Frankel is the most valuable horse on the planet, and probably the greatest racehorse the world has ever seen and he will race for the 14th and final time at Ascot on Saturday 20th October.
Frankel has never been beaten and puts that unblemished record on the line in the appropriately named Qipco Champion Stakes - the centrepiece of Qipco British Champions Day, which is the culmination of the 2012 British Champions Series.
His £100m valuation - which in addition to his potential winnings takes into account the estimated £100,000-a-go ‘stud’ fee to mate him with a mare - is considered to be 'conservative' by McKeever Bloodstock, one of Britain's biggest bloodstock agencies and the company that placed the price tag on Frankel.
"Given the value of stallions now it is not at all unreasonable to put this kind of price - or even a higher one - on Frankel," Johnny McKeever, who runs the agency, said.
Racing For Change agreed with
McKeever, with spokesman Nick Attenborough saying: "At £100,000 a time and with him able to cover up to 120 mares in one breeding session it would only take him eight years to earn his owner £100m, provided his offspring show some of his remarkable ability.
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Frankel is the perfect racehorse, he is very big and extremely powerful. When he gallops very few horses can keep up with him and he has incredible stamina.
"He has such a huge stride that he often makes other very capable horses look slow. Frankel used to be very headstrong when he was young but he has calmed down and has matured into a phenomenal horse."
To put it into a wider sporting context, the highest transfer fee paid by an
English Footaball Club was the £50m Chelsea spent on Fernando Torres in 2011, and globally, Real Madrid paid £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 - so the fact Frankel is worth well into nine digits is astounding.
Having built up an amazing sequence of wins over three racing seasons, Frankel has stamped himself as probably the greatest equine talent ever seen on a racecourse.
Tickets to see Frankel’s farewell performance sold out in record time at Ascot, and currently you will need to pay up to £200 for a pair on ebay.
Frankel is trained by the legendary Sir Henry Cecil who has handled some of the equine greats in a glittering career, winning 25 British Classics and saddling 75 winners at Royal Ascot.
William Hill spokesman, Richard Thomas, said, “I have never in over 40 years of going racing seen such a phenomenal equine athlete. From a bookmaking point of view, it feels like we have ducked a bullet, as only on his debut has he started odds against and a £1 13-race accumulator would have netted backers less than £100. What Frankel has done is to bring a new audience to racing, both on the track, on TV and in our betting shops. He has the X-Factor, and if he took part would be favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing and Britain’s Got Talent. In an Olympic year, Frankel is a gold medal performer and, as a fan, I will be cheering him ‘til I’m hoarse to make it an unblemished 14 from 14 at Ascot.”
Frankel is a predictably short price to win at Ascot on Qipco British Champions Day - the only time he started odds against in his career was on his racecourse debut. William Hill make him just 8-1 that he wins the Champion Stakes by 10 lengths or more!
William Hill betting on the Qipco Champion Stakes: 1-6 Frankel, 7-2 Cirrus Des Aigles, 8-1 Nathaniel, 16-1 Ridasiyna, 25-1 Pastorius, 50-1 Master Of Hounds, Declaration Of War, 150-1 Bullet Train (e/w 1/5 1,2,3)
Champion Stakes without Frankel: 4-6 Cirrus Des Aigles, 5-2 Nathaniel, 6-1 Ridasiyna, 12-1 Pastorius, 16-1 Master Of Hounds, Bullet Train (e/w ¼ 1,2)
By how far will Frankel win the Qipco Champion Stakes: 4-5 By 4 lengths or more, 6-4 By 6 lengths or more, 2-1 By less than 4 lengths, 7-2 By 8 lengths or more, 8-1 By 10 lengths or more
Frankel to sire the winner of a UK Classic in 2017: 4-1
Frankel By Numbers
0 number of defeats in his racing
0.5 smallest winning distance (in lengths)
