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.

“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).”

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.”

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.”