TimeformBlog

[b]The unbeaten Frankel increased his Timeform rating to an unparalleled 147 with a scintillating victory in the Queen Anne Stakes on day one of Royal Ascot 2012. Simon Rowlands explains the historical significance and some of the processes involved.[/b] Frankel's performance in winning the Queen Anne Stakes on the opening day of Royal Ascot 2012 by 11 lengths rightly had the scribes reaching for superlatives. As racing fans, we can all take a few moments out to appreciate such a display, instinctively, for what it was: equine magnificence. Yet, when the dust has settled, Frankel will be judged by history not just for the emotions he provoked and for the memories he gave us, but for his achievements in cold, hard terms. How, then, do those achievements stack up, in clinical,...

Black Caviar, rated 135 by Timeform, stretched her unbeaten record to 19 at the weekend, but the Australian sensation was racing over five furlongs, having run over seven furlongs the week before. The six-furlong Diamond Jubilee Stakes has been the long-held plan for Black Caviar should she travel to England in the summer, although she is believed likely to get an entry in the Queen Anne Stakes over a mile. Sir Henry Cecil has stated his intent on stepping Frankel (rated 143) up to 10 furlongs this season, but he may still run in the Queen Anne after he reappears at that trip in the Lockinge at Newbury in May. "Black Caviar is clearly exceptional, but I can't speak for them regarding what race she will run in at Ascot. I did speak to Peter Moody (her trainer) at Flemington but ...

[b]Canford Cliffs[/b] is chasing a sixth consecutive Group 1, his third win at this level coming in this race 12 months ago. Strong traveller with excellent turn of foot, but an on-song Frankel may be more than a match. [b]Rajsaman[/b] was steadily progressive at 3 yrs and won Group 2 in France back at 1m in May before chasing home Goldikova in Prix d'Ispahan at Longchamp. Solid performer at his own level, but up against it here. [b]Rio De La Plata[/b] was a five-time winner in 2010, including in Group 1s in Italy up to 1¼m. Creditable efforts this term, but comes up short at top level in this country, no excuses behind Canford Cliffs at Royal Ascot. [b]Frankel[/b] is an outstanding unbeaten colt who destroyed the opposition from the front in 2000 Guineas. Not as convincing in...

[b]Jamie Lynch gives his views of the big clash between So You Think and Workforce at Sandown on Saturday...[/b] We're so spoilt this star-studded Flat season that, compared to what's to come, the big match-up between [b]Workforce[/b] and [b]So You Think[/b] seems like Ola Afolabi versus Terry Dunstan. No, I'd never heard of them either until I looked it up, but London-born Afolabi slugging it out with 42-year-old Dunstan is the undercard to the Haye-Klitschko rumble, though that particular rumble is closer to call than the true sporting heavyweight clash of the year at Goodwood in four weeks, when [b]Frankel[/b] will do to [b]Canford Cliffs[/b] what Pacquiao did to Hatton. In the[b] Timeform[/b] weigh-in, there's not a single pound between Workforce and So You Think, their rating...

A maximum field of 15 will line up for the 2000 Guineas on Saturday, with Dream Ahead the most notable absentee at the latest declaration stage, whilst 23 have been declared for the 1000 on Sunday... Dream Ahead's participation on Saturday had long been in doubt, with his trainer David Simcock expressing fears about running the colt on ground on the quick side of good, and he has now been taken out. Frankel, who currently trades at 1.64, will be bidding to give his trainer Henry Cecil his first 2000 Guineas winner since the 1970s, when he saddled Bolkonski and Wollow to Newmarket success in consecutive years. The Jessica Harrington-trained Pathfork is second favourite at 8.8, while Aidan O'Brien's Roderic O'Connor is next in at 12.0. All of the leading contenders for the 1000 Guineas...

[b]Strong Suit and Zoffany are the latest names to be added to the list of horses who won't be lining up against Frankel at Newmarket on April 30....[/b] Richard Hannon's Strong Suit, who had been matched at as low as 6.2, was hardly a surprising defection given his disappointing run behind Frankel in the Greenham, while Aidan O'Brien's Zoffany (matched as low as 9.0), who won last year's Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh, also misses out but does hold entries in the King's Stand, St James's Palace and the Golden Jubilee, all at Royal Ascot. This news has only served to strengthen Frankel's position at the head of the market, with the Greenham winner now trading as short as 1.67. Jessica Harrington's Pathfork is the current second favourite and can be backed at 7.4, while Aidan O'Brien's...

Frankel stretched his unbeaten run to five in the Greenham without having to reproduce the best of his two-year-old form. He has been credited with a performance figure of 127 for beating Excelebration (115) by four lengths with a further six lengths back to Shropshire (97). This is in the middle of the range of likely ratings prompted by race and prior-rating standards, below the 129 that might be expected from a particularly strong 2010 edition - which saw subsequent Group 1 winners Dick Turpin and Canford Cliffs come clear - but above the 123 and 120 resulting from the slightly weaker renewals won by Vocalised in 2009 and Paco Boy in 2008. The overall time of this year's Greenham looks unexceptional and is unlikely to provide many further clues as to Frankel's merit. The early ...

[b]In the first of a two-parter brought to you originally in November, Jamie Lynch brings you the top 10 British-trained classic prospects for 2011.[/b] [b]FRANKEL[/b] Timeform Rating 133p Galileo (Ire) - Kind (Ire) (Danehill (USA)) Who can remember Arazi? Who could forget Arazi? He was the best European two-year-old ever in many people's opinion, rated 135 by Timeform following his mesmerising win in the 1991 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Three years later, though, Celtic Swing topped that (138) with his astounding twelve-length success in the Racing Post Trophy. No youngster has got near those ratings since; no youngster, that is, until Frankel. Named in honour of the late Bobby Frankel, the Hall of Fame trainer who handled most of Prince Khalid Abdulla's horses in America, Frankel is...