With just a few days to the proper start of the Flat season. here's a stroll down memory lane remembering the early days of Henry Cecil. Mention the name Henry Cecil today and most people will say something about Frankel. Which is true but at the same time a shame as Cecil was so much more than one great horse even if that horse was one of the greatest ever. The earlier Cecil was a winner machine, almost metronomic in his ability to get horses to win again and again. Let’s go back to the start. His first season as a trainer was 1969 when he took over his stepfather’s (Sir Cecil Boyd Rochfort) stable. Cecil tells a story of one day during those early months on the racecourse hearing one punter saying to another ‘don’t back that Cecil’s horses, he can’t train ivy up a wall’. After a very slow start he eventually won an amateur rider’s event mid-June. After a chat with Noel Murless, who effectively told him to gallop his horses harder (your string working is like looking at a group of middle-aged gentlemen out for a canter), he started doing a bit better. He then pulled off a surprising win in the Eclipse with Wolver Hollow, who but for a bit of a flourish as a 2yo had appeared to be just a top-class handicapper. Cecil also won the Observer Gold Cup that year. After a poor start he didn't have a bad first year, Cecil had some good owners and won good races, but it was nothing special: Cloonagh winiing the Irish 1000G was probably the highlight of his first 6 years.. That changed in 1975 when he was sent the cheaply bought Bolkonski to train by the horse's Italian owner, Carlo D’Alessio, as he had been entered for the 2000G as a yearling and the owner fancied a go.. Having proved himself the best Italian 2yo it was felt he should be given his chance at the first colt’s Classic. 1975 was a wet Spring and it was difficult to get horses ready so Cecil decided to start him in the Craven. As he was a Group 2 winner he had to give 4lbs to most of the field and finished second beaten 4 lengths by Peter Walwyn’s No Alimony. It was decided to go for the Guineas for which he started 33-1. He was unconsidered behind the hot favourite Grundy who was also trained by Walwyn and considered pounds ahead of No Alimony. As it was Bolkonski and Grundy came away from their field and after a tough struggle Bolkonski prevailed by half a length in the hands of Gianfranco Dettori. Grundy had gone on to win the Irish 2000G and Derby, so it was no surprise when Bolkonski went on to win both the big mile races at Royal Ascot and Goodwood. Cecil was making a name for himself. D’Alessio decided to send another cheaply bought 2yo to Cecil that same year. This son of Wolver Hollow was called Wollow. He went on to win 9 of his 11 races and his wins included the Dewhurst, 2000G, Eclipse, Sussex Stakes and Benson and Hedges Gold Cup (now Juddmonte). He ensured Cecil was crowned Champion trainer for the first time in 1976. Up to then he’d had loose arrangements with jockeys. Until 1974 Greville Starkey would have been considered his usual choice, but Starkey became disenchanted with this due to often being jocked off by Piggott. In 1976 Cecil retained the 1974 and 1975 Champion Apprentice Alan Bond, with the view being that he would grow into the role of stable jockey. However, this didn’t work out and Bond left at the end of the ’76 season. With Dettori’s successes on Bolkonski and Wollow Cecil often used him as well as a variety of other jockeys. At the end of 1976 Cecil was to take over his father-in-law, Noel Murless’s stable at Warren Place and mid ’76 season Murless’s lead owner, Jim Joel, advised Cecil to appoint the recently sacked Joe Mercer as stable jockey. Cecil’s first year as the master of Warren Place was a quieter one than the year of Wollow. There were no stars in the stable though the best horse he had, Lucky Wednesday, did win a few good races and finish 2nd in the Eclipseg. Dettori stopped being used by midsummer as Mercer took over riding even D’Alessio’s horses. Walwyn regained the Championship he’d won in 1975. 1978 was a much better year and it was reinforced by the arrival in the stable of the 5yo Gunner B. He was trained by Geoff Toft up to 1977 and as a 3yo had won the Doonside Cup and Cecil Frail Stakes, while his best run was when 2nd in the Dante Stakes. As a 4yo he won the Diomed Stakes and ran well in a couple of Group 3s. In many of these races Mercer had ridden him so when Toft honestly and generously admitted he couldn’t improve Gunner B (as he didn’t have the horses to gallop him with) his owner sent him to Cecil. Gunner B repaid the owner’s confidence by winning 4 Stakes races off the reel with the Earl of Sefton, Brigadier Gerard, Prince of Wales and then Eclipse bagged. He then ran 2nd in the Juddmonte, before winning another race and then finished with a 3rd in the Champion Stakes. These wins were most important in making sure Cecil was again champion trainer but there was help from the 5yo Buckskin, 3yo Le Moss and a lot of fine 2yos. Those 2yos were initially headed by Main Reef, who won the Chesham and July Stakes, Lyphard’s Wish, Formulate (who was Cecil’s highest rated 2yo winning all the staying fillies races), R B Chesne (Champagne Stakes winner) and Borzoi (whom Cecil felt was his best 2yo). Two big things in 1978 were the placing of both good and just average horses to win races (and keep winning) and the arrival of Daniel Wildenstein’s string at Warren Place. So what was the week of the title? Cecil did not have a 1979 runner until the Newmarket Craven meeting on the 17th April. First up was Lyphard’s Wish in the Craven. He had been a good 2yo, winning the Solario but was only placed in the Royal Lodge and Futurity. He was up against the 2000G favourite Tromos, who had won the Dewhurst in sparkling style and started at 100-30 on. Lyphard’s was bounced out in front and at the distance was asked to stretch out (though without use of the whip) he came away to win by 2&1/2 lengths from Tromos. Cecil’s 2nd runner that day was Chalet, an unbeaten colt who had only run once as a 2yo. Favourite, he was given a typical Mercer ride hitting the front at the distance and coming away from his field to win by 4 lengths: a fine first day for the stable. On the 2nd day of the meeting Cecil ran only one and that was the unraced Welsh Chanter in the Wood Ditton. With the stable obviously in form he was a slightly odds-on favourite to beat the 13 other debutants, but 3 furlongs out looked to have no chance. Hard driven by his jockey he began to battle on and 50yds from the line got his head in front and won by half a length: three shots, three goals. On the final day of the meeting Cecil ran two. First up was a well-bred colt of Jim Joel’s called Golden River. However, he was taking on two useful colts in Ela Mana Mou and More Light. The former had won the Royal Lodge beating Troy and Lyphard’sWish, while the latter had finished 2nd in both the Champagne Stakes and the Dewhurst. They finished in that order with Ela-Mana-Mou being 4 lengths better than his rival. Golden River finished 5th under 2 lengths behind More Light, but 2 furlongs out that position was looking unlikely as he was hard ridden and getting nowhere. When he met the rising ground, he flew and was unlucky not to finish 2nd as he was baulked by another runner: a first setback but plenty of promise. Cecil’s last runner at the meeting was the unbeaten One in a Million, who was backed into favourite despite taking on the 1000G favourite Devon Ditty in the Nell Gwyn Stakes. The latter was giving the Cecil filly 7lb which probably explained the betting, along with One in the Million being so promising in her two winning starts in 1978. Cecil’s filly did not impress in the paddock with the nicest thing that could be said about her being that she was wiry. In the race she took up the running at halfway and going into the dip was asked to quicken, which she did dramatically winning by 5 lengths from Devon Ditty. One in a Million immediately became favourite for the 1000G. With 4 winners from 5 runners the Newbury racegoers unsurprisingly made both his runners on the Friday favourites. They ran in different divisions of the 11f maiden. First up was Masked Marvel, who was odds-on but tired in the final furlong to finish a distant 3rd. Later in the day the more sensibly priced War Legend (5-2) took control 2 furlongs out and came home 2&1/2 lengths clear of his field: 7 shots, 5 goals. On the Saturday of that week Cecil had 3 runners and first up was an unraced Wildenstein owned 3yo filly called Cartridge. She ran close to the leaders for most of the race before weakening into 5th. In the very next race Kris made his seasonal debut in the Greenham Stakes for which he was made 11/10 favourite. A burst of speed 2 furlongs out seemed to have put the race to bed but he then began to idle and looked sure to be beaten by Young Generation. However, he then produced a second burst of speed that took him 3 lengths clear. Not an easy race but a very fine performance. The final race of the meeting was an 8f Maiden. Cecil ran another unraced Wildenstein 3yo called Volcanic. He was facing a huge field of 24 opponents, many with decent form. Despite that Volcanic started as a 4/1 favourite. He burst clear of his field 2 furlongs out and went further and further ahead to win by 12 lengths: an astonishing victory which meant that Cecil had run 10 horses to win 7 races in 5 days: what a week. A stunning week but almost equally stunning was that these 10 horses went on winning until the end of the season, with them eventually winning 29 races between them (they also had 10 placed runs). The later wins included the 1000G, the Coronation Stakes, the James Palace Stakes, the Sussex Stakes, the Dante Stakes and the Challenge Stakes. The placings included 2nds in the 2000G, Prince of Wales Stakes and Prix du Moulin. Unsurprisingly Cecil was Champion Trainer yet again. Of course in addition to the abovementioned races, won by the mentioned 10 horses, he also won the Cheshire Oaks, the Henry II Stakes, the Ascot Gold Cup, the Nassau Stakes, the Goodwood Cup, the Yorkshire Oaks, the Doncaster Cup, the Royal Lodge and the Futurity Stakes. Cecil was a wonderful placer of horses, and this season exemplified it. He kept winning races with horses that seemed totally exposed and he kept horses at the top of their game from early season until the last Doncaster meeting in November. It was this rather than his earlier Classic wins that attracted big owners to him. They came and then the Classic winners came.
Great write up that ! My favourite ever trainer(won me so much in those and later days, especially once the human clock took over as 1st jockey ). Can't wait for you to write up the next piece, with the mighty Cauthen on board !
Cheers Bustino. Not been on for a few days and need to catch up. One of those horses stood out for me. I was at the Epsom Derby when Wollow was there. He didn't get placed but I saw him in the pre race parade ring and he looked a beauty. He knew he was good. He just didn't stay the trip and I'm surprised it was consisered he might. But for that it would have been 10 wins from 11
Thanks Ron. I think if you see a horse in the flesh it can make a big impact on you. I saw both Bolkonski and Kris. I thought Bolkonski would be supreme as a miler after seeing him at Royal Ascot: he wasn't. Bolkonski was rated 2lb better than Wollow, and I think that's about right. Wollow didn't beat a Grundy. Kris was rated 1lb better than Bolkonski and was as tough as nails. He turned out to be the best sire of the three..
Yes Kris was special. I've seen a lot of horses in the flesh but not many have made a lasting impression: Ribot, really deep chest and a ball of muscle Wollow, paraded like a model who owned the place Treve, looked awful on her final attempt at the Arc, compared to Golden Horn who looked great Commander in Chief, looked like something out of the wild when 3rd in the KG, like a painting Alpinista, almost a pony, with a big heart and lovely nature. Will never forget standing with her in her stable after her Arc win (the vet check was behind closed doors but I watched her having a thorough wash down before going back to her stable Frankel is another memory, standing with him in his stable, lovely nature Enable was a beauty. She has a tree in her memory, which I saw, at the stud, but never got to touch her Desert Orchid, as gallant as they come, stood with him and gave him a sugar knob Milton (show jumper) Lovely horse I stroked and gave a sugar knob Stroller, the only pony to win a gold medal at the Olympics, and the Hickstead Derby, but never saw him in the flesh, only on TV
Personally, when it comes to looks, I doubt I’d know one good horse from another. However, when I saw Ballyburn in the paddock at Cheltenham, it evoked memories of the great stayer, Trelawny, in the manner of holding his head low to the ground. Yes, Ballyburn does it far more accentuatedly than Trelawny but, if he turns out half as good, the owner will have one hell of a horse on his hands. Also, my feeling is that if they want to go chasing with him, they should do it soon. Ex Point to Pointers come to the races relatively old- and Ballyburn will be seven next March. If they delay it for a year, he’d be coming up eight before he tackled the big fences. That seems too late for me and, despite his speed, he gives the impression that stamina is his strength.
