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Superstar Frankel remained undefeated with a sublime performance in the $542,500 Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I) at Royal Ascot, drawing off through the stretch to win by an amazing 11 lengths.
The 4-year-old colt by Galileo notched his 11th victory in the Queen Anne and has now won seven group I races.
Ridden confidently by Tom Queally, Frankel sat in fourth, racing in the slipstream of his pacemaker Bullet Train , through the early stages of the race. With three furlongs left to run, Queally moved Frankel into the clear and the race was pretty much over, as the powerfully-built bay colt charged to the lead and began to draw off from the rest of field under just mild encouragement.
Joseph O'Brien tried to make a race of it aboard Excelebration, but that colt was no match for his old rival and was left toiling in his wake. At the wire it was all Frankel, as the Juddmonte Farm colorbearer cruised to an easy victory.
Excelebration held on to second by a neck over the late-closing Side Glance, with German raider Indomito another length back in fourth. The final time for the eight furlongs was 1:37.85 over the good to soft going.
After the race, both Queally and trainer Sir Henry Cecil felt that this was Frankel's best performance.
Cecil told reporters, "I'm not surprised but relieved, no horse is a certainty. He's a great horse, he did exactly what I thought he would but he's still improving."
"It looks like he'll stay a mile and a quarter, he's in the Eclipse, Sussex Stakes, and Juddmonte, we'll feel our way and he'll tell me what to do."
"It's very unlikely he'll go for the Breeders' Cup," Cecil added.
Queally was equally impressed as he added: "He settled and travelled, he's amazing. That was his best performance, he ticked all the boxes and I couldn't have asked for anything more."
Frankel was bred in England by his owner, Juddmonte Farm. He is out of the stakes-winning Danehill mare Kind, and is a full brother to the 3-year-old stakes winner Noble Mission.
