Remembering Sir Henry Cecil

The 11th of June marked the 11th anniversary of the death of legendary Sir Henry Cecil. We remember him especially over Royal Ascot where he reigned having trained a remarkable 75 winners here.

Cecil was one of the most treasured and iconic figures of his era and without doubt among the finest racehorse trainers to ever exist.

The magic happened at Warren Place where Cecil lived and trained. If one was lucky enough to have visited him in Newmarket, it might have felt like entering another world.

It was well known that the wonderful garden at Warren Place was where Henry spent his time away from the yard. Training around two hundred exceptionally elite animals had its pressures to say the least. One can only imagine the impact this had on him in the darker years of his career. It's no surprise he needed an escape from time to time.

His achievements were spectacular and without precedent. He will be remembered not only for these, but also his distinguished character which made him so popular with the racing public.

Cecil started training in 1969 and started as he meant to go on, winning the Eclipse in his first season.

By June 2012 he had trained 25 domestic classic winners, including four Epsom Derby winners, eight Epsom Oaks winners, six 1000 Guineas winners, three 2000 Guineas winners and four winners of the St Leger Stakes. His overseas classic victories included the Grand Prix de Paris, the Prix de Diane (twice), the Irish 1000 Guineas, the Irish Derby (twice) and the Irish Oaks (three times).

Cecil's accomplishments on the Turf have set records yet to be broken. Between 1976 and 1992 he was crowned Champion Flat Trainer ten times.

Describing his approach to training, he once said: ‘I do everything by instinct really, not by the book.’

Despite spending the majority of his years at the very top, he also knew what it was like at the lower end. Between July and October 2000 everything went awry; it looked as if things would not recover. He did not saddle a single Group 1 winner in that time. In 2005 there were only a dozen winners in total and the stable saw a fall from 200 horses to 50.

His strong drive and the steadfast loyalty of Khalid Abdullah got him back to the top of the game. The return was cause for celebration.

The same competitive streak was seen in his fight with cancer. He valiantly carried on just as he always had done.

Even with all the Classic victories and the masses of Group 1s to his name, Frankel is the horse with which he'll always be associated. Frankel was his glorious swansong; he was his best and his last. Many knew that as his illness took more of a toll, it was unlikely he would be seen in the winner’s enclosure many more times.

With the continued successes of Frankel's progeny, there's a way in which Cecil still continues to conquer, even after leaving us.

Though he could hardly be considered a saint in his personal life, no scandal affected his horses and so most of the racing world loved him all the same.

In the last years, when frailty crept in, his spark remained. His style, courage, politeness and talent proved unbreakable.