The unbeaten Frankel has carried that form into his stallion career with his first-born son Cunco a debut winner at Newbury.
Frankel was retired to stud in 2012 as one of the all-time greats, having won all his 14 starts for the late trainer, Sir Henry Cecil, including 10 at Group One level.
The John Gosden-trained Cunco, the first foal from Frankel’s first crop, made his racecourse debut in a maiden at Newbury on Friday (Saturday AEST).
Having played up in the parade ring beforehand and looking green going down to the start, the youngster was sent off an easy-to-back 7-2 chance in the hands of Robert Havlin.
The jockey covered his mount up early on and after being asked to respond, Cunco showed a smart change of gear to run down Isomer and get up by three-quarters of a length.
Cunco is owned by the Chilean-based Don Alberto Stable while Frankel stands at Judmmonte Farms Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket.
Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to Juddmonte’s owner Khalid Abdullah, in whose colours Frankel shone so brightly, was thrilled with the successful start.
“To have his first foal be his first runner and his first winner is pretty remarkable,” Grimthorpe told At The Races.
“There’s been a mixture of excitement, tension, apprehension – the whole gamut of emotions.
“We’ve been excited about him, but there’s been a lot of very good racehorses who weren’t good stallions.
“From the point of view of Frankel, the interest in him has never waned. It’s been ongoing and phenomenal.”
Bookmaker Paddy Power reacted by making Cunco who was born on January 11, 2014, sharing a birthday with Cecil, the 6-1 favourite for the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot.
