Grand Miss Frankel lives up to her fame

There were a number of relieved people after Miss Frankel cruised to a 4.50-length victory in Race 3 over 1000m at Scottsville yesterday.

“There’s a fair amount of pressure with a filly like this,” said jockey Anton Marcus. “The expectation is there. People assume the result is a ‘gimmee’.”

Miss Frankel is by superstar Frankel out of South African sprint sensation Val De Ra and like her mother runs in the colours of Avontuur Estate and is trained by Dennis Drier.

There seemed to be some issues at the start which delayed the race a little and Miss Frankel, who went off an 8-10 favourite, appeared to get a little uptight which resulted in Marcus dismounting the three-year-old filly.

However, once they let them go it was all Miss Frankel. She might have got a slight squeeze at the start from No 2 draw but she was soon in front and never looked like losing. Flo Joyner tracked her and did look a little dangerous 300m from home but once Marcus asked for an effort Miss Frankel just lengthened her stride and raced clear of the opposition. Marcus was easing her up at the finish. She completed the 1000m in 57.1sec. There was another 2.50 lengths back to third-placed Sindeagan.

Asked about the start Marcus commented: “I don’t believe we have our loading system down to a fine art right now. She got a bit fractious at the start but all’s well that ends well.”

This was Miss Frankel’s second start. She was sent off 5-10 favourite on debut at Kenilworth in January. When asked about that run Drier said: “Nothing went right for her that day. No one was to blame. I thought it was just stage fright. But this is the Miss Frankel I know at home and today she showed me that ability on the course. I would like to thank the Taberers and Pippa (Mickelburgh). I know there were big offers for her and they stuck with me.”

He also thanked regular jockey Sean Veale and Marcus for their help. “Sean was suspended but he and Anton had done all the work on her.”

Asked if Miss Frankel had a similar personality to her mother, Drier laughed. “She’s not like her mother. She can be a little bit excitable and that is one the reason we have gone slowly with her.”

When asked about her future he said: “She’s just won, we haven’t looked ahead. We’ll take it race by race.”

Marcus said adding to all the pressure was a communication he had received from Mickelburgh. “I got a message from Pippa warning me to ‘look after her girl’.”

It was a great start to the day for Drier who won the first threeraces on the Scottsville card.

In other news at the course trainer John Nel, who was regarded as a talented work rider, had his first winner as a trainer when On Your Life won Race 4.

It might not have been the most popular of wins as the 17-2 shot easily beat odds-on favourite Diamonds Forever by four lengths.