Racehorses of 2012: A monument in print to a Flat-racing year that will never be forgotten

Frankel became the highest-rated horse in Timeform's history

In 2012, Flat racing had its own star performer, with the unbeaten Frankel putting up a series of incredible performances. All of those, as well as the rest of the season's highlights and talking points, are vividly brought back to life in the latest edition of Timeform's Racehorses Annual, which is published on Saturday March 23rd.

"A phenomenon for the racing world" is how Frankel is described in Racehorses of 2012, the sixty-sixth in the series, and few could argue with that statement as Sir Henry Cecil's colt became the highest-rated horse in the history of Timeform after another series of sublime performances. Frankel's essay in Racehorses, in addition to providing a full review of another unbeaten campaign, when most of his rivals were again beaten "by a comfortable margin, like a chainsaw going through balsa wood", puts his overall achievements in an historical context ("the first horse since Abernant to be champion at two, three and four") by drawing comparisons with greats of the past who he supplanted at the top of Timeform's all-time rankings.

Additionally, a comprehensive reasoning behind his 147 rating is provided, as well as a description Timeform's handicapping methods more generally, "In the case of the Queen Anne, the calculations for `race standardisation' and `prior-rating standardisation' both pointed to Frankel's performance being worth a Timeform rating in the mid-140s at least. Frankel's rating of 147 was not arrived at by assuming that the performance of one of the beaten horses could decide the entire level of the race. Indeed, the ratings for Frankel's Queen Anne Stakes do not have a single horse in the race running, conveniently or by chance, to its rating going into the race". Timeform conclude that Frankel had little left to prove at the end of an unbeaten fourteen-race career, leaving behind a "legend that is powerful enough to endure".

The headlines in 2012 weren't all about Frankel; far from it in fact. Black Caviar's dramatic win at Royal Ascot proved one of the highlights of the season, and five wins in her native Australia earlier in the year had already seen her rating nudged up to 136, making her the joint highest-rated filly or mare (alongside Allez France and Habibti) aged three or above in Timeform's history. Her essay in Racehorses examines the transformation in the international reputation of Australasian horses over the past ten years or so, noting that the strength of the Australian dollar in recent years has helped Australasia become a major force in the international bloodstock business.

There were others too that made 2012 another memorable racing year. Cirrus des Aigles was beaten less than two lengths by Frankel in the Champion Stakes, becoming the leading horse in France for the second year running, though as a gelding he is barred from competing in the greatest race in his own country (the Arc), a rule Timeform take umbrage with in his essay ("The sooner geldings are allowed to contest all the top races open to entires, the better"). Whilst at home the exploits of 2000 Guineas and Derby winner Camelot unexpectedly revived interest in the domestic triple crown, a concept that many thought belonged to a bygone age with the pre-eminence of the classics gradually challenged by the major open-aged championship races, a topic explored in his extended entry. 25/1-shot Encke upset the applecart with his victory over Camelot in the St Leger, helping Godolphin to its eighth owners' title in Britain, though it was a troubled year for their long-time number one jockey Frankie Dettori, whose marked fall from grace, ending with a ban for failing a drugs test in France, is discussed in the essay on Gold Cup winner Colour Vision.

Drugs, and more specifically performance-enhancing drugs, gained plenty of headlines in more widely in sport in 2012, and racing hasn't escaped, with the performance of thoroughbreds "still being artificially manipulated in North America by the contents of a syringe", a controversial topic Timeform deal with in the essays on Breeders' Cup winner George Vancouver and America's top three-year-old I'll Have Another, concluding that eliminating raceday medication in North America "is a necessary first step towards...restoring the integrity of the game". 

One of the strengths of the Racehorses series is its comprehensiveness, and every horse to run on The Flat in Britain in 2012 gets its own individual commentary and rating, plus a good number of the best or most promising Irish horses. Flat racing is an increasingly global sport, however, and I'll Have Another is just one of the top overseas performers to get an extended entry in Racehorses of 2012, with American miling sensation Wise Dan, leading Japanese performer Orfevre, who memorably snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the Arc, and Melbourne Cup winner Green Moon among the others.

Running to over 1200 pages, and illustrated by over 250 photographs of the season's leading horses and big races, Racehorses of 2012 not only provides a complete record in print of another memorable season, but will provide hours of informative and entertaining reading.

Click HERE to read an online extract.