chestnut gelding, born 2nd of may 1999
by King´s Signet - Jadidh (Touching Wood)
Breeder: Mr D E Hazzard
Owner: Mr Terry Cooper
Trainer: Mr B R Millman
Work rider: Sharon Steel
-and last but by no means least-
Lass: Sue Davey
A five-generation pedigree can be found here:
Sergeant Cecil´s pedigree (pedigreequery.com)
Image:
Sergeant Cecil after the Prix du Cadran
King´s Signet:
Its always suprising and sometimes defying all theories in breeding that good sprinters and milers are able to sire horses with seemlingly bottemless stamina, as we can see often in the jumping sphere. Sergeant Cecil is by the smart, but by no means outstanding sprinter KING´s SIGNET, himself a very well bred individual. By Nureyev out of the Habitat-mare Sigy, King´s Signet was a half-brother to the top-class racehorse Sicyos, but he himself failed to reach such glittering heights on the racetrack. King´s Signet´s finest hour on the ractrack may well have been his scintilating success in Goodwood´s Steward´s Cup, when he carried 9-10 and an inspired Willie Carson to a convincing victory. He dead-heated in a Listed Race in Doncaster in the same year (1993), and made his trip to Longchamp for the Prix´d Abbaye, but he was no match for the mighty Lochsong, another former Steward´s Cup winner. She slaughtered a good field that day, and King´s Signet was beaten 21 length into 10th place.
As a son of the mighty Nureyev King´s Signet found a place as a sire, but from very limited opportunities did not manage to sire any horse of real note, until Sergeant Cecil came along. He was represented by a smart sprinter in Germany though, by the name of Signatory.
Image:
Sergeant Cecil lifetime form, as well as current entries can be found here (link courtesy of the Racingpost):
A meteoric rise from betting-shop fodder to front-page stardom
Here, by popular demand of his many fans we reproduce Steve Dennis's wonderful essay on Sergeant Cecil in the Racing Post book, Flat Horses of 2005
Published: 09/12/2005 (Sport) Steve Dennis
WHAT'S he doing in here? This book is for Group 1 winners - Classic heroes, sprint kings, magical milers. Look, old chap, it's just not done to let the rank and file in.
Dam was a hurdler, I hear. Not our type at all.
Handicapper, you know.
He may be a little too blue-collar for the bluebloods, but Sergeant Cecil's exploits in 2005 entitled him to look anyone in the eye. No horse has ever done what Sergeant Cecil did: win the three great staying handicaps - Northumberland Plate, Ebor and Cesarewitch - in the same season.
The ranks of staying handicappers are generally characterised by plenty of guts and precious little glory - rarely mentioned in dispatches and often dismissed as betting-shop cannon-fodder. That was Sergeant Cecil when the season started - by its end he was front-page news.
His transformation coincided with his association with Alan Munro, who enjoyed a remarkable return to raceriding following a selfenforced five-year break from the saddle. Munro won the 1991 Derby and King George aboard Generous before carving out a career in Hong Kong, but began a sabbatical from the sport in 2000 during which time he practised martial arts and reached the level of black belt in karate.
On his return to Britain he struck up an instant rapport with trainer Rod Millman, with winners flowing from day one. Munro rode 60 winners in the year - 19 for Millman - but his three aboard Sergeant Cecil far outshone his other victories. The first leg of the unique hat-trick came in the two-mile John Smith's Northumberland Plate at Newcastle, his fourth outing of the season.
Munro gave him a confident ride, sticking to the rail throughout and relying on his mount's ability to find a turn of foot at the definitive stage of a race when all around him were keeping on at one pace. The gaps opened up and the £104,000 prize was his by a length and a half from Tungsten Strike.
Millman said: "As they say, this was the plan, so I don't know where he'll go next."
If everything after that was a bonus, Sergeant Cecil was ready to cash in. A narrow defeat at Glorious Goodwood was a steppingstone to the Ebor at York where, off a 4lb higher mark, he was given what the Racing Postanalyst called "a balls-of-steel ride" by Munro. Held up off the pace, his stealthy progress through the field was rewarded with running room when required and he hit the front in the last half-furlong, eventually beating Carte Diamond by a length.
With his stable star in such irrepressible form, Millman went gunning for Group-race prestige in the Doncaster Cup, and it took a horse of the calibre of Millenary, under a brilliant ride from Richard Quinn, to deny him. Sergeant Cecil had come so far in such a short time, but his defining moment would require him to go just a little bit further. Two and a quarter miles, to be precise, in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket on Champions Day.
The Group 2 Jockey Club Cup had been considered, but after Millman had been told that no horse had completed such a hat-trick in the long history of the three races, the die was cast.
SERGEANT CECIL was 5lb well-in for the great autumn marathon, the handicapper being unable to reassess him following his Doncaster run, and despite racing off an official rating of 104, comfortably his highest ever, he was sent away the 10-1 third-favourite in a field of 34.
It was a rough race, although in his customary fashion Munro kept Sergeant Cecil hidden away from the firing line until beginning an irrepressible, implacable challenge with two furlongs to run. It looked as though King Revo had gone beyond recall, but Munro and Sergeant Cecil had no intentions of playing second fiddle and they hit the front on the hill, pulling out enough to win by three-quarters of a length. The crowd greeted them like prodigals, and rightly so. Most of us have seen it all before; it is most welcome to discover that isn't the case.
Millman took the applause and spread the praise, saying: "It was wonderful just to have been able to have a crack and unbelievable to have actually achieved it. The credit has to go to a good horse, good staff and a good jockey. Alan Munro has been amazing and rides this horse so well. We shall have to start thinking about the Cup races for him next season."
With Westerner ensconced at Coolmore, there is room at the top of the staying division.
Sergeant Cecil has rather run himself out of handicaps, so the Cup route may become a necessity. His detractors may have damned him hitherto with the badge of 'handicapper', but he wore that badge like a medal and won himself a lasting place in Turf history. The story may not be over; 2006 may bring him a Group 1 garnish and a place in these pages by right.
Sergeant Cecil, we salute you.
Image:
Sergeant Cecil is named after Terry´s father, who was a Sergeant Major in the First World War and died when Terry was 9 years old. There was no gravestone for Sergeant Major Cecil Cooper, so on buying the little chestnut horse this homepage is all about, Terry Cooper decided to name him as a memorial to his father. Cecil the horse was actually nicknamed "Bobby" as a foal by Terry and his family, unaware of the fact that this was Major Cecil´s nickname too, all them long years ago.
Other pages:
This is the text-only version of this page. Click here to see this page with graphics.
Edit this page |
Manage website
Make Your Own Website: 2-Minute-Website.com