John Reid leads tributes to Luigi Camici - trainer of Arc hero Tony Bin

Luigi Camici, trainer of 1988 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Tony Bin, has died at the age of 93.

Camici was one of the last links with the pre-war era of Italian racing, having witnessed the great Nearco win the Derby Italiano in 1938.

Born into a racing family – his cousin Enrico Camici found international fame as the rider of dual Arc hero Ribot – Luigi only took out a training licence in his own name at the age of 50, having worked as head lad to the powerful Mantova stable until it was dissolved in 1976.

Tony Bin was undoubtedly his greatest success, having been bought for just 3,000gns for businessman Luciano Gaucci.

After finishing second to Trempolino under Cash Asmussen in the 1987 Arc, Tony Bin showed himself even better at the age of five, finishing runner-up in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and then third to Mtoto in the King George at Ascot.

Camici took the unusual step of running Tony Bin in the Prix Federico Tesio seven days before the Arc – "because I didn't have anything fast enough to work him with and Milan is on the way to Longchamp" – before capturing Europe's greatest prize at the expense of Mtoto.

John Reid was booked for the win in Milan and knew he had to do everything to keep it for the Arc.

"I was riding for Vincent O'Brien at the time and when I went to Italy to ride Tony Bin he absolutely bolted up," said Reid. "He was so impressive I said to my agent Peter Shoemark, 'We've got a very live shot to win the Arc'.

"O'Brien phoned up the next day to say Dark Lomond was running in the Arc and I was to ride him. But I was so confident in Tony Bin I asked Vincent to let me off Dark Lomond, which he did. The rest is history."

Joh Reid drives Tony Bin clear of favourite Mtoto to land the 1988 ArcCredit: Dan Smith

Reid added: "Luigi was a lovely man and a real good trainer. Although I didn't speak a lot of Italian and he didn't speak much English, we got by. It was a huge day for me to ride the winner of the Arc and I owe him a lot."

Known affectionately and universally in Italian racing circles as 'Il Sor Luigi' – Mister Luigi in Roman slang – Camici was not only a trainer of champion racehorses, but responsible for helping launch the careers of jockeys such as Umberto Rispoli, who was champion jockey in Italy as a teenager before going on to enjoy great success in France and Hong Kong.

Speaking from his new base in California, Rispoli said: "Luigi Camici was one of the best people I've ever met. He was an unbelievable horseman, an absolute gentleman and a top class trainer."

In later years Camici trained in partnership with his son Fabrizio, and during that period the stable saddled its only winner in Britain, with Frankie Dettori doing the steering as Caluki took the 2004 Winter Derby.

His domestic Classic victories included one each in the Derby Italiano (Groom Tesse in 2004) and the Oaks d'Italia (Germignana in 1996).

Additional reporting: John Randall

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