'He was one of the toughest horses I've ever been involved with' - staying star Sergeant Cecil dies at 25

Sergeant Cecil, the hugely popular Group 1-winning stayer bought for just £1,000 who gave Rod Millman "the pinnacle of my career," has died at the age of 25.

He took 14 races to get off the mark but scored a unique Northumberland Plate/Ebor/Cesarewitch treble in 2005, when he was voted Racehorse Owners Association horse of the year.

"He was one of the toughest horses I've ever been involved with, he had a great constitution," said Millman, who took charge of Sergeant Cecil midway through his three-year-old campaign.

"He looked a nice horse when he came and I thought that off a mark of 63 I'd be disappointed if I couldn't win a couple of races with him. But he just kept improving.

"We had five second places with him before he won and he was obviously still a bit weak compared with how he turned out."

Millman felt the key to Sergeant Cecil's run of big handicap successes was the booking of Alan Munro. He said: "He was a top-flight jockey and we were lucky to have him. He rode him cold and that's when he started to do really well."

Rod Millman: "He looked a nice horse when he came and I thought that off a mark of 63 I'd be disappointed if I couldn't win a couple of races with him"Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

When Munro was stood down for medical reasons, Frankie Dettori took over and was on board when Sergeant Cecil won the Group 1 Prix du Cadran on Arc day at Longchamp in 2006.

"The Cadran was amazing and that is the pinnacle of my career," Millman said. "There were a lot of British over there and Frankie milked it all. He rode a great race and when he came back in all the cheering was like a Cheltenham Gold Cup. It was really something special."

Sergeant Cecil, a ten-time winner who earned £828,000, ran his last race in 2008 and spent his retirement with owner Terry Cooper, whose daughter Sam Burr said: "Dad has taken excellent and loving care of Cecil since his retirement from racing in 2008, during which the old boy has been completely spoiled and had the time of his life. 

"Dad would like to thank everyone for their love and support of this incredible, gutsy horse who meant so very much to so many at home and abroad.  

"His success on the track was profound because of his humble beginnings. For our family, it was all the more profound because he was named after Dad’s own father, Sergeant Cecil Edward Cooper, and because Cecil’s upward trajectory began at a time when my mum became ill and we all needed a little magic to help us through."

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