SUPERSTAR colt Frankel could face a stellar line-up when he makes his eagerly anticipated return to action at Newbury next month.
The five-time Group 1 winner is set to line-up in the JLT Lockinge Stakes on May 19 where he will be trying to stretch his unbeaten record to ten.
However the likely presence of last season's runaway 2,000 Guineas winner has not scared off potential rivals with a whole host of big names featuring among the 20 entries.
Excelebration, who finished second behind Frankel on his final start of last season in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes could have a first start for Aidan O'Brien in the race. So You Think is another eyecatching name among the O'Brien-trained entries.
Richard Hannon, who won the race last season with Canford Cliffs, has entered Dubawi Gold, second to Frankel in last season's Guineas, and Strong Suit.
Worthadd, second in the Lockinge last year when trained in Italy by Vittorio Caruso, hasbeen given an entry in the Group 1 race over a mile by new trainer Sir Mark Prescott.
As well as Frankel, owner Khalid Abdullah could also be represented by brilliant Dubai Duty Free winner Cityscape, although he has more likely options overseas.
IR HENRY CECIL has mapped out a plan for Frankel, officially rated the world's best Flat horse, which will include a step up in trip to 1m2f, but is unlikely to feature a trip to the States for the Breeders' Cup at the end of the year.
Cecil, who trains the brilliant Galileo colt for Khalid Abdullah, attended a press conference at Sandown on Monday in which he confirmed the JLT Lockinge Stakes over 1m at Newbury on May 19 as the starting point for the horse who lit up last year's Flat season.
Frankel's final appearance would likely be the Qipco Champion Stakes or the same day's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October, with Cecil not convinced about the Breeders' Cup.
"The Breeders' Cup is not ruled out completely," said Cecil, who revealed the seven-year-old Twice Over remains in training this term.
"That would be a separate thought. Hopefully he is going to stand in Europe as a turf horse. I think there is a good chance he will retire at the end of this year. Would it be fair to him at the end of the season going to a different surface with all the bustle? Time will tell."
Asked about if and when the unbeaten superstar will step up in trip Cecil said: "A mile and a quarter will be when he is settled and is happy at that trip. I never work my horses over the distance they are going to run and try to work him as short as you can and leave him the gears to go through in his races."
Frankel's three-year-old brother Noble Mission, second on his only start last year, could begin his 2012 campaign at Newmarket's Craven meeting this month.
