What tribute would you give to Barry Hills as his training career comes to an end? Was Rheingold the best horse he trained? And which race do you remember the most of a horse trained by Barry? One race I still remember now is the 1990 Cambridgeshire when Risen Moon made up an amazing amount of ground to win under Steve Cauthen.
Cauthen's win in the Champion on Cormorant Wood was a brilliant piece of riding. Hills certainly made it the hard way and unlike many he did not inherit daddy's yard. I suppose Rheingold was the best he trained but Tap On Wood would be a very close second.
Nice to see his last runner at Chester won and then his final ever runner did the business at Bath. What a way to retire!
He always seemed to play straight as a trainer and he seemed to be able to improve horses. He must have been a first class head lad because Oxley went down the toilet rather rapidly after he left to set up on his own. He didn't have much a t first but he had a horse called Hickleton that kept on winning small staying handicaps. That got his name in front of the racing fraternity. To have had the Derby second Rheingold in his 4th season was a remarkable progression. Not quite first division but top of the 2nd division of trainers.
Rheingold was a really good horse who came up against some of the best, including a victory over the great Allez France in the Arc de Triomphe. But for Lester Piggott he would have won the Epsom Derby. I was there that day and backed Roberto and how Lester got that horse home I don't know. I would think that must have been the most hard fought Derby finish ever. Interestingly it was Lester who rode him in the Arc.
Sad to see Barry Hills going but I think the time is right. I just wish his two sons would now take the hint and hang up their riding boots at the same time.
My question to you all is did Barry Hills under achieve considering the ammunition he has had at his disposal over the years? For me he did, to have never had a Derby winner with all the good horse's he's had, is shocking! As for wether or not it is the right time to go? No it's 10 years to late, he's produced very few G1 horse's in the last 10 years, and has been living off past glorys, harsh but true i know. And before anyone says it, Redwood is not a G1 horse
As for Barry Hill's best horse, I don't think there can be any arguments on this, Rheingold was the best, an outstanding racehorse, for me one of the most underrated Arc winners. You get some horse's who were highly overated Arc winners, in particular Sea Bird II and Dancing Brave, then you get others like Rheingold and Sakhee who never got the respect they deserved
Shergar, I would've been inclined to agree with you that Barry Hills should have retired sooner but then again, he sent out Ghanaati to win a 1000 Guineas in 2009, which wasn't a bad training performance considering she'd only won an AW maiden on her previous start as a 2yo. She went on to land the Coronation at Royal Ascot. He also won the 2000 Guineas and Champion Stakes with Haafhd in the past 10 years, so while he probably wasn't at the top of his game he could still do the business when a good one came along.
Hmmm, best Barry Hills horse you say? Now let me think for a moment.... Oh yes please log in to view this image
He's a very handsome man! Lovely action shot here too: please log in to view this image Not taken by me. obviously!
Not winning a Derby is hardly a yardstick by which to judge a trainer. Plenty of trainers have won Derbys but I'd not rate them above Hills: Balding, Walwyn and Nelson are three off the top of my head. As to deterioration he won his first Gp1 in '71 and in that decade won 11 in all, in the next he won 19, the next 13 and the last 11. Hardly a precipitive deterioration I'd say. (Eng, Ireland and France only). Did he have a lot of good ammunition? I'm not sure about that. Yes he trained for the Sheikhs, Khaled Abdulla and Sangster, but there's a pecking order with trainers and I don't think he was at the front of the queue with the Arabs. When he took over Manton in '87 Sangster was hardly in the ascendancy. He's not in the class of Cecil, Stoute, Murless or Hern as regards British trainers but as I say he was very good. Any trainer can have a few lean years such as Cecil's run from 2001 to 2005, you can't judge them by that. If he's only won one group 1 in the last 2 years, I don't think you can judge him as needing to retire. A very good if not great trainer.
Very handsome fellow PN! I must say he was a favourite of mine on the racecourse the year he won the Guineas and the Champion Stakes
I tend to side with Bustino's view of Hills rather than Shergar's. To stay near the top for 40 years takes some doing and unlike many who make it he did not inherit daddy's yard. I have to say there has never been a time when I have thought Hills should have retired and I think he has got it about right. I well remember the excitement in Lambourn when Rheingold won the Arc and while I was living there the info from the Hills yard was always first rate. I knew one of his top work riders really well and they certainly knew the time of day with their two year olds back then. A golden period for me was when Cauthen was riding for Hills -you knew they would always get a good ride.
