HERBERT PAYS LEWIS TRIBUTE

HARRY HERBERT hailed leading jockey-turned-trainer Geoff Lewis as a “one of racing’s great characters” following his death at the age of 89.

- BY MOLLY HUNTER

Lewis was best known for his association with the great Mill Reef during his days in the saddle, a horse he rode to victory in both the Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1971.

Following the end of his riding career in 1979, he began training from Thirty Acre Barn in Epsom, the racing town where he had served as an apprentice to Ron Smyth as a teenager.

From a relatively small stable he enjoyed great success with horses such as the top sprinter Lake Coniston, who he trained for Highclere Thoroughbred Racing in the early days of their enterprise.