Khalid Abdullah to see the green, pink and white winning again in the International Stakes as Frankel puts the unbeaten record at risk in the deadliest line-up
The 2011 edition of the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes (British Champions Series) was won by the hall mark trainer, Sir Henry Cecil, who had saddled Twice Over and Midday for the race. His stars could not have shone brighter as both his representatives
took up the first two places, Twice Over winning the race and his stable mate, Midday at the heels left adrift by ¾ of a length.
If Sir Henry Cecil had ground covered then there wasn’t much that trainer Aidan O’Brien had left either. His favourite entry, Await The Dawn ended third while Windsor Palace settled fifth in the field of five.
The race was more of Henry Cecil stable versus that of Aidan O’Brien.
It has been since 1989 that Khalid Abdullah has been sponsoring the event under the banner of his stud operation, Juddmonte, but it was after twenty-two years that the generous sponsor finally saw the green, pink and white of his team winning the race.
It has been at quite a few occasions that the owner had entered his horses but they came out unsuccessful. The outcome of the event mattered so much to Khalid Abdullah that what could have turned into a rivalry between the stable jockeys, Tom Queally and
Ian Mongan, actually turned into a celebration.
"I'm so thrilled because, after the Prince won the last race, he said to me: 'The next one is the big one', and I knew how much he wanted to win it. I said I thought we might have to wait another year and win it next year with Frankel, but everything went
right.
"A mile and a quarter is the limit of Twice Over's stamina, but he's brave and I knew they both had good chances today. If the ground had been a little quicker, then I think Midday might have given Twice Over more to do, but I couldn't have asked for a better
result, apart from a dead-heat,” commented the winning trainer.
There is not much that has changed for the Group 1 spectacle much during the year. Last year too, the connections wanted Frankel to land the race and this time around, he remains their prime entry for getting the £725,000 prize money.
The most successful trainer of the race, Sir Michael Stoute, has entered the Queen’s Carlton House, and he stays to be the modest one as Aidan O’Brien and Sir Henry Cecil have once again flooded the race with their entries. The 2011 winning trainer has four
entries while the rival trainer has gone well over board with fifteen entries out of the total of forty.
The royal blues who are not only the leading owners of the race but have their leading jockey, Frankie Dettori racing the victors five times, have made sure that their presence is noticed.
The element that has changed for sure is the level of competition that can ignite the field this year. Even if Galileo’s top miler, Frankel, is brained washed temporarily, then the rest top of the line entries are not any less lethal.
Camelot, the Triple Crown contender has already won the first two legs of the trio and is all set for the final challenge in September at Doncaster in the St Leger.
John Gosden trained Nathaniel ranks nowhere less than the soaring competition as he won the Coral-Eclipse this year and his success in the Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2011 cannot be ignored.
Frankel’s twelfth career outing can easily be counted as one of the most threatening races and might just put a bruise on his impeccable unbeaten record.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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