Nic Doggett assesses the performance of Frankel with the help of Dominic Gardiner-Hill.
The BHA's Official Handicapper runs the rule over Frankel
Frankel ran the QIPCO Sussex Stakes mile in 1m 37secs. That alone isn't an astounding fact, especially as it was less than a second quicker than the mile handicap the previous day.
However it was the manner of the Galileo colt's victory which has catapulted him clear in the race to be crowned 'Cartier Horse of the Year', and also resulted in Timeform allotting him a new rating of 142, some 2lbs above Sea The Stars and just 3lbs below the highest rated of all time Sea Bird II.
The reaction of the BHA was slightly less dramatic, however his official rating rose signifincantly from 130 to 135.
Dominic Gardiner-Hill, the BHA's senior mile handicapper, explains: "Rio De La Plata went into the race with a rating of 120 however that was achieved over 10 furlongs and he's never been better than 118 at a mile, so I've taken him to have run to that mark at Goodwood.
"That means I've got Canford Cliffs running to 123, 4lbs off his very best of 127.
"It's fairly clear that Richard Hannon's colt wasn't at his best at Goodwood if we go on a line through Rio De La Plata who he beat by five lengths in the Queen Anne.
"We can't use him as a real guide for the race, otherwise we'd have to drag Rio De La Plata up the ratings significantly.
"Mathematically, there's another 10lbs for the five lengths that Frankel beat Canford Cliffs which put him up to 133, but I feel that's underplaying it somewhat.
"Given the impressive nature of the victory I've added a couple of extra pounds, meaning that his new rating is 135."
Surpassing Greats
In demolishing the older horse Canford Cliffs, Frankel established himself as a horse capable of not just matching the achievements of former greats El Gran Senor, Sea Bird II, Brigadier Gerard, Ribot, and Mill Reef, but actually surpassing them.
"Once you get up to this sort of level you start to draw historical comparisons, and he would be on the same mark as Harbinger at his best last year, and just one pound below Sea The Stars in 2009", Gardiner-Hill added.
"The best milers that I've seen since I took over the milers handicapping in 1996, was Mark Of Esteem for his QEII win that year, and the mighty Hawk Wing after his 2003 Lockinge victory.
"They both finished the year with International Ratings of 133, but I'm pretty convinced that Frankel is better than both of those.
"As far as other milers are concerned, Zilzal was 134, Warning, as a three-year-old was 133, Miesque, both at three and four, was rated 132.
"Since 1984 the only miler rated higher than Frankel was El Gran Senor, who was 138."
The Best Is Still To Come
The question remains whether we are yet to see the best of Frankel, and Gardiner-Hill believes that the strength of his opposition needs to improve if he is to better his current rating.
"It looks like he'll go for the QEII; from a handicapping point of view it would be nice if we get slightly softer ground in October and that we have the likes of Dick Turpin and Cityscape to give the race a bit more strength in depth.
"He'll have to do something akin to his performance at Goodwood if he is to better his mark."
Now unbeaten in eight starts, Sir Henry Cecil's colt has attracted more column inches than any other horse in recent times, including Sea The Stars, however his scintillating victory on the "Downs" didn't come as a big surprise to the handicappers.
"I think his victory in the QIPCO 2000 Guineas was the most stunning display I've ever seen from a racehorse," Gardiner-Hill confesses.
"Then at Ascot obviously not everything went to plan, yet he still prevailed in the Queen Anne Stakes.
"After the race everyone was a little disappointed, having expected another run like Newmarket, but in retrospect it was a very good performance given the way the race panned out and the way he was ridden.
"A couple of days later we saw So You Think get run down by Rewilding in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes, however Frankel was able to keep his gallop up all the way to the line and hold off the challengers in his race.
"There's little doubt that we saw the proper Frankel at Goodwood, ridden to the best advantage and I think we really saw what he's capable of.
"I think the brutal truth is that we don't know how good he is but it's very easy to get carried away on a tidal wave of emotion and hype, and whilst we might like to, unfortunately that's not our job.
"Our job is to come up with an objective view of a horse's ability and we can only do that on the horses that he beats."
Subjective View
The line between subjective and objective is often a difficult one to draw in the sand, and the man tasked with assessing the miling brigade, admits that he wants Frankel to stay over a mile this season, as he looks likely to, with the QEII preferred to the Juddmonte International at this stage.
"Selfishly I don't want him to go for the Juddmonte International at York as I look after the milers and it means that Phil Smith would get the pleasure of watching him all the time!
"It's been an absolute privilege to watch his performances this season and it would be nice to see him through all the way to the QEII.
"From racing's point of view, you can see why connections might be tempted - they've got the mile crown in the bag, they haven't really got much more to prove.
"In sponsoring the race there's an obvious carrot being dangled in front of him, but connections have already stated that the plan is for him to stay in training as a four-year-old and maybe ten furlongs will be on the agenda next year."
Only time will tell whether we are lucky enough to witness this fantastic racehorse in his third season, however one thing is for sure.
Whether you were a Canford Cliffs or a Frankel fan before Glorious Goodwood, everyone is surely now a fan of Sir Henry Cecil's outstanding performer, and wherever he runs next, he should receive the sort of rousing reception that a true champion deserves.
