'Nothing was trouble for him and he'd go from Land's End to John O'Groats for you' - Barry Hills salutes late groom Reg Todd

Barry and Charlie Hills have paid tribute to longstanding employee Reg Todd, who died at the age of 77 on Wednesday.

Todd, who spent decades in the racing industry, had been a popular mainstay of their Lambourn yard and worked for the family for nearly 30 years.

He became something of a television and social media hit during Royal Ascot last year after Dark Shift, whom he looked after, landed the Hunt Cup in the hands of James McDonald.

That was a first winner at the royal meeting for Todd, who worked for Peter Payne-Gallwey and joined the Hills family from Peter Walwyn.

"He came to work for me on December 19, 1995 and that shows the nature of the person because not many people would start a job then – they'd wait until after Christmas," said Barry Hills.

Barry Hills: "I'm lucky to have known him and he'll be sadly missed"Credit: Edward Whitaker

"Reg came from the old school and he was brought up properly. He worked hard, loved his horses and was never late. He loved going to the races and loved showing his horses when the owners came.

"Nothing was too much trouble for him. If you'd told him to pick something up from Land's End and take it to John O'Groats, he'd say, 'Yeah, I'll do that and then I'll be back in the morning'. That was the way he was made. I'm lucky to have known him and he'll be sadly missed."

Charlie Hills, who took over the licence from his father in 2011, said: "He was tremendously popular. He lived in Wantage and used to drive in every morning on his little scooter without fail – it didn't matter what the weather was like.

"He always had great one-liners and was a fantastic guy to have in the yard. He helped with staff morale and kept everyone laughing.

"He used to ride out and loved leading the string before he got too old for the job. Dark Shift winning was a special moment and Rick Frost, who used to own him, was absolutely distraught about the news. He seemed to touch everyone and that came through on those social media clips last year.

"He'd finished with us, but didn't want to be sat at home, so he'd come into the yard and, if he felt well enough, would go to the races with the horses."