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Frankel receives lofty 140 ranking again Frankel has confirmed his status as the best horse in the world Wednesday by becoming the first horse in history to run to an official rating of 140 twice in his career thanks to his seven-length victory in the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York. Just as remarkably, he has achieved that rating over two different distances, once over a mile in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and Wednesday over an extended mile and a quarter. It is not just his almost unbelievable superiority over the best of the rest, it is also his exceptional consistency which marks him as a horse the like of which many have never seen before. Frankel is unbeaten in 13 races, nine at the Group 1 level, with his average winning distance an incredible 5 3/4 lengths, and the Sir Henry Cecil charge has run to a rating above 130 in each of his last six outings. The Prince Khalid Abdulla homebred now has the opportunity to match or even beat the end-of-career 141 awarded to Dancing Brave in 1986, most likely in the Group 1 Champion Stakes, Europe's most valuable 1 1/4-mile race and the highlight of QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on October 20. "To achieve 140 twice in his career is a ground-breaking performance by the world's best racehorse and he could yet go on to match or even top Dancing Brave's 141, perhaps on QIPCO British Champions Day," British Horseracing Authority's Head of Handicapping Phil Smith said. "I took into account the ease with which he went seven lengths clear yesterday to equate that to a nine and a quarter length victory, which at 1 3/4 pounds per length puts him 16 pounds clear of the pair who fought out second place. "Farhh's rating has been raised from 122 to 124 to match that of St Nicholas Abbey, who was a nose behind him in third, while I have upgraded Nathaniel's mark in winning the Eclipse and finishing second in the King George to 125 from 124." Rod Street, Chief Executive of British Champions Series, said: "We are obviously hoping that Frankel's swansong before he retires to stud will come at Ascot in the QIPCO Champion Stakes (on October 20) when his legions of fans can bid the greatest racehorse any of us are ever likely to see a very special farewell. "If last year's winner, Cirrus des Aigles, who is the second best middle distance horse in the world behind Frankel this season on a rating of 128, four pounds higher than Farhh and St Nicholas Abbey, takes him on, then he will have the perfect opportunity to produce that all-time best performance that everyone craves. He has now won eight QIPCO British Champions Series races, such that it is almost as though the Series was created for him last year, and he now sits proudly at the top of the Mile and Middle Distance ratings tables for this season like a colossus. "Ticket sales for QIPCO British Champions Day are already running well ahead of last year at this stage and if Frankel's participation is confirmed, we could have a very rapid sell-out indeed!" Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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