Barry Hills leads tributes following death of owner-breeder Dick Bonnycastle at 88

Training great Barry Hills has hailed Dick Bonnycastle as a "lifelong friend and marvellous owner" following the death of the prominent Canadian racing figure at the age of 88.

Bonnycastle was a longstanding owner with Hills and the pair memorably teamed up to win the 1,000 Guineas with Enstone Spark in 1978.

He was also a partner in 2001 Chester Vase and Geoffrey Freer winner Mr Combustible, a horse he named after Hills because of the trainer's reputation for occasional explosive outbursts.

Hills said: "He originally wanted to have horses with Peter Walwyn but he was full and couldn't take them so I was the lucky benefactor of that.

"He became a lifelong friend and we holidayed together in Barbados and South Africa. He would take a house for Royal Ascot and came over to go shooting for five weeks each December and rented a house near Lambourn.

"He was a gentle giant, the kindest man you could ever meet. He was a very good businessman and a marvellous owner. He never said a bad word about anyone – he'd sooner change the subject than put someone down."

Barry Hills: former trainer has happy memories of owner-breeder Dick BonnycastleCredit: Edward Whitaker

Born in Winnipeg in 1934, Bonnycastle was involved in a long list of ventures and co-owned and operated Harlequin Enterprises, publisher of Harlequin Romance books.

A founding member of the board of stewards for the Jockey Club of Canada and former president of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, he bred and raced dozens of top horses under his Harlequin Ranches banner in nearly 50 years in Canadian and international racing.

One of Bonnycastle's first horses was the champion Nice Dancer, a son of the great Northern Dancer and winner of the 1972 Manitoba Derby, Breeders' Stakes and Col RS McLaughlin as a three-year-old.

However, it was Gold Strike who supplied him with his greatest moments in racing. The tough filly was crowned the 2005 Sovereign Award Champion following wins in the Selene Stakes and Woodbine Oaks and in her breeding career she produced Rich Strike, who shocked the racing world by winning last year's Kentucky Derby at 80-1.

Bonnycastle is survived by his wife Kathy, whom he married in 2012 and shared his passion for horses, and her children Tanya, Natalie, Megan, Kim, Thor and their families.