Hills aiming to hand over reins on winning note

Hills – who saddles Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s highly-rated Balty Boys in today’s Acomb Stakes – will help plant a copper beech tree in the pre-parade ring on Friday to mark his love of nature, and many great days at York.

He won the Juddmonte International with Hawaiian Sound (1978) and Cormorant Wood (1984), the Yorkshire Oaks with Dibidale 1974 and the Nunthorpe Stakes with Handsome Sailor (1988) and in 2005 with La Cucaracha.

He has taken the Ebor twice, thanks to Sanmartino in 1995 and with the legendary stayer Further Flight in 1990.

The York executive is planning a special racecard to honour these successes as Hills, 74, prepares to hand over the training reins to his son, Charlie, who believes Ferguson’s horse can back up his recent Newbury success.

“I think the step up to seven furlongs will really suit this horse. He has plenty of speed, as he showed when winning his maiden, and he is a colt we have always liked,” said Hills junior.

Arguably the stable’s best hopes of the week are Angels Will Fall, who is set to contest tomorrow’s Lowther Stakes, and West Leake Diman, who is pencilled in for tomorrow’s DBS Premier Yearling Stakes.