Frankincense and More

The son of a stable head lad, Barry Hills' fascinating story charts how he rose to be one of the leading trainers of all time. He placed a shrewd bet on a horse called Frankincense in the 1968 Lincoln race, the winnings of which were enough to set himself up with his own training yard in Lambourn. In many ways this is a social history of our times; how the son of a stable-lad managed to quickly establish his owner-base from amongst the turf establishment and aristocracy which even in the sixties was still riddled in the old class-consciousness of pre-war society. Over the years Hills' successes on the track have been legendary; there have also been disappointments. Barry Hills has also spawned a racing dynasty of five sons all in racing. His son Charlie is now ably helping him to maintain the yard's success, whilst his father recovers from serious illness. "Frankincense and More" is an entertaining and informative read that digs deep to unravel how Hills got to and remained at the top for so long.