Tom Queally pays tribute to Sir Henry Cecil – Horseracing news
Tom Queally paid tribute to the legendary trainer Sir Henry Cecil, who passed away yesterday at the age of 70.
The veteran jockey said, “He was a great trainer and an even greater person. Everything he did was class. Everything about him was class. He was a different gear. Every other trainer aspired to be like him but nobody will even come close. Everyone throughout
the industry will feel his loss because they don't make them like him anymore.”
He added, “He had a great empathy with his horses and he was a people person. He made things simple and he made things easy. Everyone goes on about 'this guy's a legend and that guy's a legend' but he truly was. He was a brilliant, brilliant trainer and
a great man.”
Cecil was successful right from the start of his career. He won some major events in 1969 and showed that he was not going to make life easy for his opponents. From then onwards, there was no stopping him, as he continued to dominate all the major competitions
in the United Kingdom.
However, there was a time between 2000 and 2006, when the legendary trainer failed to win any Group 1 event for six straight years. It appeared that he would retire from the sport, as things were not going right for him and he was diagnosed of cancer during
that period.
Despite all the problems, the British trainer fought back and proved what he was capable of achieving. He trained Frankel, who proved to be the greatest of all time in flat racing.
The five-year-old horse appeared in a total of 14 races, winning all of them comfortably. He was partnered by Queally right from the start of his career and the pair became famous all over the world for their heroics in the sport.
Frankel was retired to the stud in 2012, as there was no competition for him whatsoever. After that, Cecil did not really take any extra burden, as his health was getting worse. He finally passed away in a hospital in Cambridge. However, his contribution
to horseracing will never be forgotten and no other trainer will probably achieve what he did in an illustrious career.
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