Cecil George Frail (1870-1935) was the last of a family of racing administrators associated with several courses since 1835. The Frails deserve a book to themselves! Suffice to say John Frail, born in Shrewsbury in 1804, came from a humble background but he revitalised the local race meeting and as a result was involved with Ludlow and in 1866 the formation of the current course at Windsor. He was a sharp operator and one commentator remarked, “Mr Frail must be a clever man from the number of enemies he has.” However, he gradually let his sons take over the business and as he faded into the background them the Frail reputation improved. By the time of John’s death in 1884 his sons were running Northampton, Huntingdon and Manchester.
John’s grandson Cecil, was a licensed official by the tender age of 22 and was clerk of the course at Manchester by 1902 and worked with John Davies (qv). He held the same post at Haydock and Windsor. Although ill for most of 1935, he was still officially clerk of the course at the latter tracks up to the time of his death in November. One source described him as “a bohemian”, but seemingly he was not enough of one to justify any descriptive obituaries that I could find. A horse called Cecil Frail had been running in 1906-09, presumably owned by a friend.
The first Cecil Frail Selling Handicap was run at Haydock’s Coronation Meeting soon after 9 May 1937. In 1987 the Cecil Frail name was dropped in favour of the Tote Dual Forecast Handicap. Reason was restored in 1994 when it returned as a rated (ie limited) handicap for three years. There was no race in 1997 and 1998 but the name was revived in 1999, since when the Cecil Frail Stakes, a Listed contest for fillies and mares, has taken place in early June or, as now, at the end of May.