he still had six lengths in hand at the post to hand trainer Henry Cecil his 25th Classic success.

Queally said: "He was just so much better today than at Newbury. He's made a show of them.

"The one thing this horse does is gallop - I didn't want to disappoint him, I wanted him to do what he enjoys and he showed them.

"The first thing you think is what speed are we going, because to him it feels like a cruising canter. He quickened up and went away."

Frankel came into the race unbeaten in five, having proved himself the premier juvenile with wins in the Royal Lodge Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes. He returned in the Greenham Stakes and proved he had trained on with a cosy success.

Tom Queally, Prince Khalid Abdullah and Henry Cecil pose with 2000 Guineas winner Frankel © PA Photos

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Taken down last by Queally, Frankel was a shade on his toes in the preliminaries but he was settled by the time he arrived at the post. Frankel and his pacemaker Rerouted were drawn wide apart and rather than chance that he might get messed about, Queally let Frankel stride on from the start.

Queally and Cecil were in no doubt that they had the best horse in the race and with that in mind, they elected to stretch their rivals out. It was a bold decision and one that could have backfired, but it went like clockwork as Frankel powered away.

Cecil, adding to the 2000 Guineas wins of Bolkonski in 1975 and Wollow in 1976, was delighted with the display and will talk with owner Prince Khalid Abdullah before deciding on whether to commit his charge to the Derby.

"We'll sit and think and I'll discuss it with the Prince," Cecil said. "We'll work it out together. He is in the Dante, so we'll see how he comes out of this and what we want to do. Whether he'll get a mile and a half is another matter. If he's more of a miler, there is the St James's Palace Stakes, so we'll leave all options open.

"If he's very well and he ran in the Dante, then we'd know where we're going. I could easily bring him back a couple of furlongs at Ascot. We'll leave it all open and it will entirely depend on how the horse is and we'll see what the Prince wants to do. We want to do the right thing."

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