A genius admired by all

SIR Henry Cecil, the racing legend who died yesterday at the age of 70, leaves a huge legacy to the sport.

The trainer sent out 25 Classic and 75 Royal Ascot winners and was a man who appealed to all followers of the sport despite his upper class background.

Many of us in the north struggle to empathise with such wealth and privilege.

So it is perhaps Cecil’s finest achievement that he proved so popular with the rank-and-file racegoer.

Quite simply, punters placed their trust in Cecil. And they were rewarded in spades.

Yes, some of the finest bloodstock in the world passed through his hands. But boy, did he make the most of it.

I grew up marvelling at the exploits of 2,000 Guineas winners Bolkonski and Wollow. Then along came the likes of Slip Anchor, Oh So Sharp, Reference Point and Old Vic, to name but a few.

If you were struggling to find a winner at Royal Ascot, all you had to do was keep backing the Cecil horses and you would soon be visiting the pay-out counter.

Not all went smoothly in Cecil’s career. The loss of Sheikh Mohammed’s horses at the turn of the century saw a dramatic drop in his fortunes.

But you can’t keep a good man down and his return to the pinnacle of the sport was capped by the arrival of wonder horse Frankel.

This was a thoroughbred of the utmost brilliance, but a firecracker waiting to explode.

Cecil’s handling of this colt, arguably the greatest racehorse of all time, embodied all his qualities as a racehorse trainer – understanding, patience, genius.

Frankel, unbeaten in 14 races, was Cecil’s greatest gift to us. It was so fitting that a horse of this stature should come along as he battled the illness which was eventually to claim his life.

The pair will indelibly be etched into racing folklore.