Remembering Ben Cecil, Grade 1-winning trainer and nephew of Sir Henry

The achievements of US champion mare Golden Apples lit up the training career of Ben Cecil, who credited his uncle Sir Henry Cecil for getting him hooked on racing but forged a path of his own away from Britain.

Ben Cecil was born in Oxford in 1968 to mother Fiona and father David – the twin brother of legendary British trainer Henry – and died aged 56 on November 29 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He began training in California in 1996 and a stellar career yielded 325 winners and $24.9 million (£19.5m) prize-money.

Cecil said it was a visit to Newbury at the age of 14 with Henry that convinced him a career in racing was his destiny.