Tony Rushmer's The Triumph of Henry Cecil

[Marginal Value]

I finished reading Tony Rushmer’s freshly-published book, The Triumph of Henry Cecil, a few days ago. I then re-read On The Level and Trainer Of Genius.

Having last read On The Level three decades ago, I was surprised by how much of Henry Cecil’s “voice” is contained in those pages. Although Henry is listed as the author, there are lots of clues that it was written by his collaborator, Phil Rostron. For most of the book I could easily imagine it was written from audio tapes of Henry’s conversations with Rostron sitting in armchairs in his study. It is a very friendly book, with lots of stories of humans and horses, with many of the human stories carrying a fair share of outright humour, and the histories of the horses and their life in Henry’s care told in the manner of a fireside chat. I now see it as an informative and cosy explanation of how he got to the top as a trainer, by being intuitive, clear-thinking and decisive and liking people.

My view of Trainer Of Genius has not changed since I first read it. It has lots of information in it, useful perhaps for an historian, but it has no soul, and very little essence of Henry. I was brought up in an era when soul mattered, and not just in the popular music sense, and even if my soulfullness has abated somewhat, I still think that conveying the story of someone’s life without lots of actual stories for illustration leaves a big hole in understanding. It’s a fairly sterile book.

The Triumph of Henry Cecil is subtitled, The Authorised Biography, but it is not what most people would recognise as a biography. It begins in 2005 and ends in 2013, only eight years. But at the end of the book you realise that it is ample to understand the man. Why he became a trainer, why he was so good at it, why he achieved so much, why he lost most of it, why he got it back, why people cared about him. The book is very well written and contains many insights that I have not seen in other publications, especially about his illness. There are lots of stories by many people he saw on a daily basis, and their input goes a long way to explaining his failures, successes and popularity. There is a fairly lengthy retelling of the Frankel story, but mostly in relation to the humans who had such an influence on his racing career. And that’s when you realise that the same applies to the very human Henry Cecil; his rise back into the highest echelon of trainers had lots of help from people he saw every day. You might say he was lucky to have those helpful people, and the amazing Frankel. But it was not luck that made people want to help him, or made Khaled Abdulla send the horse to Henry; sometimes people make their own luck. It is such an allegory about how people navigate through life, the good bits and the bad bits. This telling of Henry Cecil’s story is real life, about horses and humans and emotions, and if you are a sensitive soul like me, it will make you cry.

[Dex]

I’m 2/3rds the way through this, and really enjoying it. Would recommend.

[Jonibake]

Thanks MV! I didn’t know it even existed. Have just ordered it – can’t wait to read it!!

"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"

[Jonibake]

I’m half way through this wonderful book. My god guys – you MUST get it. So much better than dear old Brough’s. I lose it approximately every 4 lines and start welling up but one line has just chilled my blood and I wanted to share it:

Henry to his best mate Ed Vaughan on Friday 13th August 2010:

“I’m running a two-year-old today at Newmarket and I think this is a very good horse.” he told Vaughan. “It’s the best horse I’ve got and it might be the best horse I’ve ever had”

He knew before it even ran. There are so many moments like this in the book. Teddy Grimthorpe talking about how the stars aligned to deliver Frankel to Henry at that time of his life. A couple of years earlier and he wouldn’t have trained him as he was in the doldrums, a couple of years later he would have been too sick.

Also this book answers once and for-all the perennial debate on this forum about what makes a great trainer a great trainer. Really a MUST-read!!!

"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"

[Author]

Posts