Sir Henry Cecil’s charge stretched his remarkable unbeaten record to 12. He was given a rating of 140 for slamming the Queen Anne field by 11 lengths at Royal Ascot but ran somewhere below that mark in beating Farhh by six lengths in the Sussex Stakes.
British Horseracing Authority Mile handicapper Dominic Gardiner-Hill said: “I’m sure that was exactly what his connections wanted – a stroll on the Downs before he tackles a longer trip for the first time at York (in the Juddmonte International Stakes) in three weeks’ time.
“He went into the race with 32 pounds (16kg) in hand of Gabrial and he has beaten him 9.25 lengths, so initial interpretation of that would be that Frankel ran to a mark in the high 120s or possibly 130 as he won so comfortably.
“To achieve the highest rating ever he needs to run in a race where there’s greater strength in depth and I feel that he can only do that over ten furlongs (2000m).
“In (any of) his races over the last year he’s really only ever had one horse to beat – Canford Cliffs in this race a year ago, Excelebration in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, JLT Lockinge and Queen Anne and Farhh – but if the likes of Cirrus Des Aigles, Nathaniel and St Nicholas Abbey take him on over ten furlongs we should get a real handle on just how good he is.”
