UK Horse Racing Tips

Tributes have been paid to racehorse Frankel’s trainer, Sir Henry Cecil, at a memorial service in Cambridgeshire. Over 1,000 guests turned up to pay their respects for the trainer who died in June.

Racing legend Sir Henry Cecil died at the age of 70, after a long fought battle with stomach cancer. Sir Henry who was a 10 times champion trainer, passed away at a hospital in Cambridge on 11 June 2013.

Sir Henry Cecil had an extremely successful career as a flat-racing trainer, responsible for 25 Classic winners and becoming the lead handler at Royal Ascot with 75 winners. His biggest achievement was the training of Frankel, who holds the record for the highest-ever rated racehorse.

Frankel retired last year unbeaten in his 14 race career, including victories in the 2000 Guineas (1/2F), Queen Elizabeth II (4/11F) and International stakes (1/10F). The British thoroughbred’s last race was the Champion stakes at Royal Ascot, which he finished in first place at odds of 2/11F, taking away a massive prize pot of £737,000 for owner Khalid Abdullah.

Sir Henry Cecil, Khalid Abdullah and regular jockey Tom Queally helped take a whopping £3 million in winnings with Frankel, a horse who has now been put to stud. A liaison with this champion of the flat doesn’t come cheap though, with a six figure sum being touted for a ‘session’ with the stallion.

Frankel became the first racehorse to be given a valuation of £100 million. The numbers begin to speak for themselves when admiring work of Sir Henry, who has trained one of the worlds most profitable racehorses.

Sir Henry’s four-decade career in horse racing wasn’t an easy one for the Scottish-born trainer. In his heyday, between 1976 and 1993, Sir Henry saw unrivalled success with the horses he trained, however a period of decline followed, including being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2006. The trainer struggled to continue his form in the following seasons until his renaissance came in 2010 with the success of Frankel, self proclaimed as the best horse he had ever seen.

Lady Cecil, Sir Henry’s widow, will continue to train from his Warren Place stables after the license was temporarily handed to her after his death. The Newmarket stable has gone on to saddle over 30 winners since June and Lady Cecil has announced she will take over as yard’s successor permanently.

The most notable victory for Lady Cecil, since Sir Henry passed away, has been Rispote’s win at Royal Ascot in the Ribblesdale stakes. Tom Queally rode the filly over 12 furlongs to an emotional win for Lady Cecil in June, at a starting price of 9/2.

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