British · Newmarket, England · Born 11 January 1943 · Died 2013-06-11The greatest flat racing trainer in British history — 10 Champion Trainer titles and the man who brought Frankel to the world.
Henry Cecil trained Frankel, still widely considered the greatest racehorse in modern history, through an unbeaten 14-race career -- while Cecil himself was fighting the stomach cancer that would eventually kill him in 2013, only months after Frankel's final, victorious run at Ascot. That late-career resurgence followed a genuine slump: Cecil had fallen out of fashion in the 2000s, considered by parts of the racing press to be past his best years before Frankel's emergence restored him to the top of the sport almost overnight. Ten champion trainer titles and 25 British Classic winners across his full career meant the Frankel story was a comeback rather than an isolated late flourish. Cecil's death came less than a year after Frankel's retirement, close enough that the horse's unbeaten record and his trainer's final illness have become permanently linked in how both are remembered -- one of racing's most celebrated training careers ending almost exactly alongside its most celebrated horse.
Training Frankel and multiple Classic winners
How They Played
Intuitive trainer known for patient, individualized approach and ability to bring out the best in each horse
Lasting Impact
One of Britain's greatest racehorse trainers with 10 Champion Trainer titles
Career Honours
- Champion Trainer 10x
- 25 British Classic wins
- Trained Frankel
British Athletes