YORK, England — Frankel extended his perfect record to 13 races Wednesday as the unbeaten horse competed over 10 furlongs for the first time. The 4-year-old colt went out at 1-10, and pulled away with two furlongs remaining to ease to victory by seven lengths in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York race course. The Henry Cecil-trained Frankel, who has been ridden in all of his races by Tom Queally, is now just one short of 10 Group One victories. It takes a very special horse to dominate his rivals the way he has over two seasons, and the son of Galileo once again showed he has no peer on the planet with another consumate performance under Queally. “It's truly amazing,” said Queally. “I'm just so fortunate to part of this experience. “It's a wonderful training performance by Sir Henry to keep the horse sound and happy. He had no problem stepping up in trip and I think he even ran better than before this time around.” “That was great, wasn't it?” said Cecil, who is undergoing treatment for stomach cancer. “It's fantastic.” Asked how the victory made him feel, Cecil responded: “20 years better.” Frankel was held up in seventh place at the start of the race before making progress to chase down St. Nicholas Abbey early in the home straight. He sauntered into the front and swept into a clear lead ahead of Farhh, who finished in second — a nose ahead of St. Nicholas Abbey. “As we knew before, the winner is in a different class to everything else,” said Farhh's trainer Saeed Bin Suroor. “We have no plans for him, but we will try to find a race without Frankel.” Earlier in the afternoon, the James Doyle-ridden Dundonnell ran out a convincing winner of the Group 3 Acomb Stakes, an early pointer to next season's Classics. Steeler, owned by Princess Haya Bint Hussein, battled on gamely for Kieren Fallon, but could not rein in the winner. Doyle said: “I was delighted with him. He's got a fantastic cruising speed. “He covers so much ground as he's got a huge stride. I was wary of it being a tactical race, but he's toughed it out well.” Seasoned sprinter Tax Free landed the 16th win of his career when gaining a narrow victory in the Symphony Group Stakes. Ridden by Adrian Nicholls for his Thirsk handler father, David, Tax Free scored by a neck from Mass Rally with Fitz Flyer and Fratellino taking third and fourth place. The winning jockey said: “He's getting old now, but we've come through the ranks together and he's a legend. “If he was human, everyone would want to go to his party. He's so cool, he's a superstar. “He tells us when he's right, and he came out kicking and squealing in the paddock (after his run at Ripon).” — Agencies
