TIMEFORM: FRANKEL CLEAR OF RIVALS

Timeform have Frankel 12 pounds clear of his QIPCO Queen Elizabeth II Stakes rivals.

Winner of all eight starts at an average winning margin of more than five lengths, Frankel was rated 142 by Timeform after his runaway win in Newmarket's 2,000 Guineas in April, which makes him the highest-rated horse since the 1970s and the best horse in the world by seven pounds from Black Caviar.

He is also 12lb clear of his main form rival Immortal Verse at the weekend.

Simon Rowlands, Head of Handicapping at Timeform, said: "Frankel's lofty rating and remarkably dominant performances have invited comparisons with champions of yesteryear, such as the 144-rated Brigadier Gerard, who won the Guineas in 1971 and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in 1971 and 1972.

"While Frankel has proved impossible to beat so far, and has many pounds in hand of his rivals in Saturday's race , it is worth remembering that even the all-time greats usually get turned over once or twice in their careers.

"Brigadier Gerard was famously beaten once in 18 starts, at long odds-on by Roberto at York.

"And it would be a shock of similar proportions if Frankel were to come unstuck on Saturday at a distance and on a course at which he has been so superior to everything put up against him."

Timeform Queen Elizabeth II Stakes ratings (weight adjusted) :

152 Frankel, 140 Immortal Verse, 138 Excelebratio, Dick Turpin, 137 Cityscape, 133 Dubawi Gold, 132 Rio de la Plata, 128 Poet's Voice, 127 Side Glance, 124 Bullet Train.

Posted in: News