The chapel of Marlborough College was packed yesterday as racing’s royalty joined family and friends to celebrate the extraordinary life of Toby Balding, who died in September aged 78, writes GRAHAM DENCH.

One of the few to have trained the winners of jump racing’s ‘Holy Trinity’ - the Champion Hurdle, Gold Cup and Grand National - Balding also won dozens more major prizes under both disciplines and was single-handedly responsible for bringing a young Tony McCoy from Ireland and setting him on the course that has taken him to 19 successive jockeys' championships.

In a career that spanned around 50 years and yielded more than 2,000 winners, it was also Balding who enticed Adrian Maguire from Ireland, and who nurtured the fledgling careers of dozens more successful jockeys and trainers, many of whom were present to pay their respects and share happy memories.

His wisdom and vast experience benefited countless individuals who worked for him or simply sought his advice, not to mention the many institutions and committees with which he was formally involved, such as the National Trainers Federation, the Racehorse Owners Association, BHB then BHA, and the Jockey Club.

His services to racing earned him election as an honorary member of the Jockey Club, and later an OBE.

So it was no ordinary thanksgiving service at Marlborough College, where Balding attended school, has surely not seen its like before.

The order of service came in the form of a racecard, with ‘officials’ such as the vicar, organist and choirmaster listed under a sketch of a steeplechaser where one might normally see the names of stewards and clerk of the course.

Inside, the first race was Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven, the second race Psalm 23, and so on. The school choir sang When The Saints Go Marching In at the start the service, and The Teddy Bear’s Picnic at its end.

Balding, who was born in New York, was a man of many parts, loved by almost all who knew him. That was a recurring theme in the addresses by his niece Clare Balding, his nephew Andrew Balding, and his son Gerald Balding.

Clare Balding recalled her ‘Uncle Toby’ as “a big man - big in stature and big in heart and spirit - and a man who wanted to share love and share joy with everyone.”

She said: “He didn’t regard training racehorses as a job but as a way of life, and it was a life he loved.”

She recalled a happy home, the hub of which was the kitchen, and the diverse people one might have met there, from actor John Le Mesurier, Monkee Davy Jones, sculptor Elizabeth Frink, writer and bon viveur Sir Clement Freud, and rock guitarist Eric Clapton, who once told Balding's wife Caro that if she lost a bit of weight he could have really fancied her.

“All would be treated exactly the same,“ she said.

She recalled the regular parties and lunches, and the football, tennis and other sports that were such a big part of Balding’s life.

“He believed,” she said, “that if you have got it you should share it - and if you haven’t you should share it anyway.”

She said: "He was fascinated by people, and the more scurrilous their tales the more he wanted to know them. He loved to support other people and he got as much joy out of their success as he did his own.

“He touched so many people, and he leaves a huge hole, as big men do.

"He was magical with horses, and even better with people. He was a creator of fun and had the extraordinary gift of making everyone feel special.”

Andrew Balding, known since childhood by his uncle as “Minder”, reminded the congregation that Balding became a trainer at just 19, on the death of his father Gerald, and that he inherited financial responsibilities as well as a string of racehorses and the associated pressures of training for some of the biggest owners in the land.

“Finances were tight,” he said, but his uncle was resourceful.

“A gamble, a punt, landing a touch, or as he used to say, having it off, was a requirement to survive, and in 1959 Toby had it right off when New World won the Portland Handicap at Doncaster.

“Meticulous planning, skilful training and some hefty bets won Toby enough money to marry Caro and stay in business for a few years at least.”

Balding was, he added “a people’s person, who generated fun and laughter wherever he went."

He added: “He believed there were too many men in racing in suits, and not enough in wellies. He of course, was equally at home in both."

Gerald Balding spoke of a life “blessed in so many very ways”, of a father who “lived the life he wanted to live, and for over 50 years was a giant in his chosen field”, and of a ”man who had few enemies, and was adored, respected and loved by all who knew him.”

Hundreds of them testified to that yesterday, and every one of them left smiling at the memories.