Cheltenham keen to stage race in honour of Inglis.

Byline: David Carr 

CHELTENHAM honoured Inglis Drever with a tribute over the public-address system and a screening of his third Ladbrokes World Hurdle victory before racing yesterday.

And the track will now consider the best way of commemorating Graham Wylie's popular stayer, who died on Friday, with one option being to name a race in his honour.

Cheltenham managing director Edward Gillespie said: "Let's think of the most appropriate way of honouring him. We will sit down with Ladbrokes, sponsors of the World Hurdle; because of his association with that race, they would be the first port of call.

"The nearest comparison would probably be with Relkeel, who has a race named after him, at a different time of year. It's always difficult with the Festival horses because there isn't much room at the Festival in race names, but there are many other ways we have achieved in the past of paying tribute to horses, riders, trainers and others.

Cheltenham are keen to pay tribute to Inglis Drever, and Gillespie said: "I'm confident that working with Graham, Howard [Johnson] and Ladbrokes we will get it right.

"As always, it was the manner in which he won his races, not just the fact that he won then. It was magical when he made his move. He was going backwards and suddenly he would pick up and away he went."

Sir Mark Prescott paid tribute to the "great service" done him by Inglis Drever, whom he trained on the Flat before his highly successful jumping career.

Prescott won four handicaps with the gutsy stayer before he was sold to join Johnson for 110,000gns in 2003. The trainer recalled: "He was a very goodlooking yearling. He was always a delightful horse, always very easy, very straightforward. Like most good horses, he did it all himself.

"He did us a great service because he was a very useful horse. He was very unlucky to miss the cut by one for the Ebor, which was his great day, and because he sold well, he started what has been a symbiotic relationship with Mr Howard Johnson and Mr Wylie whereby we have been lucky enough to sell them some nice horses like No Refuge and others who have done them well.

"I happened to watch one of his first hurdle races at Warwick and I've never seen a horse hurdle so quickly, that was the thing that impressed me. He just flicked over them, he never altered his stride for them. The rest is all credit to Mr Johnson and Mr Wylie."

Seeing Inglis Drever win three Ladbrokes World Hurdles for another trainer never tempted Prescott to train jumpers himself, but he added: "I love to see what we sell go on and win at Cheltenham for our clients.

"We want them to do well jumping when we sell them. I've now reached the stage that Cheltenham is almost as important to me for the horses I've sold as Ascot is for the ones we're lucky enough to have.

"Inglis Drever was a useful horse on the Flat and did me good turns elsewhere - he was one of those horses who did everybody a good turn."

CAPTION(S):

Inglis Drever with groom Ginnie Wright after victory in the 2008 World Hurdle at Cheltenham