Frankel lives up to the hype and more Frankel somehow managed to exceed every expectation on a Newmarket afternoon crackling with intensity by producing one of the most staggering Classic performances seen in many years in the Qipco 2000 Guineas. It was not just the winning distance - six lengths - which took the breath away but the fact Frankel appeared to have the race sewn up by halfway, with the colt's unadulterated power seeing him brush past his intended pacemaker Rerouted from the very beginning. Tom Queally was estimated to be at least 10 if not 15 lengths clear with a quarter-mile left, sparking cheers from the crowd, such is the goodwill towards the unbeaten and clearly extraordinary thoroughbred and his trainer Henry Cecil, the racing town's favourite son. Queally reported afterwards he was never worried how far ahead he was and although he bustled Frankel along for the final furlong, the second and third home, Dubawi Gold and Native Khan, were merely a sideshow. Records and milestones were obliterated. Cecil was celebrating his 25th British Classic and his first 2000 since Wollow in 1976, while Frankel, at odds of 1-2, was a shorter-priced winning favourite than Nijinsky in 1970. And it is believed the last horse to win a 2000 Guineas by such a margin was Tudor Minstrel back in 1947. "That was lovely wasn't it?" said Cecil. "We didn't want him to get out of his stride in a muddling pace and I've been teaching him to relax. "When I saw him 10 lengths clear I thought we had done the right thing by letting him stride on, then I wasn't quite sure but he had fallen asleep in the last furlong. He was waiting for them. "It is a relief. It has gone right and he's a very, very good horse." Cecil's honesty, eccentricities and affable manner has endeared him to virtually all those with an interest in Flat racing for decades and he was characteristically touched by his reception. He said: "I appreciate it, I really do, I get quite embarrassed by the crowd but it's lovely to be back here. I hope I'm back again, in one form or another. "It's difficult to compare the different years and generations together but to have these great horses is very important. "We've had horses like Arkle, Mill Reef and Sea The Stars over the years and it's good for the racing public, they love a champion." Frankel is already a very short price for the Investec Derby in June and Cecil is now considering his next move, which could even see him trial for Epsom in the totesport Dante Stakes at York on Thursday week. He intends to have a discussion with the colt's owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, but said: "He is in the Dante, so we'll see how he comes out of this and what we want to do. Whether he'll get a mile and a half is another matter. "If he's more of a miler, there is the St James's Palace Stakes, so we'll leave all options open. "If he's very well and he ran in the Dante, then we'd know where we're going. I could easily bring him back a couple of furlongs at Ascot. "The main thing is to do the right thing and see how he is, so I'm not saying he'll definitely run." It was the 26-year-old Queally's first Classic, quite a compensation for Jacqueline Quest losing last year's 1000 in the stewards' room. "It's not been an easy time for us with the media coverage ahead of the race and it's just great this has happened. It will be good to have some nice things on the racing pages now," he beamed. "We had thought about it long and hard beforehand and I decided to go on after 50 yards. "When he went to Newbury (Greenham Stakes) the other week I thought he was losing lengths by being pulled around and I said to Henry that if I had jumped off and made all the running he would have won a lot more easily. "I was never worried about being so far clear. I knew he would stay the mile and I took them all by surprise. "Some people are happiest behind the wheel of a car or an office desk but I'm happiest in the saddle. It was so easy. "He was just so much better today than at Newbury - he made a show of them, didn't he?"
