Clare Balding's legendary horse trainer father Ian Balding has died aged 87.

Mr Balding was a well-known and successful trainer and Cheltenham Festival-winning rider. 

He made his name with horse Mill Reef, who won numerous events just six years after Mr Balding was handed his licence at the age of 26. 

Mill Reef was a two-year-old horse at the time who went on to win the Derby, Eclipse, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1971.

There was such success that Mr Balding was named as champion trainer in the same year. 

But he was also known for training winning horses for the late Queen Elizabeth II, notably securing victory for her at the 1974 Musidora Stakes at York with Escorial.

In the 1990s, his star steed was Jeff Smith's Lochsong, who was voted Cartier Horse of the Year in 1993. 

Announcing his death, Park House Stables, which Mr Balding led for years, said in a statement: 'We are deeply sorry to share the sad news that Ian Balding has passed away.

Clare Balding pictured with her father Ian at Newbury racecourse in May 2012

Mr Balding made his name with horse Mill Reef, who won numerous events for the trainer just six years after he was handed his training licence at the age of 26

'A wonderful family man, a hugely successful racehorse trainer and a brilliant sportsman.

'He will be greatly missed by all at Park House.'

The stables shared a photograph of Mr Balding with his grandchildren, Jonno, Toby and Flora.

The trainer is also survived by his wife Emma, and their two children, Clare and Andrew. 

Mr Balding had 65 winners, but perhaps his greatest victory was when he himself rode as an amateur jockey on Time in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham in 1963.

He went on to ride his own horse named Ross Poldark in the Foxhunter Chase over the Grand National fences at Aintree in 1985, aged 46. 

He retired from the sport in 2002 and handed the reins of his racing dynasty, based at Park House Stables, in Kingsclere, Hampshire, to his son Andrew. 

Andrew Balding has also secured multiple victories at Group and Grade 1 level since.

Clare Balding pictured after winning the KJ Pike & Sons Celebrity Charity Flat Race at Wincanton in 1997 on her father's horse Pay Homage

Announcing his death, Park House stables shared a photograph of Mr Balding with his three grandchildren, Jonno, Toby and Flora

Mr Balding's daughter Clare is now the face of sport across the BBC and Channel 4, but made her own debut in the world of horseracing as a presenter for the Royal Ascot highlights in 1995.

She also rode competitively, winning the KJ Pike & Sons Celebrity Charity Flat Race at Wincanton in 1997 on her father's horse Pay Homage.

Jockey Martin Dwyer said Mr Balding had been 'like a second father'.

He added: 'It is very sad, Ian was a great man. He loved sport and he was a great horseman, I owe Ian and his family a debt of gratitude for what they did for me and for many other people, not just jockeys.

'He helped a lot of people along and helped them in their careers, I'm eternally grateful to have been included in that.

'He took me in as a snotty-nosed kid from Liverpool and shaped me into who I am today, I was a bit rough around the edges when I first came but he taught me a lot about riding, about racing and about life in general.

'I was only 16 when I first went there, he was just a great man who was loved and respected by many.

'I was apprenticed to Ian and had my first winners for him, we had a lot of success and that continued when Andrew took over.

'The Balding family were like a second family. I'm not sure it happens these days as racing has changed and is so fast-paced, but Ian always had so much time for people.

'He had a tremendous amount of success at Kingsclere and then Andrew and his family have taken it on and made it even bigger. He leaves a great legacy.'

Tributes to Mr Balding have begun pouring in, with BBC sports presenter Gabby Logan writing: 'Sending love to you all'. 

Irish sports broadcaster Rachel Wyse added: 'RIP Ian'.