Frankel must bring ‘A-game’ to Newbury

Connections of Frankel believe the superstar colt will have to bring his “A-game” to the table if he is to land the JLT Lockinge Stakes at Newbury today.

The four-year-old carried all before him for trainer Sir Henry Cecil last season, ending the term undefeated in five starts, which included victories in the 2000 Guineas, the Sussex Stakes and the QEII Stakes. He is a short-priced favourite to make a victorious return in the Group 1 event at the Berkshire venue.

Although most consider the result a foregone conclusion, owner Khalid Abdullah’s racing manager, Teddy Grimthorpe, feels the Galileo colt must be at his best to triumph. “He’s in great shape and hopefully he’ll progress through the year,” he said. “The deceptive thing about Frankel is his stride -–it’s just how he does it, he does it so easily. There is no such thing as a gimme in this sport, so hopefully he’ll bring his A-game to the table. You either bring your best or you don’t bother at all.

“What we want to see is a good, solid performance and this is obviously the first stepping-stone on what we hope will be a very good year. His style is his own and we are all very conscious that we have something pretty extraordinary on our hands.”

At one stage in April, it looked as though Frankel may never race again after rumours abounded about the severity of a leg injury he sustained on the Newmarket gallops. But, after thorough investigation, it transpired the problem was only minor and Frankel has barely looked back since.

Cecil took the chance to prove his well-being with a racecourse workout at Newmarket on 2000 Guineas day. “The scans we did on his leg were pretty unequivocal and all his work since has been absolutely first class,” said Grimthorpe. “He worked fantastically well when he went to Racecourse Side the other day and hopefully he can prove himself what we know him to be on Saturday. We are really looking forward to this year and the interest in him has been really overwhelming – just fantastic.”

While Frankel sticks at a mile for his return, the Abdullah team are hoping he will prove his mettle over ten furlongs later this year. Grimthorpe said: “I think at this stage, if all went well, Henry is leaning towards the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot for his next start and obviously the hope later in the season is that he’ll be here [at York] for the Juddmonte International.”

Tom Queally has been aboard Frankel for each of his nine victories and was delighted with the colt’s racecourse gallop. He said: “It was just to get him out on a racecourse and get him to see something different. It’s not that he’s difficult to ride, he’s just a bit keen and he’s got such a big stride, you are a passenger on him. If you look at him now he’s so strong – he’s a bull now this year. You can’t break his big stride and that’s why he’s in control. I’m looking forward to it and it looks like he could open his account again and keep the ball rolling.”

The ground at Newbury is still riding on the soft side, and with more showers forecast, it could ease further. That would not worry Queally, though, who said: “He won his debut in very testing conditions and he’s strong enough to get through it.”

Meanwhile, Camelot remains one of 24 colts still engaged in the Investec Derby after the latest scratchings stage. Aidan O’Brien’s charge has been a warm order for the 2 June Classic at Epsom all winter, but shortened to odds-on with many bookmakers after his smooth performance in the 2000 Guineas. There were no surprise drop-outs, with Thursday’s Dante Stakes winner Bonfire still engaged along with Lingfield Derby Trial winner Main Sequence.

O’Brien has plenty of support for Camelot as he has kept in Astrology, Father Of Science, Imperial Monarch and Tower Rock. Cecil still has three potential runners in Wrotham Heath, Frankel’s little brother Noble Mission and Thomas Chippendale while Godolphin have decided to keep both Mariner’s Cross and Dante flop Mandaean in the reckoning.

Some 22 fillies remain in the Investec Oaks, including all of the leading market fancies. These are headed by John Gosden’s impressive Musidora winner The Fugue and William Haggas’ Vow, who took the Lingfield Oaks Trial. O’Brien’s team can be drawn from Betterbetterbetter, Devotion, Kissed, Maybe, Twirl and Was.