Making the Running: A Racing Life

The image of the Derby winner with his leg in plaster was broadcast around the world. Alongside Mill Reef stood a baby-faced man who had won the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and now the Derby. He trained for the Queen and Queen Mother; and Lester Piggot, Willie Carson and Frankie Dettori all rode for him, but where had he come from and how had he got there? Ian Balding's story is one of heartbreaking loss and outrageous good luck. He gained entrance to Cambridge by catching a book rather than reading it, left without a degree but with a rugby blue, and became one of the outstanding amateur sportsmen of his generation. Balding's burgeoning talent was quickly notice and he was head-hunted by Peter Hastings-Bass, who tragically died just three months later, leaving Ian in charge of his stables at Kingsclere. Ian had no money and no experience of running a business, but he learnt fast. In Making the Running. Ian Balding reveals the pressure of maintaining the pace and shares the highs and lows of the sport of kings.…