Robin Goodfellow's racing tips: Best bets for Friday, July 25
Ascot
Robin Goodfellow
1.50 Enamorus
2.25 Time To Turn (nb)
3.00 Many Men
3.35 Pinhole
4.10 Mr Ubiquitous
4.45 Fantasy Obsessor
Gimcrack
1.50 Ravishing
2.25 Time To Turn
3.00 Blindedbythelights (nb)
3.35 Pinhole
4.10 Thurso
4.45 Fantasy Obsessor
NEWMARKET – 3.00 BLINDEDBYTHELIGHTS (nap)
York
Robin Goodfellow
5.30 Riot
6.03 Hydroplane
6.38 Ellusive Butterfly
7.13 DICKO THE LEGEND (nap)
7.48 Supermodel
8.23 Luna A Inbhir Nis
Gimcrack
5.30 Commander Of Life
6.03 Molten Sea
6.38 Ellusive Butterfly
7.13 Filly One
7.48 VICTORY QUEEN (nap)
8.23 I'm Next
NEWMARKET – 6.03 Molten Sea (nb)
Uttoxeter
Robin Goodfellow
1.30 Jentobello
2.02 Western Clouds
2.37 Wheresmemoneygone
3.12 Papa Barns
3.47 Supreme Yeats
4.23 Icare Allen
4.58 Schmilsson
5.35 Little Lady Rock
Gimcrack
1.30 Jentobello
2.02 Drombeg Lad
2.37 Cave Article
3.12 Papa Barns
3.47 Manowest
4.23 Rockola
4.58 Ballywilliam Boy
5.35 Masked Mistress
Thirsk
Robin Goodfellow
2.15 Mandarin Spirit
2.50 Solar Cooper
3.25 Bushwacker
4.00 One Of Our Own
4.35 Billy No Mates
5.10 Irish Dancer
Gimcrack
2.15 Conjecture
2.50 Go Victor
3.25 Maw Can
4.00 Purple Martini
4.35 Idyllic
5.10 Ninety Nine
NORTHERNER – 2.15 Mandarin Spirit (nb); 5.10 IRISH DANCER (nap).
Sandown
Robin Goodfellow
5.45 Mrembo
6.18 Killavia
6.53 Curran
7.28 Bulletin
8.03 Orbaan
8.38 Tropical Heat
Gimcrack
5.45 Foreseen
6.18 Killavia
6.53 Calvert
7.28 Neardown
8.03 Enough Already
8.38 Princess Amber
Chepstow
Robin Goodfellow
5.15 Romanovich
5.50 Lexington Express
6.25 Magic Stone
7.00 Savannah Smiles
7.35 Hostelry
8.10 Westington House
8.45 Meet Me In Meraki
Gimcrack
5.15 Johnjay
5.50 Lady Lauren
6.25 Magic Stone
7.00 Roach Power
7.35 Hostelry
8.10 Scenario
8.45 Racing Demon
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Times
10 hours ago
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My audience with Frankel — king of racehorses
For racing fans, the name Frankel is the equivalent of the mythical Pegasus. But the unbeaten superstar of the sport, who was retired from the track in 2012 and is now 17, doesn't reside on Olympus. Instead he can be visited in his stable in Newmarket courtesy of Newmarket Tours. The bad news is that Frankel is only available to the public eight times a year — for a group limited to 24 — and tickets are snapped up faster than an Oasis reunion. For aficionados, this really is the hottest ticket in town. The legend of Frankel is for ever tied with that of his trainer, the late great Sir Henry Cecil. Champion trainer ten times between 1976 and 1993, the charismatic Cecil's career had declined with the combination of a fallout with Sheikh Mohammed, two divorces (he married for a third time in 2008) and then a gradual physical decline caused by stomach cancer. From a peak of having about 200 horses in his care and for decades churning out over 100 winners a year, Cecil was down to about 50 and in 2005 he hit rock bottom with just 12 winners. The following year he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and, but for the staunch support of his leading owner, Prince Khalid Abdullah, he would surely have retired. Cecil had remained a darling of the racing public throughout, though, and it was Abdullah who provided Cecil with his greatest legacy when sending Frankel to his stables as an unraced two-year-old colt back in 2010. Frankel went on to win all 14 races he took part in, from 2010 to 2012, ten of them at the highest level, as he went from strength to strength while his once-dashing trainer looked ever more frail. Many believe that Frankel was all that kept Cecil going in his final years and the trainer finally succumbed to the illness in 2013, his life's work achieved. Those lucky enough to buy the golden Frankel tickets can still be a part of that great legacy. A half-day tour costs just £110, while a full-day version is £210. There are four of each a year. The full-day events start at 8am and are hosted by Cecil's widow, Lady Cecil, who both acts as your tour guide — adding her personal Frankel memories — and hosts a two-course lunch at the Bedford Lodge Hotel on the outskirts of town. The morning takes in a behind-the-scenes visit to Newmarket's Rowley Mile Course (the town also has the July Course), a visit to the gallops and a tour of a trainer's yard before lunch. It is a 2pm start for the half-day tour, meeting at the National Horseracing Museum in the middle of Newmarket. The tour bus is ageing but the journey times are short and the guides, with their years of experience in the sport, are brilliant. The former jockey Larry Bowden steered my bus and delivered a flawless commentary with a hint of a Suffolk accent. Every stud and training yard is accurately reeled off as you drive past, with historical facts about Newmarket and plenty of other little-known gems sprinkled in, all delivered with a dash of humour. • Read more luxury reviews, advice and insights from our experts First stop was the top of Warren Hill gallop, close to where Frankel was trained at Cecil's Warren Place base, and offers views across the town. It is a scene that has scarcely changed since Newmarket racecourse was founded by King Charles II back in 1636. Then comes the main event as you arrive at Banstead Manor Stud, which has been Frankel's home since his retirement from racing at the end of 2012. Not every top racehorse enjoys success at stud, with several Derby winners in recent years failing to produce progeny with the requisite ability and ending their careers in far-flung outposts. Frankel has proved exceptional, siring a seemingly endless list of top-class horses. 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