More top-level success for Frankel as Converge lands J J Atkins

Frankel's fantastic 2021 season continues as two-year-old Converge stormed to victory in the Gr.1 J J Atkins at Eagle Farm on Saturday (12th June) for owner/breeders Evergreen Rich. 

Converge is Frankel's third Group 1 winner in Australia, his fourth two-year-old Group 1 winner and 15th Group 1 winner overall.

Frankel now has 69% winners to runners in Australia, with seven stakes winners (19% stakes winners to runners), five Group winners (14%) and three Group 1 winners (8%).

Taken from www.racenet.com.au:

If J J Atkins winner Converge was a boxer, he would be fighting in the featherweight class. But on Saturday at Eagle Farm he went toe-to-toe in the heavyweight division of two-year-olds and landed a knockout blow on his Group 1 opposition.

It gave Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott their 11th Group 1 as a training partnership and firmed up their huge opinion of the young son of Frankel.

Converge had gone into the J J after producing one of the flashing-light runs of the Queensland winter carnival, storming home from a wide gate under Tim Clark to finish runner-up in the Gr.2 Sires’ Produce Stakes last month.

From a much more favourable barrier this time, Converge was sent out the $2.90 J J Atkins favourite but it wasn’t all one-way traffic at the top of the betting market. Backmarker Port Louis was strongly backed to knock off the favourite, firming from $4.20 to $3.10, but was never a factor while Converge cantered away with a dominant win.

Last year, Queenslander Rothfire announced himself as a star by romping home in the J J Atkins and Converge did the same 12 months later and the winning margin of 3¼ lengths was almost identical.

TAB immediately slashed the gelding’s price from $15 to $8 in the Gr.1 Golden Rose, which could be one of a smorgasbord of future targets for the talented youngster.

Converge has a booming finish and it may have been gelding him early in his career that has been the making of him.

“We can go home and dream tonight about what could be possible for his three-year-old career,” Bott said. “The way he settles in his races he has certainly got the scope to improve over further so that certainly opens up a lot more options for him going forward.

“He is probably our smallest two-year-old but he has got the biggest heart. He is certainly the most honest horse that we have got and now he has got an explosive turn of foot to go with it, so it’s dangerous.

“We made the decision to geld him early and I think it’s been the making of him. He was just so small as a yearling we got him gelded to help try and kick him along and aid his growth. We were coming here today hoping we could see a performance that, we saw such a great run from him in the Sires’ and we thought it was a matter of holding him together and keeping him up to the mark.”

Waterhouse and Bott have produced a magnificent training effort with Converge, who rolled through the Sydney autumn carnival before bridging the gap between potential and performance in the J J Atkins.

Clark was in admiration of Converge’s heart and will to win. “He’s a bit like me, he’s only a little fellow,” he said. “We have learned he is versatile, he can adapt to pretty much anything. He travelled well throughout and there was plenty there when I asked him for it."