Royal Ascot looks set to be next up for brilliant Frankel

ROYAL Ascot looks the most likely next port of call for Frankel following his incredible display in Saturday's Qipco 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Henry Cecil's colt maintained his unbeaten record in a fashion that had onlookers rubbing their eyes in disbelief as he made every yard of the running on the Rowley Mile with a scintillating display of raw power.

Connections now have some crucial decisions to make, but after all but ruling out the Dante Stakes at York, it appears to be a straight choice between the Derby at Epsom or the St James's Palace Stakes at the Royal meeting.

Question marks are bound to hang over Frankel's ability to stay the 12 furlongs of the Derby having shown such lightning speed at Headquarters and while not ruling it out, Cecil hinted his charge may stick to a mile for now. "The final decision will be the Prince's (Khalid Abdullah, owner) so we'll discuss it with him and we'll try to work out the best thing for the horse," said Cecil. "I think eventually, when he gets a bit stronger, there's every chance he'll get a mile and a quarter. Whether he'll get further than that, time will tell.

"The Dante will probably come too close anyway, so I'm not going to test him in the Dante to see if he gets the Derby trip. I think the Dante is unlikely. He's not definitely not (going to run), but it's not my first thought.

"The two options are he'll either go for the St James's Palace or the Derby. There's no point guessing and we want to get it right, but people who want to back him for the Derby want to sit, because he's not definitely going to be a Derby runner. We haven't decided and nothing has been confirmed yet, but I wouldn't personally back him for the Derby.

"I would think Ascot would be more probable, although nothing is definite," Cecil added. "He could take on the older horses over a mile in races like the Sussex Stakes and the QEII and we're going to put him in mile-and-a-quarter races later on, races like the Juddmonte (International).

"If I feel the Derby isn't the right race for him, then we shouldn't go for it. You're going into completely unknown territory and with the speed he's got, he'd have to be an extraordinary horse."

Dubawi Gold, tipped in Saturday's Scotsman as a 40-1 each-way bet to follow Frankel home, duly did so, having been nibbled down to 33-1, while Native Khan (16-1) was third.