Frankel, hailed as the greatest horse of them all, has been retired after his 14th and final victory.
For three hundred years breeders have plotted to create the perfect equine running machine. “I can’t believe that in the history of racing there has ever been a better racehorse,” said Frankel’s trainer, Sir Henry Cecil, after the four-year-old colt won his final race, the £1.30m Qipco Champion Stakes in front of The Queen and a sold-out crowd.
The mile-and-a-quarter race stretched his stamina to the limit but still Frankel cruised up alongside France’s Cirrus Des Aigles then passed him to win by a length and three quarters.
1. 1 length = 8 feet. By how many feet did Frankel win his final race?

Frankel at Doncaster
From the moment of birth Frankel was special. His sire, Galileo, won the Derby and has fathered over 70 high-class colts and fillies. Frankel weighed 123lb at birth. He now weighs 1,110lb.
2. How much more does Frankel weigh now than at birth?
Vets believe his chest may house an unusually large heart, which, in an average racehorse, can beat 240 times per minute and pump at least 85 pints of blood around the body.
Frankel stands 5ft 4.5 in from the ground to his withers.
3. Calculate his height in hands. 1 hand = 4 inches.
Usain Bolt runs the 200m in around 19 seconds. Frankel can do it in 11 seconds.
4. How much faster can Frankel run the 200m than Usian Bolt, the men’s world record holder for that distance?
Frankel eats around 23lbs of Canadian oats per day, plus other food including corn, bran, hay and carrots for treats. This adds up to about 35,000 calories per day. An active 12-year-old girl needs around 2,000 calories per day.
5. How many more calories does Frankel eat than an active 12-year-old girl?
6. Calculate the combined total distance in lengths for all 14 races between Frankel and the second-placed horses using the information below.
Frankel’s winning distances:
Aug 2010: Newmarket ½ length
Sept 2010: Doncaster 13 lengths
Sept 2010: Ascot 10 lengths
Oct 2010: Newmarket 2¼ lengths
Apr 2011: Newbury 4 lengths
Apr 2011: Newmarket 6 lengths
June 2011: Ascot ¾ lengths
Jul 2011: Goodwood 5 lengths
Oct 2011: Ascot 4 lengths
May 2012: Newbury 5 lengths
Jun 2012: Ascot 11 lengths
Aug 2012: Goodwood 6 lengths
Aug 2012: York 7 lengths
Oct 2012: 1¾ lengths
Would you like to watch Frankel’s last race? Check out the video below.
1. 1 length = 8 feet. By how many feet did Frankel win his final race?
Answer: 8 + 6 = 14. Frankel won his final race by 14 feet.
2. How much more does Frankel weigh now than at birth?
Answer: 1,110 – 123 = 987. Frankel weighs 987 pounds more now than at birth.
3. Calculate his height in hands. Round your answer to one decimal. 1 hand = 4 inches
Answer: 5ft 4.5 in = 60in + 4.5 in = 64.5 inches. 64.5 inches ÷ 4 = 16.1. Frankel is 16.1 hands high.
4. How much faster can Frankel run the 200m than Usian Bolt, the men’s world record holder for that distance?
Answer: 19 – 11 = 8. Frankel runs 200m 8 seconds faster than Usain Bolt.
5. How many more calories does Frankel eat than an active 12-year-old girl?
Answer: 35,000 – 2,000 = 33,000. Frankel eats 33,000 more calories than the average active 12-year-old girl.
6. Calculate the combined total distance in lengths for all 14 races between Frankel and the second-placed horses using the information below.
Answer: 1/2 + 13 + 10 + 2 1/4 + 4 + 6 + 3/4 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 11 + 6 + 7 + 1 3/4 = 76 1/4. The combined total distance in lengths for all 14 races between Frankel and the second-placed horses is 76 1/4 lengths.
Photos:
Frankel, All eyes on Frankel at Newbury by monkeywing; CC BY 2.0
Frankel at Doncaster, Frankel up close and personal at Doncaster by RacingKel; CC BY 2.0
04 Frankel by monkeywing; CC BY 2.0