Tag Archive for: Barry Hills

Darryll Holland ‘owes everything’ to Barry Hills

Tributes continue to pour in for the late Barry Hills, with Darryll Holland describing one of the greatest trainers of his generation as a “father figure”.

Hills, who died at the age of 88 and saddled over 3,000 winners during a long and decorated career in the training ranks, had a huge influence on Holland’s early career and is also credited with setting many on the path to success within the racing industry.

Holland enjoyed many big-race wins around the world in the saddle before setting up as a trainer himself.

However, he will always remember fondly the early days of his racing life which were shaped by Hills and his wife Penny, becoming champion apprentice under Hills’ stewardship in 1991.

Darryll Holland began his career with Barry Hills
Darryll Holland began his career with Barry Hills (Mike Egerton/PA)

“I owe everything to Barry and Penny, they engineered my career and guided me to where I am today,” said Holland.

“He made me champion apprentice and then first jockey and he was a tough man but very fair and a genius of a trainer. It’s an end of an era really.

“I was a raw 15-year old from Manchester and he guided me through, I owe him an awful lot.

“It was a steep learning curve at times and I had the pleasure of bumping into him at the Lockinge meeting (Newbury) and introducing my kids to him and he was still as scary then as he was 30 years ago, but he was an amazing fellow and I always had nothing but respect for him.

“He was a father figure and him and Penny were like my second mum and dad and it was a very sad day yesterday when I got told the news from Michael (Hills).”

Nicky Henderson has paid tribute to his great friend Barry Hills
Nicky Henderson has paid tribute to his great friend Barry Hills (David Davies for the Jockey Club/PA)

There were also words of sorrow from the world of jumps racing, as Nicky Henderson reminisced about the times he enjoyed with his great Lambourn neighbour.

Henderson said: “We were good friends but he certainly taught me a few things. I was a bit younger and it was a bit of a strange duet really but we would do an awful lot of things together on and off the racecourse. We had some wonderful times.

“He always said whatever he thought and we could have had an argument, but there was no point as he was always going to win it. If he said something you disagreed with, you just went with it as he was always going to prove he was right in the end!

“He made himself but he also made a lot of people who got on the bus with him and we have to be very grateful to have been a part of it.”

Barry Hills was head of a great racing dynasty (PA)

Speaking to Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday, he added: “It was one of those incredible innings and you get the feeling the last few weeks haven’t been easy.

“He’d had a few adversities over the year but kept coming back and back, mainly through Penny, who has just been unbelievable throughout.

“He would always call it ‘God’s waiting room’ and he visited it a few times but kept coming back and these last few weeks he just didn’t want to leave the party and that’s what he was all about, as he had such a will to live and love it all.

“That family has just been remarkable and Penny has pulled him through so many battles, he would keep coming back for more and what a lot of fun we have had over some fantastic years.

“He was just a man of huge integrity and friendship and the family he brought up, he would just be so proud of them all. I know he will look on it as a fantastic era, as we all do.”

Steve Cauthen salutes ‘mentor’ Barry Hills with memories of special relationship

It was Barry Hills who first introduced Steve Cauthen to both British life and racing and one of the all-time great riders remembered fondly the times spent with his mentor and friend after his death at the age of 88.

Although a Triple Crown-winning jockey Stateside, Cauthen was only 19 when owner Robert Sangster lured the ‘Kentucky Kid’ across the Atlantic in 1979, where the young American was given a crash course in British mannerisms but quickly inducted into the Hills fold with open arms.

Cauthen told the PA news agency: “I can’t say enough good things about both Barry and (his wife) Penny and when I came over in 1979 they not only took me under their wing they took me into their house.

“They were wonderful to me, Barry took a day or two to get used to as he could be gruff at times, but he was always trying to just get the job done – Penny was great at helping me understand he wasn’t necessarily mad at me!

Barry Hills played a huge role in the career of Steve Cauthen (PA)

“They always made sure I had everything I needed when they were shipping me off out of town or to Scotland or wherever, it was a great relationship.

“Barry taught me a lot and helped me grow up and helped me to get to the top in England. Barry made a big move from stable lad to trainer and was never going back and he would try to get everyone in the yard motivated to ‘get off their arse’ as he would say.

“He was a great horseman, but more than that he loved to have fun – he bought me my first set of golf clubs, he was a mentor and like a dad to me.”

As well as their budding relationship off the track, Hills and Cauthen’s association on it was also an immediate success as Tap On Wood secured 2000 Guineas glory in their very first Classic in unison.

There would be many other great days together during their time, with the 65-year-old American never able to forget Gildoran providing the fitting finish to his time at Manton in the 1984 Ascot Gold Cup.

Gildoran (left) winning the Ascot Gold Cup in the hands of Steve Cauthen
Gildoran (left) winning the Ascot Gold Cup in the hands of Steve Cauthen (PA)

Cauthen continued: “Barry was a great trainer, but we had some ups and downs and when I first got there we won three or four Group races, including the 2000 Guineas, and then the horses got sick, which was a nightmare.

“The next year things weren’t all that great, but we kept going and building and the winners at Ascot started to happen and Cormorant Wood came along and we would win some big races with her.

“Gildoran winning the Gold Cup at Ascot the last year I was with them was obviously a big moment being Mr Sangster’s horse and it was an exciting day which capped off our six years together.”

Cauthen would eventually head east to Newmarket to link up with Sir Henry Cecil, but he would never forget his adopted home and a friendship with the Hills family that has stood the test of time.

He may no longer be able to reminisce with one of the outstanding trainers of his generation on his visits to the UK, but remains sure Hills’ many words of wisdom will remain ringing in the ears of those closest to him.

Cauthen said: “We had some great times. There are so many funny stories down the years and it was tough for me to move to Henry Cecil. Even though it was the right thing for my career, it was a hard thing to do as I felt so close to Barry and Penny.

“We remained great friends and they are like family to me. I was honoured I was one of the first calls Michael (Hills) made after Barry died, as he knew how close we were.

“I would never go back to Britain without calling them and seeing when we could meet, it was always my number one priority.

“Penny and the family will miss him, but I’m sure he will still be with us all. We will never forget the stuff he would say and there will be situations where it will hit you right between the eyes and his words will pop into our heads.”

Barry Hills remembered as ‘one of the greats’

Angus Gold described Barry Hills as “one of the greats in my lifetime”, as he joined the racing community in paying tribute to the training great following his death at the age of 88.

Hills sent out over 3,000 winners throughout his career, with many coming in the colours of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell operation, whom his son Richard Hills rode as retained rider for during a large portion of his career.

Father and son joined forces to win the 2000 Guineas with Haafhd in 2004, while five years later they added the 1000 Guineas in unison thanks to Ghanaati, with Shadwell’s long-serving racing manager Gold hailing Hills’ dedication to his craft following many years spent in the upper echelons of the training ranks.

Richard Hills celebrates after riding Haafhd to victory in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket
Richard Hills celebrates after riding Haafhd to victory in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket (Chris Radburn/PA)

He said: “For many, many years we were lucky enough to have horses with him and what a great man, you don’t need me to tell you the success he made of his life and career.

“He was a great trainer who was totally dedicated and lived for the sport. He was an incredibly shrewd man and a great judge of a horse and their capabilities from just watching them on the gallops.

“He was a fascinating man to be with and great fun. He was one of the greats in my lifetime and I learned a lot from him and even a month ago he was spotting things out on the gallops and still loved it even though he had given up the licence.”

Hills announced his retirement in August 2011 after overcoming serious illnesses, including throat cancer, but he did make a brief return to training on a temporary licence in 2014, before returning to background at the family’s Faringdon Place yard.

Ghanaati and Richard Hills after winning the 1000 Guineas
Ghanaati and Richard Hills after winning the 1000 Guineas (Sean Dempsey/PA)

However, as the head of a dynasty that is still influential in racing, his name will live on through the exploits of his sons, with Charlie Hills now continuing the Group One success synonymous with the famous Lambourn operation.

“He was a remarkable man and we were lucky to have him for so long, he was so tough,” continued Gold.

“He had been ill on and off for so long, it was just incredible his will to live and enthusiasm for life, a truly wonderful man.

“All five boys were heavily involved. Sadly John died and then you’ve the twins (Richard and Michael) who everyone obviously know all about and then there’s Charlie who trains and George who is making a fine career out in America, so it is a dynasty that will live on, there is no question about that.”

Gildoran after winning the Ascot Gold Cup under Steve Cauthen
Gildoran after winning the Ascot Gold Cup under Steve Cauthen (PA)

Among the countless big-race winners for Hills was Gildoran, who won the Ascot Gold Cup in 1984 and 1985.

The track said on X: “Everybody at Ascot Racecourse is saddened to hear about the death of Barry Hills. We send all our condolences to his friends and family at this time.

“Barry enjoyed huge success at Ascot and Royal Ascot including with the likes of Gildoran who was a dual Gold Cup winner and Sure Blade who won the Coventry Stakes, St James’s Palace Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.”

In similar vein, officials at York said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hills family. Barry had so many highlights on the Knavesmire, be it Handsome Sailor in the Coolmore Nunthorpe, Royal Applause in the Al Basti Equiworld Gimcrack or Further Flight landing him a Sky Bet Ebor – Rest in Peace.”

The Racehorse Owners Association said: “Everyone at the ROA is deeply saddened by the passing of Barry Hills, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends during this time.

“Barry made an extraordinary contribution to racing and will be remembered as one of the sport’s true greats.”

Classic heroes and Arc angel Rheingold on the list of Barry Hills giants

Barry Hills trained many top-class horses during his long and illustrious career from 1969 to 2011. His 3,000-plus winners included 11 Classic victories and 300 Group winners. We pick five of his best:

Further Flight

Further Flight was a staying star for Barry Hills
Further Flight was a staying star for Barry Hills (Paul Barker/PA)

Not the classiest performer Hills ever trained, but arguably the most popular and certainly the most hardy. Racing from 1988 to 1998, the grey won 24 of his 70 races, including top staying races such as the Goodwood Cup and Ebor. However, he is best remembered for winning the Jockey Club at Newmarket five years in a row (1991 to 1995).

Haafhd

Haafhd was a star for the Hills team in 2004
Haafhd was a star for the Hills team in 2004 (PA)

Haafhd bridged a 10-year gap without Classic success for Hills in 2004 when landing the 2000 Guineas, ridden by his son, Richard. Haafhd clearly saved his best for Newmarket, as he had earlier won the Craven Stakes and ended his career that autumn with victory in the Champion Stakes.

Moonax

Moonax won a St Leger for Hills
Moonax won a St Leger for Hills (PA)

The most unlikely of Hills’ Classic winners was Moonax when he took the St Leger at odds of 40-1. In the expert hands of Pat Eddery, the enigmatic colt defeated none other than Broadway Flyer, trained by Hills’ son, John, and ridden by another son, Michael. Moonax showed that victory was no fluke by following up in the French St Leger a month later.

Rheingold

Rheingold (left) just lost out to Roberto at Epsom
Rheingold (left) just lost out to Roberto at Epsom (PA)

The best horse Barry Hills ever trained came early in his career. Rheingold almost gave him a Derby triumph, but he was just touched off by Roberto in 1972. However, a year later the colt ran out an impressive winner of Europe’s premier race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, beating the brilliant Allez France by two and a half lengths.

Tap On Wood

Barry Hills saddled Tap On Wood to win the 1979 2000 Guineas
Barry Hills saddled Tap On Wood to win the 1979 2000 Guineas (Mike Egerton/PA)

Hills’ first major success at Newmarket came with Tap On Wood in the 1979 2000 Guineas, as he upstaged hot favourite Kris in the hands of Steve Cauthen. The young American had recently been enticed to Britain at the request of Robert Sangster and showed his prowess by driving Tap On Wood home by half a length.

Barry Hills: From humble beginnings to Classic glory and much more

Barry Hills was a true inspiration to anyone with dreams of defying the odds to make it in the racing game.

Starting from humble beginnings and with next to nothing, Hills climbed to the top of the training tree thanks to an eye for a horse and a shrewd angle for a bet.

But the greatest achievement of Barrington William Hills was undoubtedly the racing dynasty he created with his five sons.

He had three children with first wife, Maureen. Twins Michael and Richard were two of the best jockeys of their generation, while eldest son John was a successful trainer until his untimely death in 2014.

Charlie is one of the best young trainers in the business having already won a host of big races since taking over from his father.

His other son, George, has made a career in bloodstock, mainly in the United States, while Richard Hills’ son, Patrick, rode, too. He is also survived by his second wife and George and Charlie’s mother, Penny.

Born in Worcester in 1937, racing was his life. The son of a head lad, Hills became an apprentice in 1952 at the age of 15 before weight was an issue and gave up the saddle seven years later to be head lad himself to trainer George Colling and shortly afterwards his successor John Oxley.

It has gone down in racing folklore how Hills won the funds to set up his own stable after collecting £60,000 from his gamble on Frankincense to win the Lincoln at Doncaster in 1968.

“These days, you don’t find a decent horse advertised at 66-1 three or four months before a race,” he told the Daily Mail.

“You don’t come across chances like that every day. It never crossed my mind that he wouldn’t win.

That fearless punt was the beginning of many successful tilts at the ring that had bookmakers running for cover.

Hills soon showed he was much more than merely a trainer of handicappers by saddling Rheingold to win Europe’s premier middle-distance race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, in 1973.

Rheingold had gone agonisingly close to winning the Derby the previous year, the first of four frustrating second places in the Epsom showpiece.

Hills also endured bad luck in the Oaks particularly with Dibidale, whose saddle slipped in 1974 when looking the winner, but she did gain compensation in the Irish Oaks.

However, Hills did chalk up five British Classics and the Irish Derby with very few big races eluding the master trainer in a career spanning 63 years, man and boy.

One of those Classic wins was with the Sheikh Mohammed-trained Moonax in the 1994 St Leger at Doncaster.

The late, great Pat Eddery was the man in the saddle that day and said on the day Hills retired from the training ranks: “You used to come back in after a hard day’s work and you’d have a beautiful breakfast. He was a gentleman.

“He’s got guys working for him who’ve been there 25 years, which says all you need to know about what he’s like to work for.”

Hills instinctively knew how to prepare a horse for the track so was rarely wrong when the money was down.

Not surprisingly, he loved taking the bookmakers to the cleaners, sometimes with equally-shrewd associates that included Jack Ramsden and Robert Sangster.

The latter was one of his most successful owners, along with the likes of Khalid Abdullah and Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum.

The Hills’ list of memorable horses is a long one. Who could forget the popular grey stayer Further Flight, the winner of five successive Jockey Club Cups?

His passion for betting never went away. He told The Independent in 2004: “I still bet, yes. Not often, but occasionally. Further Flight in the (1990) Ebor would be the last really big win I had. It’s about the only thing left that’s tax free.”

A forthright character when he wanted to be, owner Dick Bonnycastle named 1991 Derby runner Mr Combustible after him.

Hawaiian Sound, Royal Applause, Cormorant Wood, Handsome Sailor and Cheltenham Festival winner Nomadic Way are just a handful of other household names to have been in his care.

While enjoying success year after year after year, he suffered with his health and underwent an operation for throat cancer.

In 2011, after 42 years at the helm, he thought it was time to hand over the reins at Faringdon Place to Charlie.

But the death of John in the summer of 2014 caused him to step into the breach at his son’s yard in Lambourn.

Though he stressed that it was only a temporary measure, he only let go at the end of 2015 when he had settled in the now hugely-successful Owen Burrows as the new incumbent.

It was typical of Hills not to leave a stone unturned. He leaves a legacy that takes some beating.

Training legend Barry Hills dies at the age of 88

Barry Hills, one of the greatest trainers of his generation, has died at the age of 88.

Hills took out his licence in 1969 and by the time he retired from the training ranks in 2011 had sent out over 3,000 winners, including two victors in both the 1000 and 2000 Guineas, St Leger hero in Moonax and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner in Rheingold.

Hills was also father to retired Classic-winning jockeys Michael and Richard, while son Charlie took over at the family’s Faringdon Place yard and has enjoyed a string of big-race victories. Another son, George, is involved in bloodstock insurance.

His eldest son, John, was also a successful trainer before his death from cancer in June 2014, with the pair memorably battling it out in the 1994 Leger, when Moonax fended off Broadway Flyer by a length and a quarter.

In a post on his X account, Charlie Hills said: “Gone but will never be forgotten #dad.”

A statement from the British Horseracing Authority read: “All of us at the BHA are saddened to learn of the death of Barry Hills and send our deepest condolences to his family and friends at this sad time.

“Barry’s contribution to racing was immense and he will rightly be remembered as one of the great figures of our sport.”

Before taking out his training licence, Hills rode nine winners as an apprentice and spent 10 years learning his trade as head lad with John Oxley before striking out his own, saddling his first winner La Dolce Vita at Thirsk in April 1969.

His first Group One winner followed in 1971 while Rheingold’s Arc victory in 1973 provided consolation after being beaten just a short head in the previous year’s Derby – one of four Epsom runners-up for Hills, who never managed to land the blue riband.

Sir Alex Ferguson listens as Barry Hills (left) and his son Charlie (right) talk to jockey Silvestre de Sousa at York
Sir Alex Ferguson listens as Barry Hills (left) and his son Charlie (right) talk to jockey Silvestre de Sousa at York (John Giles/PA)

Newmarket proved a happier hunting ground though, with Enstone Spark (1978) and Ghanaati (2009) landing the 1000 Guineas, while Tap On Wood (1979) and Haafhd (2004) prevailed in the 2000.

While Epsom Derby glory eluded him, Sir Harry Lewis won the Irish version in 1987 and he also bagged the Irish Oaks and 1000 Guineas twice during an illustrious career.

Hills announced his retirement in August 2011 after overcoming serious illnesses, including throat cancer, but he did make a brief return to training on a temporary licence in 2014 following the death of John.

Race histories 10: The Dee Stakes

Magician - will his win preserve Gp 3 status?

Magician - will his win preserve Gp 3 status?

The Dee Stakes has long been recognised as a Derby Trial, although it is ten years since it threw up the winner in Kris Kin. It’s hard to believe then, that one winner of the race went on to win the Grand National. You won’t remember it any more than I do: the horse was Voluptuary, and it took the Dee Stakes in 1881 and the National three years later. Read more