Medical miracle lands his master trainer Price in trouble

There was more to Hill House than met the eye. What lay concealed beneath his hide would ensure this talented hurdler and one-horse laboratory became a cause celebre, and it would lend the 1967 Schweppes Gold Trophy an aura that captures the imagination even at 50 years remove.

The early years of the Schweppes Gold Trophy – run this Saturday in the guise of the Betfair Hurdle – were associated with one name above all, the great Sussex trainer Captain Ryan Price, whose place in the pantheon was secured not only by his enduring genius with horses but by his colourful and controversial nature – when they say 'they don't make them like that any more' it could be Price, the trainer of Hill House and so many other stars, of whom they speak.

No less an authority than John Oaksey described Price as 'ex-Commando, fearless horseman, dedicated animal-lover, outspoken self-publicist and, let no-one doubt or question it, brilliant trainer of racehorses'.