Newbury on Sergeant Cecil agenda

Rod Millman’s popular stayer Sergeant Cecil is on course to make his seasonal debut at Newbury later this month.

The nine-year-old scoped badly after finishing fifth in the Lonsdale Cup at York last year and was found to be not quite right in a follow-up examination.

Sergeant Cecil appears to have made a full recovery and has the Dubai Tennis Championships Stakes (registered as the John Porter) as his likely first port of call at Newbury on April 19.

He will then go on to York to attempt back-to-back victories in the Emirates Airline Yorkshire Cup on May 16.

“I’ve just spent a couple of hundred quid on him – I’ve entered him in the Yorkshire Cup,” said Millman.

“We’ll go for the John Porter first and he’s looking very well. He had a nice long rest and he’s showing his old sparkle on the gallops.

“We never work him that hard but he’s pleasing us. He had a lung disorder at the back end of last year and that’s why we didn’t go for the Doncaster Cup.

“He’s had a nice long rest, he came back in early February and hopefully he’s spot-on again now.”

Millman is hoping Alan Munro, who played a major role in Sergeant Cecil’s rise through the ranks, will be able to renew his association with the horse.

Munro returned to action in February having missed around 18 months due to health problems.

“Hopefully Alan will ride. He’ll be back on him if he’s available,” Millman continued.

“I think Alan will make himself available unless something serious comes up.”

Sergeant Cecil entered the public’s affections when becoming the first horse to win the Northumberland Plate, Ebor and Cesarewitch in the same season in 2005 with Munro in the saddle.

He successfully made the transition to Pattern races and won the Group One Prix du Cadran in October 2006.

The King’s Signet gelding has won 10 of his 49 races and amassed more than £820,000 in prize money.