I’m firmly of the opinion that Frankel has to conclude his glorious, and I do mean glorious, career in the Arc. Anything else will be seen as a major weakness and I’m afraid could lead to him being remembered as the horse who went for the easy option rather than the old battle. As lets face it compared to the Arc the Champion Stakes is, in harsh reality, a nothing contest.
The Arc is only just over 1.5 furlongs further than the International and as Frankel coped with that distance effortlessly I don’t think connections can use stamina as a reason for going to Ascot whilst I really hope they won’t hide behind the frankly absurd line of ‘the horse will tell us where to go’.
A win in the Arc, Europe’s premier race, will see the horse elavated to superstar status and the sort of perch that no other animal has achieved certainly in my lifetime. A victory in the Champion Stakes in comparison will, at best, simply confirm what he has already achieved and be of very little benefit.