Frankel: A star who got the stage he deserved

Champions Day / Simon Rowlands / 19 October 2011 / 4

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There's no doubt that 2011 belonged to Frankel

"Frankel not only came home fast in straightforward terms – posting a sub-11-second furlong between the three and two poles – but he came home fastest of all winners on the day in relative terms."

The first British Champions Day was well received in nearly all quarters. Regular blogger Simon Rowlands considers the day's various aspects, including the welcome return of sectional timing and of a certain horse called Frankel...

The fates undoubtedly smiled on the first Qipco-sponsored British Champions Day at Ascot - not least in terms of it being run in unseasonably glorious weather - but the organisers also deserve considerable credit for making things happen in the face of a widespread negativity which only truly started to evaporate near the time.

Over 26,000 attended - a healthy if not overwhelming number which will surely be improved upon in years to come - and the feedback from many of them was extremely positive.

I caught up with racehorse trainer Jeremy Gask at Bath races the following day, when the well-travelled Australian was full of praise for the occasion.

"That was probably the best day's racing I have ever been to", he said, before adding "you Pommies put Melbourne Cup Day and us Aussies to shame" (though I may have misheard that second bit).

Criticisms, such as they were, from Jeremy and others, were mostly confined to suggestions for fine-tuning.

Finishing off such an epic card with a 29-runner apprentice handicap seemed a trifle odd. If an apprentice race is desirable at all, my suggestion would be to have a valuable conditions event - another Group contest, possibly - confined to the dozen top apprentices in Britain.

Moving the event to September will almost certainly happen and would lessen the likelihood of the event falling foul of the weather. The controversy concerning the new whip rules and the associated draconian punishments should be a distant memory in 12 months' time. It needs to be.

One aspect of QBCD which worked only in part was the reintroduction of sectional timing.

While this feature was very welcome overall, it fell down somewhat in its execution on the day.

The times displayed on-screen by the BBC for the opener made no sense, and the terrestrial broadcaster understandably dropped this feature subsequently.

The cumulative on-screen times for at least one of the other races on RUK did not tally, even remotely, with the official time and with the subsequent TurfTrax data.

Teething problems with the software converting the TurfTrax data into "live" figures might have been to blame. At least the data that TurfTrax published once the race had been completed appears to be robust.

Much as live sectional data is highly desirable, not least in terms of the promotion of the sport as one which has embraced 21st Century technology, the real benefits come in calm analysis away from the heat of the moment.

In this respect, it is excellent to find that the sectionals are freely available to the public, including on the British Champions Series dedicated website.

The data shows that the last-three-furlongs finishing speeds of the winners (expressed as a percentage of their average race speeds) were as follows: Fame And Glory, 103.8%; Deacon Blues 101.9%; Dancing Rain 100.1%; Frankel 104.6%; and Cirrus des Aigles 102.5%. Around the 100.5% mark is "par" at Ascot, though it varies slightly by distance and according to conditions.

Frankel not only came home fast in straightforward terms - posting a sub-11-second furlong between the three and two poles - but he came home fastest of all winners on the day in relative terms.

A fast finish was also in evidence for his rivals, with the exception of the pacemaker Bullet Train, confirming visual impressions that the early pace was on the steady side in the main group.

Nonetheless, even with that in mind, Frankel's finishing effort makes impressive reading.
He completed the last three furlongs in 35.67 seconds, which is only 0.08 seconds slower than the top-notch sprinter Deacon Blues did - having run two furlongs less up to that point - earlier on the card.

Could Frankel match strides with the best sprinters? I think he could!

A longer, rather than a shorter, trip is likely to be in the offing for Frankel next year, however. The horse's brilliance is surely long since beyond dispute, but his versatility remains largely untested. He still has territory to conquer in 2012.

2011, however, belonged without doubt to Frankel. British racing needed a finale at which he could showcase his phenomenal talents, and, thanks to the vision behind Champions Day, it got one.

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Jon da Silva | 18 October 2011

I don't know how accurate they were on RUK but unused to downhill sectionals I kinda wrote off my bets when Dancing Rain rattled off 2nd to 4th in under 34 seconds.

It also gave lie to the visual impression can tell you much. An experienced commentator said Dancing Rain was running a steady pace.

European horses here on the right tracks as the Foret/Arc showed the other week can go every bit as fast as anything in the US it seems.

RUK aside I don't think BBC had the confidence to really make comments based on sections which was a shame but better than spouting ignorantly.

Frankel's run 3 times to 140+ now? Is that a record?
Simon Rowlands | 18 October 2011

Hi Jon.

The one thing that struck me about the test data - such as there was - was how fast the opening of a 1½m race at Ascot can be. It would seem that the first 3f or so is remarkably easy (or the data is wrong). Worth remembering where stamina at what is otherwise a fairly testing course is concerned.

I will get back to you on the 140+ matter, though it may take some time and a trip to Timeform House, given that my Annuals at home only go back to the late-70s!

Simon
Anonymous | 18 October 2011

Well done Simon on actually posting a link for the sectional times. Just goes to show that even to those who follow the sport closely it still takes some digging to find some basic information.

Tony B
Jose | 19 October 2011

Are we giving the organisers credit for the quality of fields on show or for achieving their attendance target, Simon?

“We see a sell-out crowd of 30,000, which is around double the number of people that enjoyed the Champion Stakes at Newmarket in 2010, as a very appropriate first year target for what will be by far the richest raceday ever staged in this country,” said Rod Street, the newly appointed Chief Executive of British Champions Series Limited. (14th July 2011)

The apprentice race 'nonsense' to fill a sixth race could be solved by making the card stronger still. With the September switch after next year seemingly inevitable, I'd like to see Fillies' Mile and Royal Lodge moved back to Ascot for this day. Quite frankly, Newmarket is a lost cause after the changes, but that's another issue.

Hopefully the day's sponsors - although you'll note I can't buy a 'QIPCO burger' - will fund sectional times for their series in 2011. Found it interesting to see that Excelebration's 2nd last furlong was quicker than Frankel's in chasing, but Frankel's ability to sustain his effort saw him draw further and further clear again. Suppose this is what they describe as 'quickening twice' without sectional times, although it's obvious the finish is uphill.