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/ Timeform / 27 March 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Frankel is unbeaten in nine career starts
"Sir Henry Cecil remains of the opinion that Frankel could be an even better horse this year than he was during his incredible three-year-old campaign..."
Sir Henry Cecil remains of the opinion that Frankel could be an even better horse this year than he was during his incredible three-year-old campaign...
The Galileo colt, rated 143 by Timeform, is unbeaten in nine starts in all and a spellbinding performance in last year's 2000 Guineas kicked off a run of four Group 1 hauls.
The Lockinge Stakes at Newbury is his comeback target and Cecil has yet to decide whether his charge will then stick at a mile for the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, or step up in distance for 10-furlong Prince of Wales's Stakes.
All going well, Frankel's stamina will be tested at some stage, with August's Juddmonte International at York an obvious target given the race is sponsored by owner Prince Khalid Abdullah.
"He's grown and he's stronger. He's beginning to settle well and mentally he's grown up. As long as he keeps right, he could be a better horse this year than last year," said Cecil.
"We'll start off over a mile and we'll feel our way. Whether he runs at Ascot over a mile or a mile and a quarter, time will tell. Eventually he'll hopefully be running a mile and a quarter, hopefully by Juddmonte time.
"He may go and a mile and a quarter earlier, but he'll tell us what to do, I'm not going to tell him.
"Every day is another day and I'm always happy after I see him walking across the road after he's cantered. Things can happen to horses."
Cecil is pleased with his string as a whole ahead of the new turf season, but would like to see some rain to help speed up their progress.
"It's a bit frustrating because we need some rain to get them on the grass. The grass brings them on so much more," Cecil told At The Races.
"We've done a lot of conditioning exercise but we have to get out for the spring meetings at Newbury and Newmarket because they are a stepping stone for the rest of the season.
"We have nearly 150 horses. It's competitive as long as we've got the quality, as you need the good horses to have a good year.
"You can have 40 winners of £3,000 races, which is £120,000. If you have a good horse, you can earn that money for finishing second in a Group 1 race."
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