'One of the icons of the turf' - Geoff Lewis, who won the Derby and Arc on the great Mill Reef, dies aged 89

Racing was mourning another great name on Wednesday following the death of Geoff Lewis, who won the Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on the brilliant Mill Reef and was hailed as "one of the icons of the turf".

Lewis died at the age of 89, just a few days after Bruce Raymond, another of Britain's most notable Flat jockeys.

Lewis rode with huge success for more than a quarter of a century, partnering 1,880 winners in Britain and twice finishing runner-up in the jockeys' championship, and then trained for another 20 years.

In a statement, his family said: "Geoff passed away peacefully with his family by his side. He was a much-loved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and we will remember him with immense pride for the person he was and all he accomplished in life.

• Obituary: Geoff Lewis, a great jockey who will forever be remembered for his association with the unforgettable Mill Reef 

• Geoff Lewis: 'I rode some great horses - but there was something different about Mill Reef' 

• A jockey's nightmare, undisputable champions and the world-beating Mill Reef - six of the best horses associated with Geoff Lewis 

"He truly was one of a kind, and his countless stories will live on with us. As a family we are so grateful for the kind messages and tributes that have been shared, they have brought us great comfort at this difficult time."

Lewis was born in Wales but his family moved to London and he worked as a page boy in the Walford Hotel before becoming apprenticed to Ron Smyth in Epsom. 

He will forever be associated with Mill Reef, who was trained by Ian Balding and on whom he won the Dewhurst Stakes, Derby, King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Arc.

Not only did he become the first Welsh jockey to win the Derby in 1971, he also completed a rare clean sweep of the top races at Epsom that year by also landing the Oaks on Altesse Royale and the Coronation Cup on Lupe.

Mill Reef and Geoff Lewis have the field stretched out behind them in the 1971 DerbyCredit: Gerry Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Balding's son Andrew said: "It's very sad news. Geoff played an important part in my family's life and will be greatly missed. Not only was he a wonderful jockey but he was also a huge character, a huge personality as well.

"Dad and he enjoyed sharing not only Mill Reef and those magical moments together but also a great friendship later in life.

"It's a wonderful story; with no horse background to achieve what he did both as a jockey and a trainer. It was fairly remarkable."  

Lewis rode his first winner in 1953 and impressed so much over the following seasons that by 1957 he had been appointed first jockey to Peter Hastings-Bass’s powerful stable at Kingsclere, which Balding took over on that trainer's death.

Among numerous notable winners were Tudor Monarch for Sir Winston Churchill in the Stewards' Cup in 1959 and the Queen's Magna Carta in the Ascot Stakes and Doncaster Cup in 1970, while he landed the 2,000 Guineas on Right Tack in 1969.

Willie Carson rode against Lewis and said: "He was above me when I was on the way up and I'm reminded of him all the time as in my saddle room I still have a saddle with 'G Lewis' which I must have bought off him.

"He was a good jockey, his record tells you that. It was a different type of racing in those days to now, you had to be very wary of other jockeys, you were definitely on your own, and Geoff was very strong-minded so you didn't always squeeze him up. He had that stutter but he always let people know what he thought.

"He was one of the icons of the turf. Geoff was small in stature but he came from being a tiny page boy to become a giant of the racing world."

Philip Mitchell: "He was a brilliant jockey, he really was" Credit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Philip Mitchell, whose father Cyril trained Be Friendly on whom Lewis won the Ayr Gold Cup and Prix de l'Abbaye, likened Lewis to Carson.

"As a jockey he was a Willie Carson-type, so strong in the saddle," he said. "He had such a brilliant racing brain as well, he knew exactly where he should be at the right time. He was a brilliant jockey, he really was.

"He was a fiery little Welshman. What you saw is what you got with Geoff. He was one of those people who would give you a bollocking in the morning and then a hug in the afternoon. He never let anything fester."

Lewis retired as a jockey in 1979 and took up training, sending out Silver Wisp to finish third in the Derby in 1992. The best horse he trained was champion sprinter Lake Coniston, who won the Duke of York Stakes and July Cup in 1995.

He won 539 races in Britain before retiring as a trainer in 1999 and played a big part in the career of lightweight jockey Dale Gibson.

"I was apprenticed to Willie Hastings-Bass and Geoff had ridden for the late Peter Hastings-Bass so I rode for him quite a bit, including on Very Adjacent in the Stewards' Cup in 1989," Gibson recalled.

"Very Adjacent was a bit of a monkey but he had visors on for the first time and he won carrying 7st 5lb. We won by a short head from Plain Fact, who'd been laid out for the race and whose jockey George Duffield didn't speak to me for three years afterwards!

Dale Gibson won the Stewards' Cup on Very Adjacent (noseband), just pipping George Duffield on Plain FactCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

"That was massive for me as a relatively green 5lb claimer, winning the Stewards' Cup and getting interviewed on TV and all that, and I had a fantastic run afterwards."

Gibson, who is now executive director at the Professional Jockeys Association, added: "Geoff was very loyal to ride for, if you made a mistake he told you and you moved on.

"I remember I'd ridden for someone else at Sandown one day at a time when Alan Munro and others of us were just putting their toe in the iron. He rang up and just said, 'Don't put your toe in the iron, it doesn't suit you', and put the phone down.

"He was in the same mould as Bruce Raymond and it's a sad week as we've lost two special talents."

Geoff Lewis 1935-2025:

Obituary: Geoff Lewis, a great jockey who will forever be remembered for his association with the unforgettable Mill Reef

Geoff Lewis: 'I rode some great horses - but there was something different about Mill Reef' 

A jockey's nightmare, undisputable champions and the world-beating Mill Reef - six of the best horses associated with Geoff Lewis 

Geoff Lewis CV

Full name Geoffrey Lewis

Born Talgarth, Brecknockshire, December 21, 1935

Family Father: Francis Lewis (general labourer). Wife (married 1959): Noelene, daughter of Australian jockey Jim Munro. Children: Gary, Marianne

RIDING CAREER

Apprenticed to Ron Smyth, Epsom 1952-57

First winner Eastern Imp, Epsom, April 23, 1953

First big-race winner Daemon (1955 Cumberland Lodge Stakes)

12 wins on Mill Reef 1970 Salisbury, Coventry, Gimcrack, Imperial, Dewhurst Stakes, 1971 Greenham Stakes, Derby, Eclipse Stakes, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, 1972 Prix Ganay, Coronation Cup

Other British Classic winners Right Tack (1969 2,000 Guineas), Altesse Royale (1971 Oaks), Mysterious (1973 1,000 Guineas, Oaks)

Irish Classic winners Right Tack (1969 Irish 2,000 Guineas), Prince Regent (1969 Irish Derby), Altesse Royale (1971 Irish Oaks)

Other Classic winners Eminent (1966 Dansk Derby), Tarim (1972 Deutsches Derby), Tannenberg (1973 Deutsches St Leger)

Other Coronation Cup winner Lupe (1971)

Benson & Hedges Gold Cup winner Moulton (1973)

Champion Stakes winners Silly Season (1965), Lorenzaccio (1970)

St James's Palace Stakes winners Silly Season (1965), Right Tack (1969)

Sussex & Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Jimmy Reppin (1969)

Ascot Gold Cup winner Random Shot (1971)

July Cup winner Secret Step (1963)

Champion sprinter Be Friendly (1967 Ayr Gold Cup, 1968 Prix de l'Abbaye)

Biggest winner for Queen Elizabeth II Magna Carta (1970 Doncaster Cup)

Other big-race wins Silver Tor (1961 King's Stand Stakes), Silly Season (1964 Dewhurst Stakes, 1966 Lockinge Stakes), Berkeley Springs (1965 Cheveley Park Stakes), Right Tack (1968 Middle Park Stakes), Welsh Pageant (1971 Lockinge Stakes), Fleet Wahine (1971 Yorkshire Oaks), Hill Circus (1971 Sun Chariot Stakes), Sweet Revenge (1971 Prix de l'Abbaye, 1972 King's Stand Stakes), Attica Meli (1972 Yorkshire Oaks, 1973 Doncaster Cup), Mysterious (1973 Yorkshire Oaks), Tachypous (1976 Middle Park Stakes), Windwurf (1977 Grosser Preis von Berlin, Grosser Preis von Baden), Double Form (1979 Haydock Sprint Cup)

Last winner as jockey Naar, Kempton, May 23, 1983

Main trainers as jockey Peter Hastings-Bass, Kingsclere 1958-64; Ian Balding, Kingsclere 1964-68; John Sutcliffe, Epsom 1969-70; Noel Murless, Newmarket 1971-75; Bruce Hobbs, Newmarket 1976-78

Runner-up in jockeys' championship 1969, 1970 (to Lester Piggott)

Most wins in a British season 146 (1969)

1,000th win in Britain Belle De Louvain, Bath, July 23, 1969

Total wins as jockey in Britain 1,880 in 28 seasons (1953-79, 1983)

TRAINING CAREER

Stables as trainer Thirty Acre Barn, Epsom 1979-99

First winner as trainer Concert Hall, Doncaster, March 20, 1980

Champion sprinter Lake Coniston (1994 Prix de Meautry, Diadem Stakes, 1995 Duke of York Stakes, July Cup)

Dual Group 1 winner Yawa (1983 Grand Prix de Paris, 1984 Premio Roma)

Classic winner Rough Pearl (1984 St Leger Italiano)

Other Group winners Kirchner (1983 Premio Umbria), Perion (1988 Palace House Stakes), Point Of Light (1989 Phoenix Sprint Stakes), Karinga Bay (1992 Spreti-Rennen), Silver Wedge (1994 Queen's Vase), Passion For Life (1996 Benazet-Rennen)

Most prolific winners in a season Plan Ahead (8 wins in 1992), Perion (7 wins in 1987)

Placed in the Derby Silver Wisp (3rd, 1992)

Last winner Fast And Neat, Salisbury, August 6, 1999

Most wins in a season 54 (1992)

Total wins as trainer in Britain 539
Compiled by John Randall