In horse racing greatness is defined by speed. Being the second fastest
counts for little. You have to win. And win. And keep winning until
every challenger of your generation is put to the sword. Of the twelve
horses lined up on Newmarket Heath that 2011 day, one would do just
that. And more. To become the greatest racehorse that has ever lived.
Frankel was born on 11 February 2008, with four white socks and a blaze,
from impressive equine lines on both his parents' sides. Simon Cooper
revisits the whole of the horse's life, giving readers an inside tour of
the calm oasis that is life a stud farm, where a foal will live with his
mother for the first year of his life. Next, the atmosphere of heady
possibility that marks the early days of training. Roadwork. Gallops.
Trials. Turning raw potential into something more. Frankel begins to set
himself apart.
A detailed and fast-paced narrative breathlessly recounts the racing
career of the horse who, by his retirement to stud at the age of 4,
would be rated the greatest of all time. Cooper weaves the horse's tale
with those of his trainer, battling cancer, the stablehands who coped
with his explosive nature, the work rider who tamed him, the the jockey
who rode in all fourteen of his races, and the owner who saw his
potential from the very beginning. The result is a rich and multifaceted
tale of modern horse racing, the lives of everyone involved, human and
equine, and the unadulterated glory of winning. And winning everything.
