The late Gerald Balding OBE, universally known as “Toby”, was the elder brother of the Ian Balding, who saddled Mill Reef to win the Derby in 1971, and a highly successful trainer in his own right. In fact, he had the rare distinction of saddling the winner of the three most important races in British National Hunt racing, the Grand National (twice), the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle.
Born in the United States, Balding first took out a training licence, while still a teenager, in 1956. His first major success came with Highland Wedding, ridden by Eddie Harty, who won the 1969 Grand National by 12 lengths. Two decades later, Balding repeated the feat with Little Polveir, who won the 1989 renewal of the Aintree marathon by 7 lengths under Jimmy Frost.
The previous month, Balding had saddled his first winner of the Champion Hurdle, Beech Road, ridden by Richard Guest, who sprang a major surprise by beating Celtic Shot by 2 lengths at 50/1, with 11/8 favourite Kribensis only seventh of the twelve finishers. His second winner, Morley Street, in 1991, was sent off 4/1 favourite and duly obliged, beating Nomadic Way by 1½ lengths under Jimmy Frost.
In 1992, Balding saddled outsider Cool Ground, ridden by his protégé Adrian Maguire, to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup at 25/1. The result was controversial insofar that many observers believed Golden Freeze, the rank outsider at 150/1, was ridden with the deliberate intent of unsettling hot favourite Carvill’s Hill, who eventually finished well beaten.