Training legend Dick Hern dies

Training legend Dick Hern has died, aged 84, it was revealed today.

Hern started training in 1957 and handled some of the greatest racehorses of the modern era, including the incomparable Brigadier Gerard, who beat Mill Reef in the 1971 2000 Guineas.

He won 17 Classics during his career with the likes of Dunfermline for The Queen, who landed the Oaks and St Leger in Silver Jubilee year of 1977.

The Queen honoured Hern with the CVO in 1980.

The trainer was confined to a wheelchair after breaking his neck in a hunting accident in 1984 and he underwent major heart surgery in 1988 yet a year later produced one of his finest hours when he saddled Nashwan to win the 2000 Guineas, Derby, Eclipse and King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

He retired from the training ranks at the end of the 1997 season. Arundel trainer John Dunlop was quick to pay his tribute to Hern, describing him as a "great man".

He said: "He was one of the bravest men you could ever meet and one of the greatest trainers that I have ever known.

"His bravery, his strength, his charm and his good humour touched everyone he knew.

"He was a great party man, he loved to sing and he had a great enthusiasm for life.

"He was a great man and it is the end of an era."