Contingent catches the eye with effortless debut victory

A day after Cracksman's stunning victory in the Champion Stakes, Frankel was represented by another eye-catching winner when Contingent cruised to an impressive debut victory at Leopardstown on Sunday.

The juvenile filly was kept handy by Pat Smullen throughout the race and as the field turned for home was angled wide to make her challenge. Once finding space she pulled clear to score by a comfortable length and three-quarters.

Trained by Dermot Weld, Contingent is a homebred from Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms and is out of the 2008 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Proportional, a daughter of Beat Hollow who also finished second in the Prix de Psyche and third in the Prix de la Grotte.

Contingent is a half-sister to two winners in Equivalent and Variable, the latter of which landed the Listed Finale Stakes on her final start for Abdullah and Weld in 2015.

Proportional is in turn a sister to Vote Often, who as well as winning the Group 3 Park Express Stakes, finished third behind Marvellous in the 2014 Irish 1,000 Guineas. Further back this is the family that also produced EP Taylor Stakes heroine Folk Opera.

Contingent is a member of Frankel's second crop which, according to figures from Juddmonte, has yielded 14 winners so far, including the hugely exciting prospect Elarqam, who looks set to tackle next year's 2,000 Guineas.

With an eye-catching display on debut Contingent looks well worth following, and could even yet emerge as a candidate to provide Frankel with his first Classic winner.

If you enjoyed this story you should read...

Cracksman puts the Group 1 icing on Frankel's European cake