Frankel retires on Ascot high

Sportsdesk • Published 20 Oct 2012 17:30 0 Comments

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OWNER Prince Khalid Abdulla confirmed that Frankel had run his last race after the greatest horse of modern times made it 14 wins from as many starts in the QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot.

The four-year-old appeared not to relish the testing underfoot conditions but still held off last year's winner Cirrus Des Aigles to score by a length and three-quarters at Saturday's sell-out meeting.

"That is the end of it and he will retire to stud now. Today was important because it was his last race," said Abdulla. "I knew he was going to win beforehand and I think he would have been further in front of the other horses if it hadn't been for the ground."

Abdulla's racing manager, Teddy Grimthorpe, added "Frankel is the greatest and he has brought a whole new generation of people and a wider audience to the sport.

"He's the ultimate equine athlete. He's been important because he has brought the sport from the back pages of the papers to the front pages. Hopefully a new generation of interest he has spawned will be a fantastic legacy."

Frankel is set to stand as a stallion at Prince Khalid's Banstead Manor Stud in Cheveley, near Newmarket.

++ FOR MORE ON FRANKEL'S LAST APPEARANCE, SEE THURSDAY'S NEWS **

This article appeared in Bracknell News 22 Oct 12

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