Frankel favourite for the Dewhurst Stakes
Henry Cecil-trained colt Frankel has been named the 1-3 favourite for the Group 1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes, where he will face off against Saamidd, on 16 October at Newmarket. The honour comes after the
horse was awarded an official mark of 123 on Tuesday by British Horseracing Authority two-year-old handicapper Matthew Tester in recognition of a spectacular victory at the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot this weekend.
“It shows how highly we rate the awesome Frankel that we are going only 1-3 for the Dewhurst. Saamidd's Doncaster win looked good but we are running scared of Frankel,” said bookmaker Dave Stephens. “Let's
hope the proposed clash comes off in the Dewhurst as it will be good for racing and let's hope it draws a big crowd to Newmarket on Champions Day.”
At the Dewhurst Stakes, Frankel can be expected to face similarly progressive horses such as Dream Ahead, Native Khan, and Godolphin-trained Saamidd, supplemented for the Group 1 race. This will give the
colt the opportunity to put an end to the criticism that his opposition so far has been weak. Saamidd is the unbeaten winner of Doncaster’s Group 2 Champagne Stakes, racing the Dewhurst Stakes at 9-4.
"I can't wait to see Frankel take on stronger opposition next time in the Dewhurst Stakes,” said Tester. “In the last ten years the highest rated two-year-olds have been Johannesburg and New Approach,
each of whom reached 126. It is 16 years since Celtic Swing was credited with 130 for crushing his Racing Post Trophy opposition and it will be exciting to see if Frankel can hit those heights."
Tester called Frankel’s performance at Ascot, while ridden by Tom Queally, as the best Royal Lodge victory in 20 years. The rare 10-length victory earned the colt, the son of Galileo, the same score of
123 in the Racing Post Rankings from the senior two-year-old handicapper Simon Turner, as well as a promotion to general 2-1 favourite for the 2000 Guineas next year.
"It was impossible not to be impressed with the style of Frankel's win at Ascot on Saturday when landing the Royal Lodge by ten lengths,” said Tester. “Whilst it is true that none of his opponents were
likely to test a champion, the manner of his run and the huge winning margin has landed him an official rating of 123.”
Eskimo, ridden by Ryan Moore, set the gallop for the weekend’s race and led until the final three furlongs, with the rest of the five-horse race holding on. Despite a solid pace, Eskimo finished fourth
ahead of Slim Shadey after the other three squeezed past. Frankel took the lead from Eskimo and burst way ahead in the last two furlongs for an impressive win of ten lengths ahead of Klammer and Treasure Beach.
"This is easily the best Royal Lodge performance of the last 20 years and puts him well ahead of horses like Benny The Dip (113) and Mister Baileys (115), who won the race before success in the Derby and
the 2,000 Guineas respectively the next year,” said Tester. “Eltish at 118 is the next highest winner for this race and he went on to finish second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 1994."
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