www.horse-insurance.co.uk

Frankel rankings revision ‘bizarre’

Posted on 16 January 2013 | 0 Responses

The ranking revisions that now see Frankel as the top-rated Flat racing horse in history are "bizarre", according to Shergar's ex-jockey Walter Swinburn.

In making the revisions a number of horses from the 1970s and 1980s were downgraded – including Shergar – while Frankel remained at 140.

Swinburn told BBC Sport that he found the attempt to "rewrite history" a "baffling" exercise.

After winning all 14 races in his career, Frankel was retired at the age of four for a breeding career, which is set to commence on Valentine's Day – and commands a stud fee of £125,000 each time.

Swinburn said that if the committee members wanted to make Frankel the highest-rated horse they could have simply bumped his score up, rather than downgrading others.

"I find it all rather bizarre. I don't really understand it. Everyone is on a Frankel high and obviously the handicappers still are. I'm sure everyone has been swept along with that," he continued.