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:

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 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.

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.

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.

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.