Racing paid tribute yesterday to training legend Dick Hern, who has died, aged 81. Hern, universally known as the "Major" started training in 1957 and handled some of the greatest racehorses of the modern era, including the incomparable Brigadier Gerard, who beat Mill Reef in the 1971 2,000 Guineas.

He won 17 Classics during his career with the likes of Dunfermline, who landed the Oaks and St Leger for Queen Elizabeth in 1977.

Hern was confined to a wheelchair after breaking his neck in a hunting accident in 1984 and he had major heart surgery in 1988. A year later he had one of his finest hours when he saddled Nashwan to win the 2,000 Guineas, Derby, Eclipse and King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

He retired from the training ranks at the end of the 1997 season.

Born in Somerset on January 20th, 1921, Hern was educated at Millfield and then saw service in the second World War, becoming a tank commander in the North Irish Regiment.

His race-riding career spanned 18 years and he rode mostly in point-to-points.

He obtained his licence after serving as assistant to Major Michael Pope from 1952 and he began his career as private trainer to Major Lionel Holliday at Newmarket's Lagrange Stables.

Joe Mercer, rider of Brigadier Gerard, who suffered defeat just once in a 18-race career, will be forever associated, along with Willie Carson, with Hern and he described him yesterday as the "most wonderful" person.

"It's just so sad to hear the news today," Mercer said. "It's a very sad loss. He was a lovely, lovely person and a nice to person to work for and a great guy to ride for, the most wonderful person to ride for - most people would agree with that.

"I had some very, very happy years with him - I must have been with Dick for about 12 or 13 years. "Brigadier Gerard was the greatest horse I ever rode.

"He could produce a horse first-time out that hadn't run for months as fit as it could be and it would do itself justice. He was a great person for understanding an individual horse. He would train a horse individually - if he saw a horse wanted something doing different he would do it.

"He had a great eye for detail and was just a remarkable person really, even when he was confined to a wheelchair and he was training horses."

Carson bred leading Vodafone Oaks fancy Shadow Dancing along with Hern, and he had hoped his old friend would get to see her run at Epsom next month.

"I'm surprised rather than shocked," Carson said, "because after the filly wining at Chester it lifted him, because he was struggling. And he was looking forward to going to Epsom."

"I rode a lot of good horses, especially for Dick. Dayjur excited us more than anything because of his speed, he was the fastest horse I ever rode.

"But you always have to go back to the 2000 Guineas of Nashwan when the story was he had been kicked out of the stables and couldn't train horses from a wheelchair - and he did.

"He trained a 2000 Guineas winner. He'd never ran, first-time out in a season and went and won that and following that he went and won the Derby and then the Eclipse and King George."

Trainer John Dunlop said: "It is very, very sad. There was no contemporary trainer that I admired more."