Mill Reef, Lochsong et al: Ian Balding on the horses who made his career

Ian Balding, who will be forever linked with the remarkable Mill Reef, passed a significant landmark of his own this week when he turned 80. The master of Kingsclere, before handing on to his son Andrew, enjoyed a career spanning five decades and more than 2,000 winners, landing notable victories for both the Queen and the Queen Mother.

MILL REEF (b.1968)
Never Bend - Milan Mill (Princequillo)
Ridden by Geoff Lewis
Won Derby, Eclipse, King George and the Arc in 1971

I inherited Geoff Lewis as stable jockey when I went to Kingsclere in 1964 and he rode Mill Reef throughout his career. Even when he went to be first jockey to Noel Murless at the end of the horse's two-year-old season, it was on the understanding that he would be allowed to ride Mill Reef in all his races.