From staring down the barrel to knighthood – The ups and downs of Sir Henry Cecil’s illustrious career.
Sir Henry Cecil has enjoyed 42 years of an outstanding career as a horse racing trainer and one of the fewer men who have come back from such lows to attain the highs once again in the sport and finally distinguished by knighthood to complete his remarkable
recovery.
Born in Aberdeen, Sir Henry Cecil, a successful English horse racing trainer. The king of Epsom Derby, the 1.000 Guineas with 72 Royal Ascot wins show a very small part of Sir Henry Cecil’s story.
Sure he got all the success he wanted, ever since taking out a licence to train back in 1969, but the stature of the man is tested when he falls down from his pedestal to rise back and reach newer heights.
The 68 year old had a nasty slump in training when he failed to win a single Group 1 race for four years, precisely from 2001 to 2005, but eventually he showed character and bounced back again.
Troubled trainer who had to deal with the divorce of his second wife, and the death of the alcoholic twin brother, Cecil’s worries were far from over. Four years back the champion trainer revealed that he was suffering from stomach cancer back in 2007.
With all the grievances and on top of it falling from the top of the training perch, it seemed the world had seen the last of the champion trainer, but the trainer showed will and grit, as he fought with the life threatening disease and won.
Now it was time for his career, Sir Henry Cecil fought valiantly fought he was down to 94th in the trainer’s list and he was forced to scramble for races at the lowest level, but the resurrection finally came and got hold of the top class horses
like Midday and Twice Over.
The trainer had many luck with fillies as he won the Epsom Oaks 8 times and further he went on to win the 1,000 Guineas six times in his entire career.
In fact the trainer was so addicted to winning the big races that he has won the 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas and the St Leger Stakes, at least twice, all of the three races in his career, and that’s an achievement.
The 2010 season proved to be the best for the champion trainer in as much as the last 10 years. He went on to win 66 races in all competitions and increased his bank roll by a whopping £2.5million.
Now fittingly the trainer owns the best horse in the world, called Frankel, who has been declared the fastest horse in the world and still to be beaten by anyone.
Frankel was the star of his 2010 season, with Midday and Twice Over making major contributions and making the year 2010 an unforgettable one for the greatest trainer of our times.
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