Henry Cecil

Born: Jan. 11, 1943 in Aberdeen, Scotland
Residence: Warren Place, Newmarket, England
Family: twice divorced and has three children, Katie, Noel and Jake ... His first wife, Julie, was the daughter of champion trainer, Sir Noel Murless ... In 2006, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and has since been treated with chemotherapy while carrying on with his training duties ... He is now married to Jane
Web site: www.henrycecil.com
Racing Background: Stepfather was Sir Cecil Boyd-Rochfort, a champion trainer ... Was assistant to Boyd-Rochfort between 1964 and 1968. When he started training himself in 1969, Cecil was based at Freemason Lodge in Newmarket, but he soon moved to Marriot Stables. On the retirement of Sir Noel Murless, he moved to Warren Place in 1976 and has trained there ever since
Racing Career: Has been champion trainer in Britain nine times. First in 1976 and most recently in 1990. His best season was in 1987 when he saddled 180 winners, a new record for races won, beating the previous record of 146 which had stood for 120 years. He also won an incredible 24 of the 99 group races run in Britain in 1987 ... Following the 2000 Oaks victory of Love Divine, the fortunes of the Cecil stable suffered a long decline which reached its nadir in 2005 when he trained just 12 winners to languish in 97th place in the British Trainer's Championship. The main reason for this fall from grace was a virus which stayed in the yard for "three or four years" according to Cecil. At the same time a number of Cecil's longest-standing owners, such as Lord Howard de Walden, Jim Joel and Louis Freedman, died ... His form took a turn for the better in Nov. 2006 when Passage of Time won the Criterium de Saint-Cloud to give him a first Group 1 success in over six years. The renaissance continued in 2007 when Light Shift gave him an eighth Oaks victory and in 2009 with the Nassau Stakes win of Midday and the Champion Stakes victory of Twice Over ... Cecil has trained approaching 3,200 winners in Britain alone. He has trained the winners of 23 English Classic races ... Numerous champions have passed through his hands including such greats as Kris, Ardross, Oh So Sharp, Diesis, Indian Skimmer, Bosra Sham and the Derby winners Slip Anchor, Reference Point, Commander In Chief and Oath
Breeding/Racing Operation: Began the 2007 season with just 78 horses having had 208 under his care only 12 years earlier. At the beginning of 2009 his string was back up to 115 horses ... On Oct. 18, 2009, he was in tenth place in the trainer's table with 57 winners and just over $1.9 million in prize money ... Is the joint owner of the 250 acre Cliff Stud in Yorkshire, England ... Hobbies: Enjoys gardening and has a particularly fine collection of roses, which he has exhibited to the public on occasion. He also collects model soldiers and enjoys shopping for designer clothes.