Excelebration looks to make it six-out-of-six without Frankel

Excelebration at Royal Ascot, where he was soundly beaten by Frankel in the Queen Anne Stakes. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

Excelebration, the world’s second highest-rated miler behind Frankel, has won two Group 1 races and in the £1 million Queen Elizabeth II Stakes sponsored by QIPCO, he has a wonderful opportunity to make it three.

Without Frankel he would already have won five Group 1 races, but in all five races that he has contested over the last two seasons in whch Frankel has not taken part, Excelebration has won.

That’s a fantastic record and the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt will surely prove very hard indeed to beat tomorrow in Europe’s richest mile race.

Up against him are Cityscape and Elusive Kate, who chased him home in the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville in August and are both Group 1 race winners in their own right.

Cityscape hammered his rivals in the Dubai Duty Free on Dubai World Cup Night in March, while Elusive Kate took the Prix Rothschild at Deauville in July and the Prix Marcel Bouusac at Longchamp last year.

There is no apparent reason why they should beat Excelebration, however, and a similar comment would apply to another Group 1 winner in the field, Most Improved, who took the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

He has disappointed since and looks to have a lot find to challenge Excelebration.

A fascinating contender is Carlton House, owned by The Queen who will be present to watch the race and who will present the trophies to the winning connections.

He ran third in last year’s Investec Derby and in this year’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes, but this looks a big ask even though he remains a horse with great potential.

To view the full race details and final field, CLICK HERE.