RACING NEWMARKET REPORT:ASCOT LOOKS the most likely next port of call for Frankel following his incredible display in Saturday's 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Henry Cecil's colt maintained his unbeaten record in a fashion that had onlookers rubbing their eyes in disbelief as he made every yard of the running on the Rowley Mile with a scintillating display of raw power.
Connections now have some crucial decisions to make, but, after all but ruling out the Dante Stakes at York, it appears to be a straight choice between the Derby at Epsom or the St James's Palace Stakes at the royal meeting.
Questions are bound to hang over Frankel's ability to stay the 12 furlongs of the Derby having shown such lightning speed at headquarters, and, while not ruling it out, Cecil hinted his charge may stick to a mile for now.
"The final decision will be the prince's (Khalid Abdullah, owner), so we'll discuss it with him and we'll try to work out the best thing for the horse," said Cecil.
"I think eventually, when he gets a bit stronger, there's every chance he'll get a mile-and-a- quarter. Whether he'll get further than that, time will tell.
"The Dante will probably come too close anyway, so I'm not going to test him in the Dante to see if he gets the Derby trip.
"I think the Dante is unlikely. He's not definitely not (going to run), but it's not my first thought.
"The two options are he'll either go for the St James's Palace or the Derby.
"There's no point guessing and we want to get it right, but people who want to back him for the Derby want to sit, because he's not definitely going to be a Derby runner."
Frankel's front-running tactics took everyone by surprise, but Cecil felt there was little point in breaking his colt's powerful stride.
"With the way he was drawn and everything, I just felt that we'd do our own thing," Cecil added.
"He's got a long stride on him and I didn't want to put him out of it. He was very relaxed in the race and he can really gallop.
"My plan was to basically ignore the field. Newmarket is difficult as it's a very testing straight mile.
"In the last furlong and a half he thought he'd done enough and he was waiting for everyone else.
"His way of running with that long stride looks exhausting, but he's well within himself. He probably didn't have as hard a race as people think.
"He's obviously exciting because of the way he races, but he is relaxed. He's not just a horse who jumps off taking a hell of a hold and the reins are going to break.
"He's a very interesting horse and there's no doubt he's a very good horse, but you can't compare generations as it's not fair."
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