Sir Henry Cecil 'wishful thinking' on trainers' title
Last updated on .From the section Horse Racing
Sir Henry Cecil believes his stable is too "thin on the ground" to catch Richard Hannon in the trainers' championship.
Newmarket-trainer Cecil, 68, is over £1m short of Hannon, but has a strong team in the upcoming Champions Day at Ascot.
On winning an 11th trainers title, Cecil told BBC Look East: "I think that's wishful thinking.
"Richard Hannon has got a lot more runners, we're thin on the ground."
But with Frankel in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Twice Over and Midday both going in the Champion Stakes at Ascot's revamped Champions Day on 15 October, Cecil could finish the flat season strongly.
"We're relying on a few horses to win good races, but I don't expect to catch [Hannon] up," he said.
"It would be nice, but you can't expect it. He's about £800,000 ahead of me so we'll see what happens.
"It's too much to expect that you're going to go through the card at Ascot. As long as we finish having a decent season, that's the main thing."
This weekend Newmarket hosts Future Champions Day, with a card that includes the Dewhurst Stakes, the race for two-year-olds that shot Frankel to fame last year.
As part of a reshuffle Ascot gained the Champion Stakes from Newmarket as part of a finale card for British racing.
Cecil has defended the move: "Newmarket, with all these top two-year races now, I think it's terribly exciting.
"We're looking at the stars for the future, for next year. I think it will all work out very well."
