Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil was one of the most popular and greatest racehorse trainers of this, or any other, era.
A first Group prize in four years came when the unfurnished Multidimensional won decisively at Deauville. Then in November, a first Group One winner in six as Passage Of Time landed the Criterium de Saint-Cloud.
Cecil's Group One flag, an heirloom apparently given to an ancestor by Robert the Bruce in 1323, was back flying in Newmarket.
Renaissance
Passage Of Time's victory seemed to kickstart a Warren Place renaissance, with stablemate Light Shift providing a watershed moment the following year.
Her victory in the Oaks at Epsom prompted scenes of jubilation amongst the crowds, with the reception Cecil received leaving him, and plenty of others too, visibly moved.
That win was to prove just the tip of the iceberg though, with Twice Over developing into a multiple Group One winner, adding two Champion Stakes and an Eclipse to Cecil's already admirable tally.
Midday then developed into a top-level competitor and despite Cecil's well-known ambivalence to American racing, her Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf victory in 2009 doubtless gave him plenty of pleasure.
However, it was the superstar Frankel who was to provide the most fitting finale to what had been a stellar training career.
Earmarked for greatness from the very moment he was named in honour of the late American handler Bobby Frankel, the Galileo colt has hardly disappointed.
His runaway 2000 Guineas success was merely the beginning of his legacy and Cecil's handling of the former tearaway has been nothing short of perfect.
With four Group Ones wins as a three-year-old, it briefly looked as though Frankel's career could be over when he suffered an injury scare earlier this year.
Patient
However, Cecil employed his usual calm and patient approach, nursing the colt back to full fitness to once again annihilate his rivals in the Lockinge at Newbury before a spine-tingling 11-length verdict at Royal Ascot.
Victories in the Sussex Stakes, the Juddmonte International and the Champion Stakes followed, after which he retired to stud with an unblemished 14-race record.
It is truly heartbreaking Cecil, who was knighted by the Queen in 2011, will not be able to see the full extent of Frankel's impact on the racing and breeding worlds in years to come, but the colt will stand as an excellent tribute to Cecil's abilities.
Cecil was also to find personal happiness in his later years, marrying his one-time secretary Jane McKeown in 2008.
He is survived by two children from his first marriage, Katie and Noel, and son Jake from his second marriage.
