At Newbury, Cunco matches his father Frankel’s fire

Cunco, the renowned champion race horse Frankel's first foal, ran an energetic 1,200 metres to win the Group 2 race in Newbury on Friday, reports Geoffrey Riddle.

Cunco shown prior to running The Welcome to The Starlight Raceday Maiden Stakes at Newbury Racecourse on Friday. Julian Herbert / Getty Images / May 13, 2016

NEWBURY, ENGLAND // The legend lives on.

Frankel is known throughout the world as the highest-rated horse to ever grace the turf and the colt who retired unbeaten after 14 races in 2012 produced a winner with his first runner here on Friday.

Cunco wore a crossed-noseband and displayed a distinctly fiery temperament that matched his father’s both in the saddling enclosure and the parade ring before the Welcome To The Starlight Raceday Maiden Stakes over an extended 1,200 metres.

Ridden by Robert Havlin, Cunco picked up beautifully to collar Isomer in the final 100 metres and the jockey had trouble pulling up his mount some time after the line.

Cunco was Frankel’s very first foal and was born on January 11, 2014, sharing the birthday of the late Sir Henry Cecil, Frankel’s trainer.

“It’s really exciting,” Lord Grimthorpe, racing manager to Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Frankel’s owner and breeder, said. “To have his first foal be his first runner and his first winner is pretty remarkable.

“We’ve been excited about him, but there’s been a lot of very good racehorses who weren’t good stallions.

“From the point of view of Frankel, the interest in him has never waned. It’s been ongoing and phenomenal.”

Cunco is trained in Newmarket by John Gosden, who takes on the might of Godolphin in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes here on Saturday.

Gosden saddles Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s Mahsoob, who will be ridden by Dane O’Neill due to Paul Hanagan picking up an illness, as well as GM Hopkins and Johnny Barnes but that trio face four horses set to carry the royal blue silks.

Godolphin this week bought Dutch Connection, last season’s Jersey Stakes winner, who will line up for trainer Charlie Hills. Roger Varian sends out Belardo and pacemaker Barchan, while all eyes will be on Toormore, who warmed up for this assignment with a battling win over Dutch Connection at Sandown last month.

“Toormore is in great form,” John Ferguson, racing manager and CEO of Godolphin, said. “The ground will be soft or good to soft but that won’t stop him. We’ll run Belardo, who will be closer to the pace and will love the ground, as will Dutch Connection, who has won on good to soft ground as well.

“Toormore was giving Dutch Connection weight last time and beat Belardo, too, so he would be a primary shot. It is a race I am looking forward to as we can plan our campaigns after sorting them all out in public.”

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