'Barry liked to lay one out but he was secretive about it - we had to guess which horse it was and nine times out of ten we were wrong!'

Barry Hills has been fondly remembered as a sharp punter, straight-talking boss and highly skilled horseman by those who served under him during his 44-year training career.

Hills, who has died aged 88, played a significant role in the career of dual Derby-winning handler Peter Chapple-Hyam, who started with the trainer at South Bank Stables in Lambourn as a teenager before rejoining him at Manton in the mid-1980s.

• Barry Hills, legendary trainer and head of a major racing dynasty, dies at the age of 88 

Chapple-Hyam said: “He was a great man to work for and people stayed with him for a long time. He used to sack everyone all of the time and you’d just ignore it and turn up the next day as it was water under the bridge with him."

Alongside his training skills and temperament, which earned him the nickname Mr Grumpy, Hills was famed for his punting prowess, something Chapple-Hyam witnessed.

“Barry liked a bet and to lay one out, but he was secretive about it when he was going for a touch,” he said. “That meant a lot of the time we had to guess which horse it was, and nine times out of ten we were wrong! Sometimes we got it right and after a while you’d get brave enough to ask him, at which point he'd either tell you to sod off or he'd let you know.”

Chapple-Hyam recalled “some wonderful horses” such as Sir Harry Lewis, Scenic and Nomadic Way being trained by Hills, but singled out dual Gold Cup winner Gildoran as the best example of Hills’s ability to train.

Peter Chapple-Hyam on dual Gold Cup winner Gildoran: “He was the slowest horse I’d seen. How he won a Gold Cup in two years is down to Barry because he grafted that horse"Credit: Getty Images/All Sport UK

“He was the slowest horse I’d seen,” said Chapple-Hyam. “On his debut at Ascot, the winner was going into the winner’s enclosure while I was still waiting for him to finish. How he went from that to winning a Gold Cup in two years is down to Barry. He grafted that horse, but he knew that’s what he needed. It was an unbelievable piece of training. 

“The day after he won his first Gold Cup I was late into work and hungover as I’d been celebrating having had a little bet on him. Barry knew this and made me drive him to Royal Ascot, and he didn’t stop going on about it the whole way there and back. 

“When we reached the Lamb Inn on the way back, he told me to stop and get out as I'd earned a drink. As he drove off, he said to me, ‘Just don’t be f****** late tomorrow!’”

Chris Wall: 'Barry had this innate horsemanship and knew what to do and when to do it'Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Group 1-winning trainer Chris Wall spent three seasons as pupil assistant to Hills and admired him for his talent and work ethic.

Wall said: “It was a sharp learning curve for someone who was still wet behind the ears at the time. Barry had this innate horsemanship and knew what to do and when to do it – he worked with the horses rather than against them. I learned a hell of a lot there, not least how to swear!

“I had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of one or two dressing downs, but that's how you learned. When the cork popped it was fairly spectacular, but he didn't hold grudges.

“He made a reputation as a good trainer through skill but also force of personality. He didn't come up with a silver spoon in his mouth and worked for every penny he got. He had a good life, well lived.”

Former trainer Michael Blanshard also spent two and a half years learning from Hills, and said: “He was a remarkable man. Barry gave me a lot of responsibility and trusted people. He was a very hard worker who knew how to do everything. 

“He was a perfectionist and very thorough about everything. He wanted everything done the right way and knew how to do the job. He was very kind to me and taught me that you've got to work. I learned so much from him and I'm indebted to him for that.”

Barry Hills 1937-2025:

Barry Hills, legendary trainer and head of a major racing dynasty, dies at the age of 88 

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Five stars: Arc hero Rheingold heads the list of the best horses Barry Hills trained 

Barry Hills: a man with a razor-sharp sense of humour and a tongue that could make shrinking violets of the most robust