FRANKEL (foaled February 11, 2008) is a British thoroughbred racehorse. Frankel is unbeaten in 13 races and has been the highest-rated racehorse in the world since May 2011.

In 2010, he defeated a field including Nathaniel and Colour Vision on his debut before winning the Royal Lodge Stakes by 10 lengths and the Dewhurst Stakes in which he defeated the Middle Park Stakes winner Dream Ahead.

As a three-year-old, he won the Classic 2000 Guineas by six lengths, defeated the outstanding older miler Canford Cliffs in the much-anticipated Sussex Stakes at Goodwood and won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. Frankel extended his unbeaten record in 2012 by winning the Lockinge Stakes, the Queen Anne Stakes and the Sussex Stakes for a second time. In August he was moved up to a mile and a quarter for the first time and won the International Stakes at York.

After his win in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October 2011, Frankel was given a rating of 143 by Timeform, the highest mark awarded by the organisation in over 40 years and their fourth highest of all time behind Sea Bird, Brigadier Gerard and Tudor Minstrel. In June 2012, following his win in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, Timeform raised his provisional rating to 147, making him the highest-rated horse in the organisation's history.

Frankel's performance in the 2000 Guineas has been described as "one of the greatest displays on a British racecourse". British bloodstock agency McKeever Bloodstock and Banstead Manor Stud Manager Philip Mitchell have suggested that Frankel has a valuation of £100 million, an estimate which may be "conservative".

Background

Frankel is a bay horse with a large white star, a white snip just above his nose and four white feet bred by Juddmonte Farms, trained by Sir Henry Cecil and owned by Prince Khalid Abdulla. The colt is named after the renowned and late American trainer Bobby Frankel.

Frankel is by champion sire Galileo and out of Listed sprint-winner Kind. Although his sire won the Derby, doubts surfaced over whether Frankel's staying power would be sufficient for the mile-and-a-half race. Frankel was instead targeted towards the St James's Palace Stakes.

Kind has foaled three horses to have raced and all are pattern winners. Frankel's three-parts brother Bullet Train — often his work companion and pacemaker — has won the Lingfield Derby Trial, while Frankel's full-brother Noble Mission has won the Listed Newmarket Stakes, finished second in the Group Two King Edward VII Stakes and won the Group Three Gordon Stakes. Both relatives are also trained by Sir Henry Cecil and owned by Prince Khalid Abdulla. As a descendant of the broodmare Circassia, Frankel is from the same branch of Thoroughbred family 1-k which also produced the 2000 Guineas winner Don't Forget Me.

Frankel is bred on the Galileo-Danehill cross, a notable nick that is also apparent in the pedigrees of Group One winners Teofilo, Golden Lilac, Roderic O'Connor, Maybe, and Cima De Triomphe.

Editor's Note: The preceding article on Frankel is taken from the free online encyclopedia — Wikipedia