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This article titled “Jockey Club turn profit of £8.6m and tip £2.7m back into prize money” was written by Greg Wood, for The Guardian on Monday 6th June 2011 23.15 UTC

The Jockey Club, racing’s largest commercial group, will publish annual results on Tuesday that suggest its 14-strong portfolio of racecourses managed to weather the economic turmoil of 2010. The club showed a net profit of £8.6m on turnover of £138m and is committed to increasing its contribution to prize money for 2011 by £2.7m to a record £15.7m.

The club also reduced its debts by £11.6m following several years of significant investment in facilities at its tracks, raising the prospect that a major redevelopment at Cheltenham, where the annual festival makes a significant contribution to the group’s profits, will be approved within the next three years.

“That is absolutely the next major project for the Jockey Club in terms of investment,” Scott Bowers, the club’s spokesman, said on Monday. “It’s not something that’s going to happen tomorrow because we have to finalise the details and ensure that the funding is in place. It’s something for maybe the next three or five years but it could be at the early end of that scale.

“What we can guarantee is that, whenever we make money, we will put it back into racing. We had already announced what we would be putting into prize-money in 2011 but this [£2.7m] represents an extra bit on top of that.”

The club also reported that its Racing Welfare charity saw a 34% rise in the number of people seeking its assistance in 2010 at a time when donations, particularly from corporate sources, were “significantly reduced”. “Racing Welfare costs money and they’re really struggling at the moment in terms of fund-raising,” Bowers said. “That’s also a really important part of our group and we need to make sure that the money is there to support it.”

The Jockey Club’s racecourses are a key component of Racecourse Media Group, which manages the media rights of 31 tracks in all and owns the Racing UK satellite channel. Subscriptions to Racing UK, which costs £20 for TV viewers and £10 online, rose by 4,000 in 2010 to 41,000, while RMG’s overall profit rose to a record £9m.

The success of musical events in boosting racecourse attendance also continued in 2010. Club racecourses hosted 23 evening meetings with post-race concerts, selling more than 250,000 tickets, and will increase the total to 31 meetings in 2011, with acts including Sir Tom Jones, Boyzone and Scissor Sisters.

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Steve Cauthen was 18 years old when he won the American Triple Crown on Affirmed, and Lester Piggott was the same age when he rode his first Derby winner at Epsom in 1954. But even now that Saturday’s post-race adrenalin rush has started to subside, it is possible to argue that in terms of its impact and the manner in which it was achieved, Mickaël Barzalona’s victory on Pour Moi has no  obvious precedent, in living memory at least.

Cauthen and Piggott were both teenaged sensations of some standing when they made their breakthroughs, Piggott having ridden his first winner at the age of 12. Barzalona has emerged from obscurity to scale one of the sport’s most demanding peaks in a matter of months and he has done so, crucially, in a style that no one who witnessed it will ever forget.

One comparison that does come to mind, from another sport, is Michael Owen’s goal for England against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup. That too announced the arrival of a huge talent at the highest level, his youth undaunted by either the setting or the significance. The Epsom stewards, incredibly, saw fit to “warn” Barzalona about his exuberant celebration several yards from the line. Perhaps they did not understand, but anyone who likes their sport with a swagger certainly did.

Owen, of course, has struggled with injuries for a significant part of his subsequent career, and while the jockey is very much the junior partner in the team when it comes to the physical stress of racing, one false step can be all it takes to end a career. This was a single race, too, one that unfolded ideally to maximise the visual impact of Barzalona’s performance on Pour Moi. He will make mistakes too as his career develops, and his reaction to those will be as much of a test of his  qualities as a jockey as his delight in success.

Yet this was not a case of a good horse getting a jockey out of trouble, as last-to-first winning runs sometimes are. The plan was conceived by André Fabre, Pour Moi’s trainer, and then executed to the split-second by his rider.

What Barzalona’s celebration showed, meanwhile, is that he has the priceless ability to see a second or two into the future. Time seems to operate more slowly for the very best jockeys, and while Barzalona was possibly half a second away from disaster on Saturday, for him that was more than enough. Three strides out, he knew with such certainty that he was going to win that there was no reason to bottle up the delight any longer. Stone-cold confidence like that is an asset almost beyond price.

Almost, but not quite. All being well, Barzalona is going to be a very rich young man before too long, not least because his sense of timing seems to extend to the moment of his arrival on the highest stage. The list of top jobs in European racing is pretty short but one, at Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle, is currently vacant, while another, at the Godolphin operation, has been occupied by Frankie Dettori for nearly two decades.

Barzalona has formed close ties with Godolphin already, while Saturday’s success, aboard a very credible candidate for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, came on a horse owned by the Coolmore operation, which sends the great majority of its bloodstock to Ballydoyle. In every respect, Epsom weekend as a whole has made him look like the coming man in a field with few obvious alternatives.

Dettori, for instance, remains an exceptional big-race jockey, but Friday’s Oaks was a calamity as he dropped his hands and was beaten for third on the Godolphin-owned favourite, Blue Bunting. Even before that, there were hints of panic about the way he barged his way to the outside in the straight, having clearly realised that Johnny Murtagh, on the winner, had been given too much rope.

O’Brien, meanwhile, suffered yet again as a result of his “best available” policy, as he was forced to find a last-minute substitute on Recital when Kieren Fallon, as possibly only Fallon could, became the first jockey in Derby history to be scratched by a high court judge. There could be no better reminder for O’Brien both of the benefits of a dependable stable jockey and of Fallon’s seemingly genetic lack of dependability.

It seems likely, though, that Fabre will play an important part in guiding Barzalona’s future, and while John Magnier’s Coolmore is one of the small number of valued clients who keep horses in his stable, that yard is now owned by Sheikh Mohammed and Fabre’s fortunes are tied much more closely to those of the Sheikh than to Magnier.

Fabre has been scouting and developing horses for Godolphin for the last couple of seasons – there could be no better man to apply the finishing touches to their next jockey too.

Dettori has been – and still is – one of the best jockeys in Europe, but he turned 40 in December and crossed off his much-desired Derby win as long ago as 2007. He has precious little left to achieve.

If Barzalona can build on Saturday’s Derby, and see it as a stepping stone as much as an end in itself, Dettori may start to feel – as the runner-up Treasure Beach’s rider, Colm O’Donoghue, did in the final strides at Epsom – that Barzalona is coming to get him.

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This article titled “Sir Michael Stoute says Workforce will ‘really need’ run at Sandown” was written by Chris Cook, for The Guardian on Wednesday 25th May 2011 18.58 UTC

Workforce has drifted in the betting for Thursday’s Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown after a very cautious assessment of his chances by Sir Michael Stoute. Last year’s Derby winner may be in serious need of the outing, the Newmarket trainer said on Wednesday, prompting bookmakers to push him out to odds-against from odds-on.

“He’s done very well physically but I think he’s really going to need this race,” Stoute told At The Races. “We decided we wouldn’t be in a rush with him this year. His first possible target was the Tattersalls Gold Cup [at the Curragh last Sunday], but we thought we wouldn’t take him all the way to Ireland and the race looked tough enough, with So You Think.”

Stoute described the Brigadier Gerard as “a race I don’t particularly like” and noted that Workforce would be carrying 7lb more than all his rivals because of his status as a Group One winner from last year. Previously he ran North Light, also the winner of the previous year’s Derby, in the 2005 Brigadier Gerard and saw him get beaten by New Morning.

“I think the main thing is to get his season started and I’ll be glad just to get him back on the racecourse,” said Stoute, who also had news of Carlton House, his contender for this year’s Derby. “I’ve been happy with his preparation,” added the trainer, who described the colt’s last serious piece of work before Epsom as “very satisfactory”. Carlton House was shortened by several firms but remains a general 6-4.

Frankie Dettori will not attend a hearing on Thursday at the offices of the British Horseracing Authority arising from his failure to take a ride at Newbury a fortnight ago. The jockey told reporters that he had stood himself down because prize money for the race did not meet the minimum level specified by the Horsemen’s Group tariff but the BHA later announced that he had given a different, unrelated reason to its officials at the track.

It is understood that Dettori has offered no defence and will therefore be found guilty, in absence, of a breach of the rule requiring jockeys to take the rides for which they are declared. He is likely to face a fine of a few hundred pounds.

The Italian’s employer, Godolphin, has knocked down a suggestion made by a trainer on Twitter that they would withdraw their three Derby entrants out of goodwill towards the Queen, the owner of Carlton House, a horse gifted to her by Sheikh Mohammed. A spokesman for Godolphin insisted that the plan is to be represented in the Epsom classic.

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 PADDY POWER REVISED ODDS FOR THE ABU DHABI IRISH 2000 GUINEAS DUE TO ZOFFANY DEFECTING
Dubawi Gold 6-4, Roderic O’Connor 11-4, Dunboyne Express 3-1, Zabarajad 13-2, Master Of Hounds 12-1, Slim Shadey 16-1, High Ruler, Oracle 20-1, Ashva, Follproof 200-1.

Paddy Power is the official betting partner of The Curragh and opens a new betting shop at the racecourse on Saturday.

The cast list for the Irish 2,000 Guineas at The Curragh on Saturday declined throughout the day on Monday as only 11 horses were declared for the Classic and one of those, Zoffany, who had been second-favourite, was ruled out a few hours later after suffering a bout of colic.

With the names of Dream Ahead and Pathfork also failing to appear among the declarations, Dubawi Gold, runner-up to Frankel in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, is a strong favourite with Paddy Power at 6-4, with Roderic O’Connor and Dunboyne Express quoted at 11-4 and 3-1 respectively.

Dubawi Gold was a 33-1 outsider at Newmarket but proved to be the best of the rest in a race dominated by the brilliant winner. His run on Saturday will be the first significant test for Frankel’s Guineas form and victory would also offer encouragement to ante-post supporters of Native Khan, third home at Newmarket, for next month’s Derby.

Dream Ahead may now be aimed towards a potential meeting with Frankel in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. “We’ve always genuinely felt that he is a horse who needs cut in the ground,” David Simcock, his trainer, said. “We’re very much looking forward to [Ascot]. The challenge of running against Frankel excites me.”

The Temple Stakes at Haydock on Saturday promises to be the race of the weekend as the Hungarian-trained Overdose, who acquired the nickname of the Budapest Bullet on the way to a career record of 15 wins from 16 starts, makes his British debut in the Group Two event.

Possible opponents include four previous winners at Group One level in Markab, Kingsgate Native, Borderlescott and Sole Power, the shock winner of last year’s Nunthorpe Stakes at York.

Overdose was installed as 2-1 favourite for the race by William Hill, though the only Group One “victory” on his record, in the 2008 Prix de l’Abbaye, was scratched from the record when the race was declared void because one of the stalls had failed to open. The race was re-run without Overdose in the field, with the winner, Marchand D’Or, recording a slower time down the five-furlong course than Overdose had done a few hours earlier.

Magic City, who seemed sure to be a Royal Ascot contender when he won on his racecourse debut at Newbury, was beaten at odds-on for the second time since at Windsor tonight.

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This article titled “Tin Horse emerges as French challenger to Frankel with Guineas win” was written by Greg Wood, for The Guardian on Sunday 15th May 2011 18.22 UTC

Paul Hanagan and Richard Fahey have chalked off one achievement after another over the past 12 months, but a first Classic success proved beyond them here on Sunday as Wootton Bassett, who was unbeaten in his five starts in 2010, could finish only fifth behind Tin Horse in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, the French 2,000 Guineas. The winner, who quickened impressively in the final furlong, may now travel to Royal Ascot to lead the French challenge to Frankel in the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Wootton Bassett was returning to the scene of his win in last year’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère on Arc day, which was a first Group One success for both Hanagan and Fahey, and was a strong favourite at 2-1 despite a wide draw.

Hanagan, who won his first jockeys’ title a month after the colt’s last outing, was slick from the gate and soon in front, just as he had been last October, but with two furlongs to run there were clearly horses behind him going much more smoothly.

One of those was Havane Smoker, who took Wootton Bassett’s measure just inside the final furlong, but his finishing kick was no match for the acceleration of Tin Horse, who quickly carried Thierry Jarnet two lengths clear at the line. The winner paid just over 8-1 on the pari-mutuel.

“Paul just thought he was a bit fresh,” Fahey said. “He thought he did a bit too much and just didn’t get home. He hit the lids great, then he gave him a bit of a squeeze and he took off with him a bit.

“It was his first day back at school, it could be worse. I’d like to get him home before I say anything [about where he will race next].”

Tin Horse had dead-heated for second behind Wootton Bassett in the Lagardère, and also finished just a length and a half behind Dream Ahead, another of last season’s top two-year-olds, in the Prix Morny. He also found trouble in running when only third on his seasonal debut, and while Frankel will pose an altogether different challenge if Tin Horse heads to Ascot, Didier Guillemin’s colt should not be dismissed out of hand.

The Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, the French 1,000 Guineas, also remained at home as André Fabre’s Golden Lilac, the 6-4 favourite, extended her unbeaten record to four starts with an impressive three-length success. The Prix de Diane (French Oaks) next month is expected to be her next start.

Golden Lilac did well to stretch so far clear of her opponents after a race run at a pedestrian pace in which the first, second and third were second, first and fourth respectively as they turned for home.

The British-trained runners Rimth, Zoowra and Maqaasid were among those who failed to make any impression in the straight, though Wild Wind, from Aidan O’Brien’s stable in Ireland, ran well to finish third.

Inxile was disqualified from the Prix de Saint-Georges two years ago after passing the post in front, but the David Nicholls-trained sprinter returned to take the Group Three event despite appearing from almost every angle to have been second at best.

Inxile, Captain Dunne and the fast-finishing Split Trois were locked together at the line, but Adrian Nicholls, Inxile’s jockey, seemed as surprised as anyone when his mount was announced as having got up to beat Captain Dunne by a nose.

David Nicholls will now plan the rest of Inxile’s campaign around a return to Longchamp for the Group One Prix de l’Abbaye on Arc day.

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Big Zeb is the 4/1 favourite from 6s with victorchandler.com to regain his Champion Chase crown after his battling victory in the 2m Grade 1 Punchestown Chase.

Champion Chase March 2012:

Big Zeb 4/1 (from 6s)

Sizing Europe 5/1 (from 4s)

Finian’s Rainbow 8/1

Captain Chris 8/1

12s bar

This article titled “Big Zeb turns Cheltenham tables on Sizing Europe at Punchestown” was written by Chris Cook at Punchestown, for The Guardian on Tuesday 3rd May 2011 19.13 UTC

Big Zeb got his revenge over Sizing Europe, who beat him at the Cheltenham Festival, by edging out that rival in a thrilling race for the Champion Chase on Tuesday. His jockey, Barry Geraghty, was so impressed by the way the horse rallied after a late mistake that he compared him to Moscow Flyer, one of the best two-mile chasers of modern times, who won 25 races under the jockey.

“They’re both willing to take that chance at a fence,” the jockey said. “He went for a big one at the fourth-last and I thought that was our chance gone. He wings fences all the way through. After making that mistake, you can still throw him at the second-last and he’d come up for you. Both tracks were well-watered, Cheltenham and Punchestown today, but I suppose that the spring ground has just helped my fella. He had more life in him, he travelled better through the race, jumped better.”

The winning trainer, Colm Murphy, was inclined to believe that any difference between the two horses comes down to which is in better form on the day, saying: “Probably our lad got out of bed the right side this morning and he didn’t.” But Henry de Bromhead, trainer of Sizing Europe, felt his horse was better suited by having to slog up the Cheltenham hill, while this flatter course plays to Big Zeb’s greater speed.

Later, Murphy completed his first Grade One double when Quito De La Roque won the staying novice chase. He said the horse would still have to improve 20lb to be considered for next year’s Gold Cup.

There was a brief moment of alarm as Big Zeb entered the winner’s enclosure, when the crowd’s welcoming roar spooked Sizing Europe, who crashed into some advertising hoardings. He was immediately led away, uninjured.

JP McManus unveiled a giant portrait of his former champion hurdler Istabraq before racing and horses carrying his colours marked the occasion by winning the first two races. Shot From The Hip’s success in the Grade One novice hurdle was the more prestigious but Outlaw Pete’s was the more dramatic.

Trained by Enda Bolger, he eventually won a race over the cross-country fences in which three horses took the wrong course, all three having been in front at the time. The stewards will consider whether any adjustment to the circuit is required after Jamie Codd, riding Theroadtocroker, said his horse had slipped while trying to take a bend that was “too tight”, causing him to run wide of the next fence.

Kauto Star will be the main attraction at the meeting on Wednesday, as he takes on Kempes and Nacarat in the Guinness Gold Cup.

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This article titled “Ducking the Epsom Derby no disgrace for 2,000 Guineas winner Frankel” was written by Greg Wood, for The Guardian on Monday 2nd May 2011 23.06 UTC

Racing has suffered so many disappointments in the past when promising juveniles failed to live up to unrealistic expectations that it was difficult to know quite what to do on Saturday when, just for once, those expectations were not simply fulfilled but wildly exceeded.

Celebrate, of course, and relish the moment, as a performance like Frankel’s on Saturday has been a long time coming. Human nature being as it is, though, it was not long before many started looking forward rather than back. Frankel has cleared that bar, so we had better move it higher so he can do it all over again.

Collectively we should probably know better by now but then racing – and bookmaking – would be nothing without relentless optimism in the face of regular disappointment.

It might be wise, though, to retain at least a grain of realism about how much any horse, even one as prodigiously talented as Frankel, can be expected to achieve over the course of a season, not least in any debate over the choice of his next race.

The options as described by his trainer, Henry Cecil, on Sunday seemed deceptively simple: the Derby, over 12 furlongs, or the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot over a mile. But even then there is no end of variables for Frankel’s connections to consider before they come up with a decision that some fans, inevitably, will insist is the “wrong” one.

The problem for Cecil and Frankel’s connections is that there is not a “right” answer. What is best for the horse, what is best for the owner and trainer and what is best for racing are not necessarily the same thing. All they can do is to try to strike a balance somewhere.

At this stage the scales seem to be coming down strongly in favour of Ascot, which will not go down well with some. It was not necessary to search far on racing’s internet forums on Saturday evening to find posters suggesting that Frankel “must” go to Epsom. Some of those same anonymous voices are likely to maintain it is a “disgrace” if he does not.

It will not be anything of the sort, of course, but it is a sign of the Derby’s enduring importance that racing fans can be upset by any apparent slight on its importance. Many still cherish the Racing Post headline “Sad, Mad, Bad” in 1995 when Celtic Swing – another superstar juvenile – was sent to the French Derby instead.

It would be extraordinary to see a horse with Frankel’s exuberant natural speed try to rise to the challenge of the world’s most famous 12-furlong race and more extraordinary still if he could come through with his unbeaten record intact. A personal view would be that his chance of success is very slim but, unless he tries, we will never know for sure and, if Frankel does miss his chance to run in the Epsom Classic, there is no going back.

And win or lose at Epsom, there would have to be a chance at least that the last two furlongs would leave a mark on him. Might that be worth it if a great horse has secured his place on the most important list of winners in existence? Some might say yes, others no. If Frankel is to raise racing’s public profile, though, a string of victories, perhaps even extending into a four-year-old season, is probably better than a single, immense effort at Epsom with the potential to bottom him out.

Again there are no right answers here, just a great mass of maybes to consider and, no doubt, plenty of 20-20 hindsight to be exercised further down the line. I would love to see Frankel run in the Derby but at the same time I can see some strong reasons why he will probably not and, if the finest British trainer of the last 40 years decides that Ascot is the better option, that is good enough for me.

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This article titled “So You Think makes impressive debut at the Curragh for Aidan O’Brien” was written by Greg Wood, for The Guardian on Monday 2nd May 2011 19.38 UTC

So You Think, a five-time Group One winner in Australia, is clear favourite for the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July following an impressive European debut for Aidan O’Brien at the Curragh on Monday. Sent off at odds of 2-13, the son of High Chaparral was a dominating presence in the paddock beforehand and imposed his superiority on the Group Three Mooresbridge Stakes, drawing 10 lengths clear at the line.

The horse’s wins in Australia include the Cox Plate, the country’s premier open middle-distance event, and he is as short as 5-2 (from 6-1) with Paddy Power to take its British equivalent at Ascot this year.

“He’s only been doing half speeds at home and was just ready to start today,” O’Brien said. “You couldn’t have asked for more; he’s an incredible specimen and it’s a privilege to have him.”

So You Think is now likely to be aimed at the Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh on 22 May, where he could face Workforce, last year’s Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner,

The connections of World Domination, the ante-post favourite for the Derby, said on Mondaythat he is still expected to need his next race in the Dante Stakes at York next week. Henry Cecil’s colt was unraced at two, but made a striking racecourse debut at Newbury last month.

“World Domination has had a bruise on his foot, as Henry mentioned at the weekend,” Teddy Grimthorpe, Prince Khalid Abdullah’s racing manager, said. “It has been treated but he’s missed a piece of work.

“We will still go to the Dante but obviously he is likely to need that run. The Derby is still in the plan but Henry just wanted to make people aware.”

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This article titled “Frankel reaches superstar status after 2,000 Guineas win at Newmarket” was written by Chris Cook at Newmarket, for The Observer on Saturday 30th April 2011 17.44 UTC

Frankel produced one of the greatest performances seen on a British racecourse when running away with the 2,000 Guineas here, propelling his much-loved trainer, Henry Cecil, back to the top of his profession long after his career had seemed in its twilight. Incredibly, the manner of this all-the-way victory matched the wildest hopes held for the colt, whose reputation has grown with each appearance on the gallops as well as with each of his six wins.

Seasoned racing fans should be inured to the claims made on behalf of any “wonder horse” after so many disappointments but tales of Frankel duffing up his work companions helped to bring a large, excited crowd through the gates and they sent him off as the 1-2 favourite, the shortest in this race since 1974, when Apalachee could finish only third. On one occasion, while working parallel to the train tracks at Newmarket, Frankel was seen overtaking a train.

It almost seems possible to believe every word in light of Saturday’s race, in which Frankel burst from the stalls and immediately went clear of his field, to the audible astonishment of the crowd. By halfway, the contest seemed over and the applause began before he had reached the furlong pole.

Briefly, that seemed premature as the three-year-old lost momentum close home, but defeat never appeared remotely in prospect. At the line, he had six lengths in hand of Dubawi Gold and Native Khan, with the rest beaten a further 11 lengths and more.

In the 235-year history of English Classic races, there can hardly have been a more dominating performance, but Cecil’s natural inclination towards understatement prevented him from making any grand claims. “It’s difficult to compare years and different champions but he must be up there with them,” was the trainer’s assessment as he stood in the winner’s enclosure, visibly struggling with his emotions.

Cecil was given repeated bursts of applause, including after acknowledging the racegoers’ support. The trainer, now 68, earned the adoration of every punter through the 1980s and early 90s, when he was a highly reliable source of winners each summer. But the last of his 10 champion trainer’s titles came in 1993 and his tally of winners dwindled as low as a dozen in the whole of 2005, since when he has been treated for stomach cancer.

Now, the continued faith of Frankel’s owner, the Saudi prince Khalid Abdullah, has brought Cecil the chance to train another champion. “It’s lovely to be back here,” said the trainer, whose previous 2,000 Guineas winner was Wollow in 1976, “and I hope I’m here again one day, in one form or other.”

Saturday’s sensational tactics seem to have had their birth in Frankel’s prep-race, the Greenham at Newbury a fortnight ago, after which his jockey Tom Queally felt that settling him behind a pacemaker had been a mistake.

“He’s a horse that’s happiest when he’s galloping,” Queally said. “I felt at Newbury, we were kind of upsetting him by holding him back. We thought we’d maybe lost a length at the start we could have used at the end. I said to Henry, if we had let him jump to make the running, he might have won better.”

Gallops-watchers got a suspicion of what was to come when Frankel led throughout in a recent piece of work but he still had a pacemaker, Rerouted, in the race. “He took them by surprise,” said the jockey, who has now won one Classic to Cecil’s 25. “I’m delighted we did it like that.”

Queally denied any nervousness about executing such astonishing tactics. “That’s where you switch off,” he said. “Some people are happiest behind the wheel of a car or at an office desk. When I’m in the saddle, that’s where I’m happiest.” He may get a chance to relive the experience in less than a fortnight, as the next race suggested as a target for Frankel is the Dante Stakes at York on 12 May. That race, over a quarter-mile further than Saturday’s mile, is established as the premier trial for the Derby over a mile and a half, but Cecil still has reservations over Frankel’s stamina for the Epsom Classic. “We’ll see how he comes out of this and what we want to do,” the trainer said. “Whether he’ll get a mile and a half is another matter. Obviously, if he’s very well and he ran in the Dante, we know where we’re going.”

If Frankel does not seem likely to relish the extra distance at York, he could skip Epsom and return to a mile in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, Cecil pointed out. He also trains the Derby second-favourite, World Domination. The fear would be that this performance may leave its mark on Frankel but the trainer was sanguine on that score. “It worked out exactly as I wanted it to work out and as I’d planned. I thought he could do it like that if he relaxed in front but I didn’t actually think that, having been in front so long, he would wonder where the other horses were. He was going to sleep and waiting for them. But that’s not a bad thing, he hasn’t taken too much out of himself.”

Having collected himself, Cecil set off to celebrate in exactly the style that his followers would expect. “Right,” he said. “I’m going to have some tea.”

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