IAN BALDING, TRAINER of the Derby winner Mill Reef, has died at the age of 87.
Balding, who was also a Cheltenham Festival-winning rider in his amateur days, sent out many top-class performers from his Kingsclere yard including Glint Of Gold, Selkirk and Lochsong but the 1971 Derby hero remains the standout name among his Group One victors.
He retired in 2002 handing over the licence to his son Andrew, who is now a multiple Classic-winning trainer himself. Balding’s daughter Clare was also a leading amateur rider before embarking on her hugely successful broadcasting career.
A post on Instagram from the yard read: “We are deeply sorry to share the sad news that Ian Balding has passed away.
“A wonderful family man, a hugely successful racehorse trainer and a brilliant sportsman.
“He will be greatly missed by all at Park House.”
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Balding’s father Gerald was a renowned polo player in the 1920s and ’30s while his brother Toby, who died in 2014, was also a trainer of predominantly National Hunt horses and is on the elite list of those to have sent out winners of the Grand National, Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle.
Ian Balding himself tasted glory at the Cheltenham Festival as a trainer, saddling the 1991 SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle winner Crystal Spirit, who raced in the same Paul Mellon colours sported by Mill Reef.
It was Mill Reef’s exploits in 1971 that propelled Balding into the headlines and helped him become champion trainer for the one and only time in his career.
Balding also helped many aspiring riders in their careers, including subsequent Derby winner Martin Dwyer who paid tribute to “a great man who was loved and respected by many”.
He said: “It is very sad, Ian was a great man.
“He loved sport and he was a great horseman, I owe Ian and his family a debt of gratitude for what they did for me and for many other people, not just jockeys.
“He helped a lot of people along and helped them in their careers, I’m eternally grateful to have been included in that.
“He took me in as a snotty-nosed kid from Liverpool and shaped me into who I am today, I was a bit rough around the edges when I first came but he taught me a lot about riding, about racing and about life in general.
“I was only 16 when I first went there, he was just a great man who was loved and respected by many.
“I was apprenticed to Ian and had my first winners for him, we had a lot of success and that continued when Andrew took over.
“The Balding family were like a second family. I’m not sure it happens these days as racing has changed and is so fast-paced, but Ian always had so much time for people.
“He had a tremendous amount of success at Kingsclere and then Andrew and his family have taken it on and made it even bigger. He leaves a great legacy.”
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Former top trainer Ian Balding dies aged 87
IAN BALDING, TRAINER of the Derby winner Mill Reef, has died at the age of 87.
Balding, who was also a Cheltenham Festival-winning rider in his amateur days, sent out many top-class performers from his Kingsclere yard including Glint Of Gold, Selkirk and Lochsong but the 1971 Derby hero remains the standout name among his Group One victors.
He retired in 2002 handing over the licence to his son Andrew, who is now a multiple Classic-winning trainer himself. Balding’s daughter Clare was also a leading amateur rider before embarking on her hugely successful broadcasting career.
A post on Instagram from the yard read: “We are deeply sorry to share the sad news that Ian Balding has passed away.
“A wonderful family man, a hugely successful racehorse trainer and a brilliant sportsman.
“He will be greatly missed by all at Park House.”
Balding’s father Gerald was a renowned polo player in the 1920s and ’30s while his brother Toby, who died in 2014, was also a trainer of predominantly National Hunt horses and is on the elite list of those to have sent out winners of the Grand National, Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle.
Ian Balding himself tasted glory at the Cheltenham Festival as a trainer, saddling the 1991 SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle winner Crystal Spirit, who raced in the same Paul Mellon colours sported by Mill Reef.
It was Mill Reef’s exploits in 1971 that propelled Balding into the headlines and helped him become champion trainer for the one and only time in his career.
Balding also helped many aspiring riders in their careers, including subsequent Derby winner Martin Dwyer who paid tribute to “a great man who was loved and respected by many”.
He said: “It is very sad, Ian was a great man.
“He loved sport and he was a great horseman, I owe Ian and his family a debt of gratitude for what they did for me and for many other people, not just jockeys.
“He helped a lot of people along and helped them in their careers, I’m eternally grateful to have been included in that.
“He took me in as a snotty-nosed kid from Liverpool and shaped me into who I am today, I was a bit rough around the edges when I first came but he taught me a lot about riding, about racing and about life in general.
“I was only 16 when I first went there, he was just a great man who was loved and respected by many.
“I was apprenticed to Ian and had my first winners for him, we had a lot of success and that continued when Andrew took over.
“The Balding family were like a second family. I’m not sure it happens these days as racing has changed and is so fast-paced, but Ian always had so much time for people.
“He had a tremendous amount of success at Kingsclere and then Andrew and his family have taken it on and made it even bigger. He leaves a great legacy.”
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Ian Balding legacy RIP