Frankel and the International Stakes

Indeed sad to see sir Henry just a shell of a man. Prince Abdullah seemingly has health problems also so hope they can enjoy Frankel to the full.
Tom Queally rode Lady Sarelle , dam of Apache Gold on her debut so he can say he rode the best and the worst of racehorses!
 
Teddy Grimthorpe says organisers of US's Breeders Cup in touch but Frankel not going; Arc still option but Champions St most likely

( Corneilius Lysaght Twitter )
 
Excuse my language but **** the yanks. They're getting exactly what they deserve for reverting to dirt. The Breeders Cup commitee are not worthy of even courting Frankel's connections to run.


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SlimChance said:
Excuse my language but **** the yanks. They're getting exactly what they deserve for reverting to dirt. The Breeders Cup commitee are not worthy of even courting Frankel's connections to run.


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Too true. After Curlin got beat by Ravens Pass+ Sir Henry Steve Asmussen complained that the Classic ran "like a turf race".
They also had a problem with the track taking the heavy heavy rain when it fell there.
To be fair Prince Abdullah a great supporter of Breeders Cup through the years with French GB and American trained horses; I would love to see Famous Name take his chance there.
 
If he were mine I would race on. The very, very best never get anything close to them in terms of ability. I'm gonna hazard a guess and say Reference Point is the best horse produced by a 140 performer.

I'm sure there were calls for Galileo to remain in training as a 4yo. If he had Frankel might never have existed. I know he didn't come from the Derby winner's first crop but if he'd raced on that special set of circumstances that produced Frankel might have altered somewhat.
 
So, I'm going to ask this......not to be a pest, but to get an education.

Isn't wanting to terminate a racehorse's racing career in favour of a stud career, a bit like living on the never-never? And wouldn't such a decision look all the more peculiar, when one is talking about an animal so self-evidently brilliant as Frankel?

I can understand the desire to see his offspring race, but what of the here-and-now?

From what I've read on here, almost everyone seems to acknowledge that he is the horse of a lifetime, so I can't fathom why you would want to pack him off to stud, rather than see him put the entire game to bed, by winning the Arc -undoubtedly the greatest Flat race in the world.

Why would you sacrifice that opportunity? In the hope that one of the hundreds of foals he sires over the next 10 years turns out to be only a stone inferior?

If this horse is the freak that most suggest, enjoy him to the fullest, and actively campaign to get him in the Arc. That way, you might experience a worthwhile fraction of the delirium created when Kauto won his 5th King George.

You lot should be starting a Arc run Facebook jobbie - not talking about his fecking babies.
 
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Miesque said:
Because money makes the world go around? 80-100k x 200 mares a year.....about £20 million a year.... would you race on?
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You think like a person who has no money at least not in the terms we are talking about here. Whats 20 million to a guy like K. Abdullah? He is getting up there in age and his health has apparently been an issue in recent years. You can't take it with you when you become dust and all the money in the world can't buy that final memory he has when exhaling for the last time and thinking what a sight it was when Frankel cantered all over them when winning the Arc in 2012.
 
brendanr said:
You think like a person who has no money at least not in the terms we are talking about here. Whats 20 million to a guy like K. Abdullah? He is getting up there in age and his health has apparently been an issue in recent years. You can't take it with you when you become dust and all the money in the world can't buy that final memory he has when exhaling for the last time and thinking what a sight it was when Frankel cantered all over them when winning the Arc in 2012.
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Not a cent my name.... :rolleyes:

It's true Abdullah has pretty much limitless funds. How do you know the Arc is more of a momentous moment than the Champion Stakes for him though? That's all in the eye of the beholder.
 
And oh yes Grasshopper it would beat the daylights out of Kauto Star winning his 5th King George. It would be global. Kauto is pretty much a regional phenomonom. No five people outside of England, Ireland and too a lesser extent France give 3 cents about jumps racing.
 
Miesque said:
Not a cent my name.... :rolleyes:

It's true Abdullah has pretty much limitless funds. How do you know the Arc is more of a momentous moment than the Champion Stakes for him though? That's all in the eye of the beholder.
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More momentous for him I do not know. He did win it last year and i would think he is a man who understands his racing history. Winning the Arc would give the whole thing a dimension he couldn't have dreamed of this time last year when everybody was talking about him as a miler or even a sprinter. The Arc is pretty much established as the pre eminent middle distance race in the world. Year on year field size can tell you that and it is targeted by The Brits, Irish French, and sometimes Germans and Italians in equal measure. It's no coincidence that the burgeoning racing power that is Japan has started targeting this race specifically. Their greatest champion Deep Impact was sent to this race to produce the goods. Don't think they thought about the CS for one second. Outside of their own racing it is the most recognizable for them. You ask 100 people that are familiar with horse racing where I come from and most of those will have heard of the Arc but very few of the Champions.
 
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brendanr said:
And oh yes Grasshopper it would beat the daylights out of Kauto Star winning his 5th King Georgel.
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That's just crazy talk. Can someone fetch Brendan's pills, please?

Global schmobal. We've already established, via this thread, that large parts of the Flatulent Tendency care more about the proegeny or the money, than seeing this horse finish his career in the best race. It re-affirms my distaste for the whole charade, and might even help me get my Jumps mojo back in time for Chasers & Hurdlers. In that sense, Frankel has done a good deed.
 
You either see the breeding side of flat racing as a feature or a bug. Its a bit tedious going round in circles, no?
 
top horses finishing at the end of their 3yo careers has always been the way..but at least with the Brigadier & Frankel we got the extra year

i love the jumps..but anyone thinking that the majority of people know the best horses in that sphere is wrong imo..Red Rum is about as far as a well known horse from that sphere goes...which is odd when you think that KS was on the go for a number of years. I'll even hazard a guess that if you asked the casual racegoer who Arkle was they wouldn't have a clue. Not many where i work know who Frankel is..although with the news coverage this week that might have changed

i don't see why there has to be a comparison between HN and flat tbh...just enjoy both or forget about the one you aren't bothered about..life's to short
 
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I've dreamed of the Prince announcing that Frankel is to stay in training. I swear if I were in his position I just wouldn't want the dream to stop. He must know it is almost impossible that he (Or anyone else for that matter.) will ever own such a horse again. I doubt it will happen though. There will be something of an air of 'after the Lord Mayor's banquet' about flat racing for some time after Frankel's retirement.

If he goes to Ascot to sign off I've made my mind up to go and see him run once more before the fairy tale ends. :)

Frankelandsandyc.jpg
 
We've already established, via this thread, that large parts of the Flatulent Tendency care more about the proegeny or the money, than seeing this horse finish his career in the best race. It re-affirms my distaste for the whole charade,
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Good stuff. But should add my hobby horse which is not so much finish his career in the arc but be retired full stop

Name another "sport" who's followers seemingly would prefer NOT to see the stars perform
 
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The point always comes when the "I want him to win" turns into the "I don't want him to lose". That and money inevitably curtail the careers of most good flat horses. Why does the Sheikh ever retire any of his Group 1 horses? Abdullah went out with the objective of being self sufficient and I'm sure he has 50 mares ready to be covered by Frankel and that may be as important to him as winning. But as Miesque says, who knows what rocks his party. We would all like to see him continue on the track as we have nothing else to look forward to with him, until his offspring run in a few years. An owner breeder may have a different view.
 
Abdullah went out with the objective of being self sufficient and I'm sure he has 50 mares ready to be covered by Frankel and that may be as important to him as winning
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Maybe, although they can wait. Breeders fair enough but its when "fans" of the "sport" think the same that we are in a strange world (of anoraks, spreadsheets and a mobile that never rings....i would guess)
 
Strawman argument. Is there really any racing fan on here - or beyond - who would be disappointed if Frankel stayed in training? I doubt it.
 
The racing public has no "right" to see him next year. Nor should they consider that they are in a position to demand the horse stays in training. The owner is the one who makes the decisions. We are all passengers on the ride and should be grateful we got to see him this year. If we get to see him again next year, great. If not, it was a privelege to see him for the last few years.
 
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