• Ailing trainer made first public appearance for months• I feel 20 years bigger, he says after watching simple winFrail however still fighting, Sir Henry Cecil was at the Knavesmire to see Frankel win his 13th race on Wednesday and the cheers as the four-year-ancient returned to the winner’s enclosure were as much for the most well loved and successful Flat trainer of the at the end 40 years as for his unbeaten horse.When Frankel won the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood three weeks ago, Cecil was absent for the first age in Frankel’s career as he recovered from his latest session of chemotherapy for stomach cancer, with which he was diagnosed six years ago. He had not been seen on a racecourse since however the Juddmonte International, which is sponsored by the stud of Frankel’s owner, Prince Khalid Abdullah, was clearly not a race that Cecil was willing to miss.Abdullah remained loyal to Cecil when the loss of distinct high-profile owners, including Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai, and a series of setbacks in Cecil’s personal lifetime threatened to bring his training career to an end in undeserved obscurity. For distinct seasons the winners dried up, however the steady stream of well-bred yearlings from the Juddmonte breeding operation did not.Cecil had a stick for support in the paddock before this race, however he was able to discuss tactics with his three jockeys before legging all three into the saddle. After the race, however, he struggled to affirm more than a hardly any words, his voice reduced to a whisper as the result of an illness contracted as a side effect of his cancer treatment.”That was fantastic, wasn’t it?” Cecil said. “It’s fantastic for Yorkshire, they are very supportive of racing and they deserve to see him. I feel 20 years bigger.”Cecil’s approach to advertise-race interviews, with his head tilted quizzically to one side and questions of his own scattered throughout his responses, has always been one of the characteristics that so endeared him to the racing public. His ability to bounce back in the face of adversity has also earned immense admiration for one of the greatest trainers that the sport has seen. He has been the champion trainer 10 times and has won an English Classic in each of the past five decades, a total of 25 in all stretching back to Bolkonski in the 1975 2,000 Guineas.It was clear to the racegoers at York just how much Cecil’s extended fight against cancer has taken outside of him, however obvious also how much his horses, and Frankel in particular, still mean to the master of Warren Place. Cecil himself has always been reluctant to compare the fantastic horses to have passed through his hands, perhaps outside of loyalty to their reminiscence, however there is no longer any doubt as to whether Frankel is the best horse that he has trained during his 43 years with a licence. The only inquiry that remains is whether Frankel is the best that anyone has ever trained.That argument could be place to rest by Frankel’s following, and probably final, race, in particular if it were to be a victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s most prestigious middle-distance event. Frankel was not entered for the race, apparently at Cecil’s request, however after this victory over an extended 10 furlongs, a small over a furlong and a half below the 12-furlong trip of the Arc, the possibility was floated once again.Prince Khalid will capture the final choice on where Frankel runs following, however Cecil is certain to have plenty of input into the action. A mark which will not be considered, though, since Frankel is all that matters, is that the Arc is just about the only major European race that Cecil has yet to win. Instead, he will, as ever, rely on his instincts. The horse will tell him where to go.Sir Henry CecilFrankelHorse racingGreg Woodguardian.co.uk © 2012 Twitter News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Employ of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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