2000 Guineas, 30th April 2011
Frankel was something out of the ordinary, he finished his career unbeaten in fourteen races, defeating some of best along the way in breathtaking style. He was the highest rated horse in the world back in May 2011. Let’s take a look back at one of the greatest performances of all time by the mighty Frankel, who won the 2000 Guineas in devastating fashion. A performance of which we’ll be lucky to witness again!
Frankel produced one of the greatest performances seen on a racecourse, when winning the 2000 Guineas by an impressive 6 lengths. Frankel was sent off an incredible 1/2 favourite for the classic, the shortest price for the race since 1974, that’s how good people though it horse would be and so it proved. Frankel burst from the stalls and immediately went clear of the field, with his pacemaker left trailing along way back and by half way, he had the whole field in serious trouble and was 15 lengths clear at this stage against high-class horses.
With one furlong still to go, the crowd began to cheer, and the applause was unbelievable as they all knew including myself, the race was over. Frankel only lost a little momentum close to home, but defeat was never in doubt, he had loads in hand at the line and I have never seen a horse dominate a Group 1 classic the way he did on the day.
Arguably, the most dominant performance in the 235 year history of all English classic races. Frankel proved on the day he was not normal, he was more than special and I can tell you, we will never witness a horse/performance like him or that race in your life. Frankel was given a standing ovation and Trainer Henry Cecil did a remarkable job to keep his superstar at the top level without losing a single race. He bravely battled cancer and said that Frankel was the reason he kept going for so long. What a special human-being he was and a special horse he had. Frankel was on another level to anything else in all his races and the way he won the 2000 Guineas, was the most breathtaking performance I have ever seen.
I also stumbled across this video when watching Frankel videos on YouTube – all 14 wins, in one 8 minute 30 second video. A great watch if you have a spare 10! Feel free to leave any comments of your favourite Frankel memories. Did you ever witness him in the flesh? What was your favourite performance of his?
Watch the Frankel Tribute here
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