Ask any horse racing fan to name one of their favourite races of all time and a high percentage of them will name the 2012 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Why is that? Well it just so happens that one of the greatest racehorses of the modern era – Frankel won with a dominate display that most people will probably never ever witness again in their lifetime.
Sent off at odds of 1/10 in the Royal Ascot betting, the shortest priced favourite in living memory at the Royal meeting, he coasted to an amazing 11-length triumph in the opening race of that particular day.
Trained by Sir Henry Cecil and claiming his eleventh successive win, Frankel powered away from ten other rivals with the 5/1 shot Excelebration second and Side Glance (33/1) chasing him home in third.
It was a superb performance and the second biggest margin of victory in Frankel's illustrious career.
Stablemate Bullet Train had made the early pace in the one-mile contest, but Frankel was tracking the lead closely at the halfway stage.
When Frankel’s regular pilot Tom Queally asked him to quicken, he surged to the front and kept going further and further clear as his rivals floundered behind him.
Coming home in glorious isolation the Royal Ascot crowd shook their heads in disbelief at what they had just watched.
Asked for his immediate thoughts on the victory, trainer Henry Cecil said: "It's relief, I'm not surprised but relieved.
"There's no such thing as a certainty. He is a great horse and you've seen him for yourself so everybody can form their own opinion.
"He did exactly what I thought but he's still improving, Tom said he's still improving."
Tom Queally said: "It was basically what everyone expected, so it's great that he did it.”
"It looks like he's improving. He settled, he travelled, he got everything else off the bridle when I was still sitting there - he's amazing.
"That's his best performance. He ticked all the boxes, he did everything right. From my point of view he's been flawless in the past but I couldn't have asked for anything more.
"He had the perfect prep for it, Henry had no complications and we were able to do it nicely.
After his scintillating victory that defied Queen Anne Stakes trends, Timeform awarded Frankel a rating of 147 – the highest mark ever given to a racehorse. It put Frankel ahead of Sea Bird (foaled in 1962), Brigadier Gerard (1968) and Tudor Minstrel (1944).
In summation, As Frankel passed the winning post; it is hard to recall a performance on this scale by any other horse in recent history.
"'Breathtaking,' 'astonishing,' 'brilliant' were apparently some of the words murmured by the appreciative Royal Ascot fans, with many of them realising that they had just witnessed something quite extraordinary on a racecourse.
Those who placed their horse racing online bets on Frankel hardly got rich on that day, but their lives were enhanced by the whole experience.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
