Frankel simply the best as he destroys rivals in effortless win

Ridden by Tom Queally, the Henry Cecil-trained four-year-old demolished the opposition in the one-mile feature with his usual aplomb.

Khalid Abdullah’s supersonic colt was sent off the 2-7 favourite and his supporters never had an anxious moment as he swept to an effortless victory by five lengths. His old adversaries Excelebration and Dubawi Gold were second and third respectively.

Queally was thrilled by the superstar colt’s return to the track. He said: “It’s a great relief he’s come back. It’s great to be on board. He’s grown up from last year, he’s thicker set. If you look at him now, he’s the real deal – he’s filled out since last year. He showed that burst of acceleration. He’s not like anything I’ve sat on before.”

Bullet Train, Frankel’s regular work partner and three-parts brother, shot out of the stalls, with Queally happy to sit in just two lengths behind. And it could have been a normal gallop at home as Frankel took up the running in an instant and soon put daylight between himself and the five other runners. Try as Joseph O’Brien could on Excelebration (100-30), he could get nowhere near Frankel and had to settle for more minor honours behind his nemesis. Dubawi Gold (16-1) did best of the rest, a further four lengths away.

Frankel was already the world’s highest-rated racehorse before his Lockinge success – his sixth triumph at the highest level.

Winner of the Dewhurst Stakes to cap his juvenile season, Frankel posted four more group One victories last season in the 2000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. His latest devastating display is a world away from the scare just over a month ago when his racing career was in the balance after he suffered a leg injury. Thankfully he received the all-clear to carry on following a positive scan a week later. Although Frankel missed ten days’ work, his preparation for the Lockinge went to perfection after that with a couple of racecourse gallops at Newmarket helping to bring him to peak fitness for his first run of the year.

Cecil said after the race: “He always takes a little bit of a hold, but he quickened up so well.”