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Cecil thankful for Frankel When Sir Henry Cecil saddles Frankel at Ascot ahead of the Group 1 Champion Stakes on Saturday, 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. "I am so lucky to have been allocated Frankel to train. He has been an inspiration and challenge, which I really needed so badly," Cecil said. "Through my illness, I feel that the help from my wife, Jane, and the determination to be there for Frankel has helped me so much to get through the season." Cecil is conscious to point out that the Frankel success story is far from being down to one man. It has been an outstanding team effort with one largely unsung hero, in particular -- Frankel's day-to-day exercise rider Shane Fetherstonhaugh. "What Frankel has achieved during the past year is outstanding but I would not like to take all the praise," Cecil stated. "There are a lot of people at Warren Place who have all played their part with Frankel and I really appreciate everyone's efforts -- not least Shane Fetherstonhaugh's. "This season, Shane has ridden Frankel entirely at home. I've managed his training schedule and preparation, but Shane has carried out the orders to perfection. So, perhaps, it could be said that we -- Shane and I -- have trained Frankel together!" With 13 victories from 13 starts, Frankel has one more challenge to overcome and ensure that he takes his perfect record into probable retirement. This weekend at Ascot he will tackle the Champion Stakes on British Champions Day. Cecil couldn't be happier with his charge, who came through his last pre-race gallop on Tuesday in fine fettle. "I was very pleased with Frankel's final piece of work," the horseman said. "He gives the impression that he is better than ever and still improving. "I could not be happier with him. He seems full of himself and, considering the time of year, he is really good and healthy in his coat. He eats everything put in front of him." The one big unknown for Frankel is very testing underfoot conditions. The Galileo colt won on soft going in his 2010 debut at Newmarket but has yet to be campaigned in bottomless ground. "I am pretty confident he will be fine in soft ground, but if it's heavy we are in no-man's land," Cecil admitted. "He has never encountered it and, with his action and turn of foot, I cannot be sure that he would appreciate it." Cecil is full of respect for Frankel's key rivals in the six-horse field -- last year's Champion Stakes winner Cirrus des Aigles and 2011 Group 1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth hero Nathaniel. "It will be a far from easy race (for Frankel) with Cirrus des Aigles and Nathaniel in the line-up," he said. "They are two good horses who will go in the ground and get the trip really well. They have to be really respected." Ascot has been hit by consistent rain in the build up to Champions Day and following another five millimeters overnight, clerk of the course Chris Stickels has mentioned the possibility of further rain on already soft ground. John Gosden's Nathaniel likes to get his toe in and he remains the horse to have got closest to Frankel when beaten just a half-length in their respective debuts at Newmarket in 2010. The Galileo four-year-old enters the Champion Stakes off a runner-up effort in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes, which followed a second in his King George VI & Queen Elizabeth title defense try. Nathaniel opened 2012 with victory in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes on July 7. Cirrus des Aigles hasn't been worse than second this season, racking up wins in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic, Group 1 Prix Ganay and, most recently, Group 2 Prix Dollar. The six-year-old son of Even Top captured last year's Champion Stakes by three-quarters of a length over dual Australian champion and Irish highweight So You Think, and was honored as the European champion older horse for his cumulative efforts in 2011. Group 1 German Derby winner Pastorius, who was beaten just a length when third behind Danedream in the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden two back, is a new rival for Frankel, while Master of Hounds will have his second run for William Haggas, having won the Group 2 International Topkapi Trophy in Turkey in his first start for his new trainer on September 2. The Champion Stakes field is completed by Bullet Train, who has been well-beaten by Frankel in his past five races. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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