Tributes at Sir Henry Cecil Memorial

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Tributes have been paid to racehorse trainer Sir Henry Cecil at a memorial service in Cambridgeshire.

The Newmarket-based 10-time champion Flat trainer died aged 70, on 11 June, after a long battle with cancer.

More than 1,000 guests were at Ely Cathedral, including former BBC horse racing correspondent, Jim McGrath.

He said: "I'll remember Sir Henry as a unique man. He was a man who had green fingers when it came to horses. He just had a feel for it."

The service to celebrate the life of Sir Henry was arranged by his wife, Lady Cecil, after what she described as an "overwhelming" response from friends and members of the public to the news of his death.

Lady Cecil said: "He touched so many people's lives, something that was made very clear by all the wonderful correspondence we received after he died."

During his four-decade career in horse racing, Sir Henry had 75 winners at Royal Ascot and 25 British Classic winners.

But perhaps his greatest success was with Frankel, who retired last year as the top-rated racehorse in the world.

Mr McGrath said: "Frankel was the piece de resistance. It was unbelievable.

"His handling of Frankel just summed him up as a trainer.

"He was very patient with [the horse] and allowed him to find his feet and to mature."

The front of the memorial order of service for Sir Henry read: "Think deeply, speak gently. Love much, laugh often. Work hard, give freely and be kind."

Thirteen Alright for Queally & Frankel

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Unbeaten Frankel enhanced his reputation as one of the greatest horses in history by easily taking the Juddmonte International at York.

It takes the Sir Henry Cecil-trained colt's record to 13 wins from 13 races.

Despite stepping up in distance to 10 furlongs for the first time, the world's top-rated horse (1-10) powered through the field to take a record eighth consecutive Group One victory.

The Tom Queally-ridden four-year-old won the £725,000 race by seven lengths.

Frankel has now surpassed Rock of Gibraltar's mark of seven Group One wins in a row.

Cecil, who has battled stomach cancer since 2006, was at York to see his prized asset extend his perfect record.

"It's fantastic and it's great for Yorkshire, they're very supportive of racing and deserve to see him. [It helped me feel] 20 years better," he said.

Godolphin's Farhh (10-1) finished in second place, ahead of Ballydoyle's St Nicholas Abbey (5-1) in third.

Having been slowest out of the gate and then finding himself caught in the middle of the field in the opening stages, Frankel came past St Nicholas Abbey on the near side with two furlongs to go and then eased to victory in the Ebor Festival's showpiece race, sponsored by Frankel's owner Khalid Abdullah.

"Every man and his dog had his penny's worth as to where he should run and what he should do, but to run him in the owner's race and to go and win 13 from 13 speaks for itself," said Queally, who has mounted the Newmarket horse to each of his remarkable wins.

Queally said that he was prepared for the two Ballydoyle horses Robin Hood and Windsor Palace acting as pacemakers for St Nicholas Abbey, and was grateful to Eddie Ahern for doing the same for Frankel on stable-mate Bullet Train.

"I suspected they would go a good gallop, but we had a plan in place. Eddie Ahern did a good job on Bullet Train and it panned out nicely," he said.

Uncertainty remains over how many more outings Cecil will give Frankel, but a career finale at Ascot's British Champions Day in October is a distinct possibility.

Frankel's lucky 13

13 August 2010: European Breeders' Fund Maiden Stakes, Newmarket

10 September 2010: Frank Whittle Partnership Condition Stakes, Doncaster

25 September 2010: Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes, Ascot

16 October 2010: Dubai Dewhurst Stakes, Newmarket

16 April 2011: Greenham Stakes, Newbury

30 April 2011: 2000 Guineas, Newmarket

14 June 2011: St James's Palace Stakes, Ascot

17 July 2011: Sussex Stakes, Goodwood

15 October 2011: Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Ascot

19 May 2012: JLT Lockinge Stakes, Newbury

19 June 2012: Queen Anne Stakes, Ascot

1 August 2012: Sussex Stakes, Goodwood

22 August 2012: Juddmonte International Stakes, York

Related articles

• Frankel seeks win No. 13 Wednesday at York
• Queally and Frankel in Big York Test

Frankel Seeking Glory at Goodwood

Glorious Goodwood begins on Tuesday, with most attention at the five-day meeting on the unbeaten Frankel.

Sir Henry Cecil's colt has won his first 11 races and is a long odds-on shot to defend his Sussex Stakes title against three rivals on Wednesday.

Richard Hannon seeks his third Lennox Stakes in five years on Tuesday with stable stalwart Libranno .

Last year's winner Hoof It is out of Stewards' Cup on Saturday, which also features the Nassau Stakes.

Aidan O'Brien had the choice of Irish Guineas winner Power, Jersey Stakes winner Ishvana or Reply for the coveted Group one-mile Sussex Stakes, but has not declared any of them.

Frankel's main test now looks likely to come from Godolphin's four-year-old Farhh, third in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and second in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown last time.

Stablemate and pacemaker Bullet Train,and Richard Fahey's Gabrial, who stepped up from handicap company to finish fifth in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, are the only other runners.

Sir Henry is continuing to have cancer treatment and will not be able to attend Goodwood to watch his prize four-year-old.

"Although I am able to train my horses, I'm not quite fit to go racing yet, but I hope to be fully recovered in the near future," he said.

"Everything has gone as we could have wished with Frankel since the Queen Anne Stakes. We gave him an easy time immediately after Royal Ascot before bringing him back into fast work.

"He has pleased us with his work and is going to the Sussex Stakes in good shape. We are taking one race at a time with him and are hoping that he can extend his unbeaten record."

Ladies' Day on Thursday features the Goodwood Cup over two miles, won last year by Frankie Dettori on Opinion Poll, who was second to Dettori and Colour Vision in this year's Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

There are currently 43 horses entered for the Goodwood Mile on Friday, with John Gosden-trained four-year-old Trade Commissionerhighly regarded after completing successive wins over the distance in the Challenge Handicap at Sandown.

Hoof It, owned by golfer Lee Westwood and agent Chubby Chandler, would have been forced to carry a huge burden in the Stewards' Cup and now competes in Group races.

James Fanshawe's Hallelujah, third in the Summer Stakes at York last time, has been at the head of the market for some time and is still in contention for a start.

Also on the final day is the Group One Nassau Stakes, won for the last three years by Sir Henry's Midday, who has since been retired.

Timepiece is Sir Henry's offering this year, while Gosden has strong contenders in Izzi Top and The Fugue.

Goodwood organisers are confident that the Olympics will not have any impact on attendances at the picturesque West Sussex venue this week.

"We are expecting a full house, particularly on Wednesday, because of the great interest surrounding Frankel," Goodwood marketing executive Lucy Faith told BBC Sport.

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Fantastic Frankel at Ascot

Frankel extended his unbeaten run to 11 when winning the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Sir Henry Cecil's superstar and the highest rated horse in the world was winning his seventh Group One from just 11 career starts, a tally which is just over half of that achieved by the second highest rated horse, Black Caviar, who is due to line up on the final day of the Royal Meeting.

The brilliant colt's brother, Bullet Train, adopted his usual front-running role, which jockey Ian Mongan again performed to perfection, with his illustrious sibling travelling strongly in his slipstream with market rival Excelebration alongside.

Tom Queally eased the son of Galileo out into the clear with around three furlongs to run and was motionless in the saddle as his mount opened up.

Push quickly came to shove for Excelebration, who was having his fifth crack at his old rival, and he had no answer to the gears of this remarkable performer.

Eleven lengths was the scarcely believable margin at the line, with Aidan O'Brien's four year old narrowly holding on for second from a fast finishing Side Glance having run his heart out in defeat.

German raider Indomito finished fourth in a race where very few got involved.

Cecil said: "It's relief, I'm not surprised but relieved. "There's no such thing as a certainty. He is a great horse and you've seen him for yourself so everybody can form their own opinion.

"He did exactly what I thought but he's still improving, Tom said he's still improving. He looks as if he'll stay a mile and a quarter so we'll leave our options open.

"He's in the Eclipse, he's in the Sussex, he's in the Juddmonte and the two races at the end of the year. He'll tell me what to do next, I don't tell him.

"It's very unlikely he'll go to the Breeders' Cup."

Queally added: "It was basically what everyone expected, so it's great that he did it.

"It looks like he's improving. He settled, he travelled, he got everything else off the bridle when I was still sitting there - he's amazing.

"That's his best performance. He ticked all the boxes, he did everything right. From my point of view he's been flawless in the past but I couldn't have asked for anything more.

"He had the perfect prep for it, Henry had no complications and we were able to do it nicely."

O'Brien said of the runner-up: "We were delighted with our horse but Frankel is unbelievable. We'll look at the entries we've made, see how he is and then have a talk about it."

Andrew Balding added of Side Glance: "I'm very pleased with our horse but I hope Frankel steps up in distance later in the season and if he does we'll come back here for QEII."

Frankel Storms Lockinge Stakes

Frankel maintained his 100% record by storming to victory by five lengths in the JLT Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.

The four-year-old Sir Henry Cecil-trained colt, the 2-7 favourite, powered home five lengths clear of Excelebration (100-30), who finished second to Frankel for a fourth time.

Dubawi Gold (16-1) was the best of the rest, a further four lengths back.

"He's not like anything I've sat on before or probably ever will again," said delighted jockey Tom Queally.

Frankel was already the world's highest-rated racehorse before Saturday's victory, having won all nine of his races, including six Group One outings.

Winner of the Dewhurst Stakes to cap his juvenile season, Frankel posted four more Group One victories last season in the 2000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

He showed no signs of a leg injury sustained at Newmarket in April, when his racing career was in the balance.

Despite missing 10 days' work before receiving a positive scan, Frankel seemed in ideal condition.

"It's a great relief he's come back. He's grown up from last year, he's thicker set," added Queally. "If you look at him now, he's the real deal - he's filled out since last year."

Cecil, who paid tribute to the stable staff for bringing Frankel back to full health, said: "His first race is never his best but we had to bring him here as he needed a race before Ascot and he has done it very easily.

"He is stronger this year and Tom said his acceleration is incredible."

Bullet Train, Frankel's regular work partner and three-parts brother, shot out of the stalls, with Queally happy to sit in just two lengths behind.

Frankel then showed his class to take the front and easily put daylight between himself and the five other runners.

Excelebration's trainer Aidan O'Brien said: "Frankel is a great horse, isn't he? I'm delighted for everybody involved with him."

Frankel's previous wins

13 Aug 2010 at Newmarket - bt Nathaniel by 1/2 length

10 Sep 2010 at Doncaster - bt Rainbow Springs by 13 lengths

25 Sep 2010 at Ascot Royal Lodge Stakes- bt Klammer by 10 lengths

16 Oct 2010 at Newmarket Dewhurst Stakes - bt Roderic O'Connor by 2¼ lengths

16 Apr 2011 at Newbury Greenham Stakes- bt Excelebration by 4 lengths

30 Apr 2011 at Newmarket 2000 Guineas - bt Dubawi Gold by 6 lengths

14 Jun 2011 at Ascot St James's Palace Stakes - bt Zoffany by ¾ length

27 Jul 2011 at Goodwood Sussex Stakes - bt Canford Cliffs by 5 lengths

15 Oct 2011 at Ascot Queen Elizabeth II Stakes - bt Excelebration by 4 lengths

Frankel Set for Newbury Return

Unbeaten colt Frankel is on course to return in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on 19 May after his first gallop since an injury scare.

The world's top-rated Flat racehorse, trained by Sir Henry Cecil, had a seven-furlong workout at Newmarket.

Owner Khalid Abdullah's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said: "He strode out well and everyone was very pleased."

Frankel was cleared to return to training after a scan showed no serious damage from a "superficial" leg injury.

"We'll just see how we go. It was his first bit of work and he's going to have to continue to please everyone," said Grimthorpe.

"It is still the intention to run in the Lockinge, but as I said, we'll just see how we go."

Frankel has been given entries in both the one-mile Queen Anne Stakes and the 10-furlong Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, said Grimthorpe.

The Galileo colt has won each of his nine starts to date, including victories in the 2,000 Guineas, the St James's Palace Stakes, the Sussex Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

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Frankel is Racehorse of The Year

The unbeaten Frankel has been named racehorse of the year at the Cartier Racing Awards.

The three-year-old colt, owned and bred by Khalid Abdullah and trained by Sir Henry Cecil, has won all nine of his races to date.

Frankel's season included victories in the 2,000 Guineas, the St James's Palace Stakes, the Sussex Stakes and the £1m Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

He also took the honours in the three-year-old colt category.

It capped a memorable day for Cecil, who had earlier been knighted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

The awards are determined by points earned by horses in Pattern (top-class) races throughout 2011, combined with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists and votes from readers of the Racing Post and the Daily Telegraph.

In the horse of the year category, Frankel saw off competition from Champion Stakes winner Cirrus Des Aigles, Coral-Eclipse and Irish Champion Stakes scorer So You Think.

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Danedream and 2010 horse of the year Goldikova were also among the nominees.

But there was success for Danedream - trained by Peter Schiergen - on the night, as she won the three-year-old filly category.

Christophe Ferland-trained Dabirsim took the two-year-old colt award after coming through his first season unbeaten in five starts and Maybe, trained by Aidan O'Brien, was named best two-year-old filly after an unblemished juvenile career.

Fame And Glory, also handled by O'Brien, took the honours in the stayer category, and David Simcock-trained Dream Ahead won the sprinter award.

Recently retired trainer Barry Hills was was handed the award of merit for his lifetime contribution to racing. He began training in 1969 and enjoyed more than 3,200 career wins, including 10 Classics.

Hills handed over his training licence to his son son Charlie after York's Ebor Meeting in October.

Queally Wins for Cecil on Frankel

Unbeaten Frankel cruised to his ninth successive victory as he landed the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on the inaugural Champions Day at Ascot.

The three-year-old colt, trained by Sir Henry Cecil and ridden by Tom Queally, was a comfortable winner on the country's richest ever raceday.

Frankel took up the running from pacemaker Bullet Train approaching the final furlong.

And he sauntered clear to win by four lengths from Excelebration.

Immortal Verse was a further three and a half lengths back in third.

In the day's other big race, French horse Cirrus Des Aiglesupset the odds to beat hot favourite So You Think by three-quarters of a length in theChampion Stakes.

However, winning jockey Christophe Soumillon was later penalised for breaching the new whip rules and fined his prize money of about £50,000, the biggest jockey purse in British racing.

Frankel had won all eight of his previous runs, over seven furlongs and a mile, and never looked in danger of losing the QEII, worth £1m, once he stalked his stablemate Bullet Train.

"He's more professional with age, the real deal.

"I let him go when he allowed me too. I always enjoy winners but this one is extra special.

"Who knows what happens next year? I'm enjoying it for the moment - everyone is. I don't think I will ever ride a horse like this again."

Cecil added: "He was lovely and relaxed today. Now I'm looking forward to getting the winter over with and to next season when I think he'll be suited to a mile and a quarter."

It was Frankel's fifth Group One win of his career, and his fourth of the season, after victories in the 2,000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes.

Frankel's owner, Saudi Prince Khalid Abdullah, said: "Many think he's the best they've seen, so I am lucky to have that horse."

It looked as though Frankel's increasing legend would give the sport a lift after a week dominated by headlines about controversial new whip rules and a potential strike by jockeys.

But Soumillon's transgression threatened to overshadow even Frankel's performance.

His mount Cirrus Des Aigles, a 12-1 shot, came up on the shoulder of So You Think and made his move in the final 100 yards to win.

The Belgian rider used his whip one more time than the maximum five strikes allowed in the final furlong. On learning of his penalty he said: "I'm very embarrassed for English racing today."

Earlier, Gold Cup winner Fame and Glory returned to winning form at Ascot as he claimed the opening Long Distance Cup.

The five-year-old, trained by Aidan O'Brien, was sent out in front by Jamie Spencer in a well-judged ride and the 3-1 second favourite had the stamina to see off closing rivals Opinion Poll and Colour Vision.

Another Royal Ascot winner Deacon Blues enjoyed further success at the Berkshire track when scoring in the British Champions Sprint Stakes.

The 5-2 favourite, under Johnny Murtagh for James Fanshawe, saw off Wizz Kid by a length and a half to secure his fifth successive victory.

Murtagh doubled up in the Fillies and Mares Stakes on long-time leader Dancing Rain.

The filly won by two lengths to add to successes in the Epsom and German Oaks this season for trainer William Haggas.

FRANKEL'S SUBLIME NINE

Ascot, October 2011 - won by 4 lengths

Goodwood, July 2011 - won by 5 lengths

Ascot, June 2011 - won by ¾ length

Newmarket, April 2011 - won by 6 lengths

Newbury, April 2011 - won by 4 lengths

Newmarket, Oct 2010 - won by 2½ lengths

Ascot, Sep 2010 - won by 10 lengths

Doncaster, Sep 2010 - won by 13 lengths

Newmarket, August 2010 - won by ½ length