How an 'extraordinary year' is propelling Frankel to supersire status

Given that Frankel has so often looked like the image of equine perfection, there is a temptation to view the success he is having in his second career as something of an inevitability.

He scaled previously unreached heights on the racecourse, with 14 flawless victories including ten Group 1s, while his romps in the Queen Anne Stakes and Juddmonte International earned him the highest Racing Post Rating (RPR) ever allotted, with a mark of 143 hit not once but twice.

Such unprecedented achievements duly enticed a vast harem of outstanding mares to the Juddmonte stallion barn during his early years at Banstead Manor Stud. In an illustration of the mare power at Frankel's disposal, his debut book numbered 150, among which were no fewer than 38 Group/Grade 1 winners.