Frankel maintained his unbeaten record with another remarkable victory in the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The Juddmonte colt dropped his pacemaker Rerouted before the half-way point of the 1600m event and spreadeagled the field at the top of the straight.

Frankel was vulnerable in the final furlong but was never seriously challenged although Zoffany (Dansili) did close to within three-quarters of a length at the finish.  Third home was German 2000 Guineas winner Excelebration (Exceed And Excel).

Frankel (3c Galileo – Kind by Danehill) didn’t reproduce his awesome English 2000 Guineas performance but jockey Tom Queally revealed the colt idled in the final furlong.  “He settled better than ever,” Queally said.  “He thought he’d done enough at the finish and wasn’t getting tired.  He does it so easily.”

Trainer Sir Henry Cecil predicted Frankel could stretch out to 2000 metres and indicated the Juddmonte International could be a summer target.

Frankel is a homebred for Juddmonte Farms owner Khalid Abdulla and added yet another Group 1 for Coolmore sire Galileo this year.  The St James’s Palace Stakes came just 48 hours after Galileo filly Golden Lilac completed the French 1000 Guineas – Oaks double.

Frankel and Golden Lilac are both out of mares by breed-shaping sire Danehill.  Khalid Abdulla raced Danehill to a Royal Ascot victory in the 1989 Cork & Orrery Stakes.  That race is now known as the G1 Golden Jubilee Stakes.

Frankel was rated Britain’s champion colt last year after a campaign that included a G1 victory in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket.  He was also a 10 length winner at his previous visit to Ascot in the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes last September.  

His dam Kind was a Listed winner at Nottingham and Hamilton and her first foal Bullet Train (Sadler’s Wells) was a G3 winner of last year’s Lingfield Derby Trial.