Frankel ready to make it 12

Frankel has long ceased to be a lucrative betting option but very few will be hoping for anything other than another impressive victory for the world's top racehorse as he lines up in the Qipco Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

Just three rivals, including his own lead horse and pacemaker Bullet Train, stand in the way of Sir Henry Cecil's colt taking his career record to a perfect 12 and those who like to back short-priced favourites will find no better odds than 1-16 at this stage.

Last year's renewal saw Frankel tear the brilliant Canford Cliffs apart and he looked as impregnable as ever on his most recent start in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

So step forward Farhh, supplemented by Godolphin after his brave second to Nathaniel in the Eclipse, and St James's Palace fifth Gabrial.

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, said: "It was never destined to be an enormous field, so what can you do?

"He's in good shape, everyone seems very happy with his preparation, so he's going into the race in good form."

Grimthorpe still warns against complacency and said: "Frankel is definitely going to be the horse to beat - there is no doubt about that - but he still has to put his best foot forward.

"However, on the best form that he has shown he is going to be superior to most animals that turn up.

"We respect him (Farhh) as he was unlucky at Royal Ascot and ran a super race at Sandown in the Eclipse so he is a very legitimate horse."

Looking back on 12 months ago, when Frankel again faced just three opponents, Grimthorpe said: "I was really impressed with the way he did it, especially from the front.

"There was no question of Canford Cliffs doing what he didn't want to do at any stage and I thought Frankel put in a really powerful performance.

"He just kept increasing and increasing and it took him a long time to pull up afterwards.

"It was one of his best performances. We have been so spoilt with Frankel as he keeps putting in these incredible performances and so in terms of calibre of horse I am very biased - I don't think I have seen anything like Frankel before."

It is likely to be the four-year-old's final start over a mile, as Grimthorpe went on: "Frankel and Cirrus Des Aigles could certainly meet at York (in the Juddmonte International) because I understand Corine (Barande-Barbe, trainer of Cirrus Des Aigles) plans to bring Cirrus Des Aigles to the Knavesmire in August, which would be fantastic.

"In terms of racing it is always terribly hard to compare the different generations and I think you can only beat what is put in front of you and do the best you can.

"We look forward to taking on everybody and I think we are in such a lucky position with Frankel in how he has matured mentally and physically this year that we would be confident he could get a mile and a quarter, which therefore gives him the opportunity to take on different opponents."

The British Horseracing Authority's Dominic Gardiner-Hill, who is responsible for handicapping races over a mile, welcomes the notion of Frankel trying a mile and a quarter.

He said: "I don't think Frankel will better his rating over a mile is my honest opinion.

"He has blown away the competition that is there at a mile and I don't think Excelebration will ever be the same horse again after the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

"I think Frankel has only ever beaten two horses rated over 120 in his career, so there is really nothing left for him to prove over a mile.

"To better his rating he has to in my opinion, and in the opinion of many racing professionals, step up to 10 furlongs and take on some of those good horses such as Cirrus Des Aigles and prove himself against those horses.

"Farhh is rated 122 after his effort in the Eclipse, which leaves him 18lb behind Frankel and over a mile that equates to nine or 10 lengths.

"If Frankel puts in a similar display to the one he did in the Queen Anne it would be difficult for us to put him any higher as he has so much in hand going into the race.

"I can't say definitively that Frankel is the best ever horse to run at Goodwood, but I suspect his performance in the Sussex Stakes last year is the best performance we have seen at Goodwood - he achieved a rating of 136.

"Brigadier Gerard and Dancing Brave were a bit before my time, but in terms of the maths and the performance Frankel put up, it was probably the best we have seen at Goodwood."

Farhh was due to race against Frankel in a conditions race at Doncaster when they were both two-year-olds, but was injured in the stalls and was off the track for more than a year.

An easy winner of the Thirsk Hunt Cup in the spring, he looked unlucky when third in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Ascot but came out in a better light after the Eclipse.

Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor said: "Farhh has been doing well since he ran at Sandown and I have been happy with him.

"I think that a mile at Goodwood will suit him well but we would prefer to see some rain before Wednesday because he prefers to have a little cut in the ground.

"He has run very well in two Group One races but taking on Frankel will be a very tough task. I am hopeful that he can put in another good performance."

Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford said: "Farhh put up a really good performance in the Prince of Wales's at Royal Ascot after missing the break and not having a clear run.

"I think the best horse won the Coral-Eclipse - it would be wrong to say Farhh could have beaten Nathaniel. Farhh used up a lot of energy to get to Nathaniel and probably did not have quite enough petrol in the tank in the last uphill drive. It was a big run but he told us that going back to a mile would probably be a good thing.

"Farhh's injury kept him off the track for most of his three-year-old campaign and it is only this year that we are beginning to get into some sort of rhythm with him. He is turning out to be a good horse.

"The stalls are a worry - he schools through the gates every day and he is actually as good as gold at home. But you saw what can happen at Royal Ascot - he does need to go into the stalls last and cannot be hanging around in them. We will obviously be talking to the starter beforehand."

Richard Fahey's Gabrial is the only three-year-old involved this time around and the Malton trainer said: "What can you say about taking on Frankel? There's only two of us doing it so no-one else fancied it obviously.

"We'll just see what happens. He's a decent horse, he showed that at Ascot, but whether he's up to this class we'll see."