Racing is a sport that loves to contextualise by using comparison, embroidered with a good dose of hyperbole.
Racing fans, breeders, trainers, jockeys and owners wait their whole lives for the best horse to come along.
Two seasons ago, for the first time in a generation, Frankel lived up to the hype. His flawless career saw him crowned by the use of recalibrated official ratings as the greatest horse to ever tread the turf.
Already there are murmurs that Kingman might just be the sequel, and the three-year-old colt will take his chance in Sunday’s Prix du Haras De Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois at Deauville Racecourse to cement his reputation as the best miler in the world.
Kingman was reminiscent of the now-retired Frankel last month in how he dismantled Toronado in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. The familiar silks of Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the crossed noseband flashed past Toronado in a blur.
Frankel never raced outside Britain in 14 starts, whereas Sunday's assignment will be Kingman's second foreign foray after his success in the Irish 2,000 Guineas in May.
He enters the starting gate today at least 10 pounds adrift of where Frankel was rated at the same stage of his career, and Prince Khalid Abdullah’s racing manager was at pains to point out that Kingman has a long way to go before he can even hold a candle to Frankel.
“To go on and be a proper champion he needs to tick a few more boxes and we intend on doing that,” Lord Grimthorpe said. “He is a tremendous horse, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not Frankel.”
The thing about Kingman and Frankel is that they are very different types. Frankel’s raking stride was such that he could devour ground at pace, and he had the stamina reserves that demanded he step up to 2,000 metres in his four-year-old season.
By the end of his career, his connections were adamant he might have lasted home over further.
In contrast, Kingman’s turn of foot is such that John Gosden, his trainer, says he could have won the July Cup, the 1,200-metre Group 1 sprint won last month by Slade Power.
Frankel was kept in training because he needed to prove himself over further than a mile. Should Kingman stay in training next year, it may be only to prove that he is equally effective over sprint distances.
It is an eventuality that has not been ruled out by connections.
Kingman’s lethal pace could be blunted by heavy rain in Normandy. He was transported across the English Channel from Newmarket on Friday night by ferry, after Gosden had described the going as “terrible” following his Western Hymn’s fourth in a Group 2.
Gosden flew back to Newmarket on Friday night and was at Deauville again on Sunday when he walked the track.
Five other opponents will face the champion-elect, including Sheikh Rashid bin Dalmook’s Rizeena and Al Shaqab’s Olympic Glory, who will relish the conditions.
With so few rivals, it is difficult to see how they will be able to ensure a solid enough pace to deny the king.
Another Group 1 win and the comparisons with Frankel will become more regular.
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