{"id":224740,"date":"2026-01-03T06:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T06:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/224740\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T06:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T06:14:12","slug":"clare-balding-remembers-her-father-ian-as-funny-fearless-charming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/224740\/","title":{"rendered":"Clare Balding remembers her father Ian as \u2018funny, fearless, charming\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Broadcaster Clare Balding has paid tribute to her father Ian, the renowned racehorse trainer, as \u201cone of a kind\u201d following his death aged 87.<\/p>\n

Trainer of the Derby winner Mill Reef, Ian retired in 2002, handing over the licence to his son Andrew, and author and TV star Clare was also a leading amateur rider before she embarked on a broadcasting career.<\/p>\n

In a post on Instagram, alongside pictures, Clare wrote: \u201cMy Dad was one of a kind. Fearless, funny and charming he was an all round sportsman, a great trainer and a beautiful horseman.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved his dogs, his horses and his family \u2013 probably in that order.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe shared with me his passion for sport and taught me to be brave enough to chase a dream, even if it seemed impossible. We\u2019ll miss him so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian was also a Cheltenham Festival-winning rider in his amateur days, and had sent out many top-class performers from his Kingsclere yard including Glint Of Gold, Selkirk and Lochsong, but 1971 Derby hero Mill Reef remains a standout name in his career.<\/p>\n

A post on Instagram from the yard read: \u201cWe are deeply sorry to share the sad news that Ian Balding has passed away.<\/p>\n

\u201cA wonderful family man, a hugely successful racehorse trainer and a brilliant sportsman.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be greatly missed by all at Park House.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SleepingClare Balding arriving for a performance of the pantomime Sleeping Beauty, at the London Palladium (Jordan Pettitt\/PA)<\/p>\n

Celebrities including Claudia Winkleman posted messages of support on Clare\u2019s Instagram post, with The Traitors host writing: \u201cSending you all my love\u201d, while former Made in Chelsea star and I\u2019m A Celebrity winner Georgia Toffolo said: \u201cSending you so much love Clare, so very sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Italian jockey Frankie Dettori, who appeared on I\u2019m A Celebrity\u2026 Get Me Out Of Here! in 2023, said on X: \u201cI woke up this morning to the sad news of the passing of Ian Balding, a man who was a tremendous supporter of mine in my early days.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shared some wonderful moments together, notably with Lochsong and Lochangel, and it was through Ian that I was first given the opportunity to ride for Her Majesty The Queen, something I will always be deeply grateful for.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heartfelt condolences go out to the Balding family and to everyone associated with Park House at this very difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balding was born on November 7, 1938, into a notable horse racing family.<\/p>\n

He was the son of Gerald Balding, a famous polo player and racehorse trainer, while his brother Toby, who died in 2014, is on the elite list of handlers who have sent out winners of the Grand National, Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle.<\/p>\n

\"HorseBalding was born on November 7, 1938, into a notable horse racing family (Rebecca Naden\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

As a talented amateur rider in his youth, Balding rode the winner of the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on Time in 1963.<\/p>\n

His big break came when he was appointed assistant to Peter Hastings-Bass at the famous Park House Stables at Kingsclere, where he would spend the rest of his career.<\/p>\n

When Hastings-Bass died at the age of 43 in June 1964, Balding inherited a number of influential owners, including Queen Elizabeth II.<\/p>\n

Later, he won the Imperial Cup at Sandown in 1986 with the Queen Mother\u2019s racehorse Insular, and trained a Cheltenham Festival winner, Crystal Spirit, in the Sun Alliance Novices\u2019 Hurdle in 1991.<\/p>\n

As a trainer, he helped many aspiring riders in their careers, including Epsom Derby winner Martin Dwyer, who has paid tribute to him as \u201ca great man who was loved and respected by many\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Broadcaster Clare Balding has paid tribute to her father Ian, the renowned racehorse trainer, as \u201cone of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":{"0":"post-224740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}