'Who would have thought we could be saying Frankel is arguably an even better stallion than he was a racehorse?'

The journey from champion racehorse to champion sire is not automatic. Genetics plays an uncontrollable part, with many a great on the racetrack failing to pass on his prodigious talent. But that is not the case with one giant of the turf, Frankel.

A horse who fate smiled upon from the moment his owner-breeder, the late Prince Khalid Abdullah, named him after the much-missed American trainer Bobby Frankel. It is nearing 16 years since the Danehill-sired mare Kind foaled the strong bay colt by Galileo who was to grow into a monster on the track and ultimately the world's joint-priciest stallion at £350,000. 

Both racing fans and those closely involved with Frankel will have their own memories of the unbeaten legend whose 14-race haul featured ten Group 1s. Ranging from his explosive display in the Royal Lodge Stakes at two, to his jaw-dropping 2,000 Guineas demolition job, his dismissal of champion milers in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, his 11-length Queen Anne triumph, or the majesty of his Juddmonte International win, there was a lot to choose from.