'Sport of Kings' putting on a right royal show

Racing has found it tough going some times to live up to the monniker of being the 'sport of kings' but this season is perhaps the best all round in decades. There is a buzz about the sport that has been lacking in years gone by which have generally left the neutral observer cold as the powerhouse of Aidan O'Brien's stable and to a lesser extent Godolphin have dominated. But a combination of factors has contributed to make this season much more special - a top class classic generation plus several of last year's three-year-olds bucking the tradition and being kept in training which has been a rare positive to come out of the global financial crisis. Stud fees have suffered as a result making it less lucrative for the stars of last year to be put away for breeding purposes and thereby making the sport on the course far more competitive and thrilling as a result. World class horses abound this season from several stables and leading the way has been the magnificent Frankel - who has captured the imagination of the public in an unbeaten run of eight races, four of them this year. What has made him even more special in the eyes of many is that it is trained by Sir Henry Cecil - 'Our Enry' as the aristocrat is fondly known by the general racing public. He may be a recently honoured knight of the realm but the 68-year-old has completed a stunning phoenix like rise from the ashes of a battle against drink and then cancer, losing his twin brother David to cancer, and recorded just 12 winners in 2005. But Frankel has confirmed his return to the top and his victory in July's Sussex Stakes - his third successive Group One of the season - had the urbane Cecil, his head at its traditional tilted angle post race placing him among the truly greats. "I think Frankel is the best horse I've ever seen, with Blushing Groom, and Shergar. I can't go further back than that as I wasn't around," he said with his trademark whimsical humour. Frankel will now more than likely be rested up for his late season target the £1million Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on the inaugural British Champions Day at Ascot on October 15. Frankel's consummate brilliance at a mile is all the more impressive given the class of others competing at the distance such as Canford Cliffs, who was firmly put in his place by Cecil's maestro in the Sussex depriving him of a sixth successive Group One victory. Canford Cliffs' straight as a dye trainer Richard Hannon wasn't quite able to come up with such a laudatory assessment of Frankel in light of that defeat. "I don't have much to do with him, do I? I only see his arse (bottom) occasionally!" was the 65-year-old former drummer of punk band The Troggs assessment, though, he vowed revenge. A proposed rematch at Ascot is unfortunately out following Canford Cliffs' retirement on Thursday due to a minor injury he picked up at Goodwood. Waiting in the wings is France's first lady Goldikova - beaten handily by Canford Cliffs at Royal Ascot - who shows no signs of slowing down or losing her edge having added her 14th Group One in the Prix Rothschild last Sunday. "She is just a wonderful racehorse,' was the nicely understated appraisal of her trainer Freddie Head. Sadly Goldikova may never get the chance to compare her feminine wiles against Frankel as she is probably destined to give Ascot a miss and instead try for a fourth successive Breeders Cup Mile in Kentucky on November 5. Moving up a distance or two and the battle as to who captures Europe's most prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is proving as mouthwatering. It looks likely that the first four home from last year's race will renew acquaintance with the winner Workforce having battled gamely to finish runner-up in both the Eclipse and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Up against them could be a formidable challenge from seven-time Arc winning trainer Andre Fabre, who laid a final bogey to rest this year as Pour Moi pulled off a thrilling victory in the Epsom Derby - look for him to return in the Arc prep race the Prix Niel and then a tilt at the Arc along with perhaps Fabre's brilliant dual classic winning filly Golden Lilac. The odds sadly are that the former Australian crack racehorse So You Think may give it a miss as the ultra-courageous and muscular former Bart Cummings-trained star could well return Down Under to try and win a third successive Cox Plate and emulate the legendary Kingston Town. Now trained by O'Brien he has wowed the crowds in Ireland and England - seeing off Workforce in the Eclipse while going down to the sadly now late Rewilding in the most thrilling finish of the year in the Prince of Wales's Stakes. "That is the biggest kick I have got from racing," commented Coolmore's Tom Magnier after the Eclipse. "We knew it was never going to be easy, but the 'Boy from Oz' knocked him (Workforce) on the head."