Ian Balding, the trainer of the 1971 Epsom Derby winner Mill Reef, has died at the age of 87.
Balding, the father of television broadcaster Clare, won the National Hunt Chase on Time at the 1963 Cheltenham Festival during his career as an amateur jockey.
It was as a trainer that he excelled though, and his Kingsclere yard in Newbury produced many Group One victors, including Glint Of Gold, Selkirk, Lochsong and most notably Mill Reef.
The American-bred colt won the Derby, ridden by Geoff Lewis, as well as the Eclipse Stakes, the King George VI Stakes, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe to make Balding champion trainer in 1971.
