Paul Nicholls: Good luck to Sir Henry and Frankel

Paul tells us what it's like to be the trainer of a big name, odds-on runner as Frankel attempts what would be a remarkable feat at Ascot...

Spare a thought for Sir Henry Cecil at Ascot on Saturday.

Because it is at times like this when trainers of so-called certainties in big races are in a no-win situation and under unbelievable pressure, however calm their exterior. And there are few with cooler exteriors than Henry!

Ok, it is not strictly true that they are in a no-win situation.

If Frankel wins as the betting predicts - he trades at [1.34] on Betfair - then there will not be a prouder man on the racecourse, and nor should there be. Because guiding a racehorse to remain unbeaten after nine starts, and one that has been on the go since April and that will be capturing his fourth consecutive Group 1 prize, will be a masterful feat of training.

But if Frankel does win well then many will be tempted to say that the horse did nothing that he wasn't entitled to do.

Furthermore, if he wins but doesn't do so with his head in his chest, then I dare say that some will be underwhelmed. Indeed, you only have to look back to Royal Ascot, where he just lasted home by three-quarters of a length in the St James' Palace Stakes, to see evidence of this. I gather there was even disappointment in the winners' enclosure after that race.

I experienced something similar when Master Minded won his second Champion Chase in 2009. He had blown the opposition away a year earlier and went off at 4-11 to repeat the feat. But, as laughable at it may seem, I think many were subdued and disappointed that he "only" managed to win by seven lengths that day.

If Henry is anything like myself though, the last thing he will be concerned about is personal pride and achievement in the wake of any victory. Whenever you train these public horses, such as Frankel or Kauto Star and Denman, you just want the horses to win for themselves as much as the human element, be it owner, jockey or the public.

In fact, the one feeling above all else that Sir Henry will experience if Frankel wins is relief. Sheer relief.

I remember Denman starting at 1-6 for last year's Aon - I believe that was the shortest-priced loser I have ever sent out , but I am not sure - and the only positive that came of his unseating AP there, was the fact that Tricky Trickster got up on the line to win.

So if the time has come for Frankel to lose his unbeaten status at Ascot on Saturday - and defeat comes to the best, if they keep on going to the well - then here is to Henry's pacemaker Bullet Train making all from the front!

Paul Nicholls / 14 Oct 2011