Frankel turned in another eye-catching performance when he blew away his rivals to win the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes (Eng-II) by an incredible 10 lengths at Ascot Sept. 25.
The handsome son of Galileo, named after the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, remains undefeated, and has won his three starts by a combined 23 1/2 lengths.
Held up in last in the early stages by jockey Tom Queally, Frankel galloped along easily as Slim Shadey and Eskimo set a modest pace. As the field entered the turn for home, Queally moved Frankel to the outside and the colt swept past the field to take command as they hit the straightaway.
The race then became a procession, as Frankel continued to draw off in the final furlongs to win under a hand ride. Klammer got up for second, three-quarters of a length in front of Treasure Beach.
Final time for the eight furlongs was 1:41.83 over the good to soft going.
It was the seventh victory in the Royal Lodge for trainer Henry Cecil, who last won the race with Eltish in 1994.
“He was very impressive,” Cecil told reporters after the race. “He has been ticking all the right boxes. In the last two months he has started to really improve, improve and improve.”
“I think he has a lot of talent and, given the way he works, I don’t think I’ve had a better 2-year-old since Wollow--and that’s nearly 40 years ago.”
The victory earned Frankel an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IIT) Nov. 6, since the Royal Lodge is a part of the “Win and You’re In” series sponsored by the Breeders’ Cup. Regarding immediate plans for the colt Cecil said, “It’s a question of the Dewhurst (Eng-I, Oct. 16) or the Racing Post Trophy (Eng-I, Oct. 23). If possible, I’d rather finish his season earlier.”
Frankel was bred in England by his owner, Juddmonte Farm. He is out of the stakes-winning Danehill mare Kind, who is a half-sister to champion Powerscourt.
