When Sir Henry Cecil saddles Frankel at Ascot ahead of the QIPCO Champion Stakes on Saturday (October 20), the poignancy of the moment will be far from lost on him.

While racing has celebrated the superstar colt for the past three seasons, his trainer has lived and breathed every step Frankel has taken along the way.

Cecil has masterminded the four-year-old’s glittering career – and done so, in recent times, while undergoing extensive treatment for cancer. And just as the master of Warren Place has been there for Frankel, so the horse – owned by staunch Cecil supporter Khalid Abdulla – has been there for him.

Advertisement