Inglis Drever heads for the line.

By

Inglis Drever staked his claim for top honours at the Cheltenham Festival with a convincing victory in the Commhoist Logistics Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock Park on Saturday.

Howard Johnson's six-year-old was held up in the early stages by Graham Lee before making good headway to move into contention off the final bend.

The 4-5 favourite, who at one stage appeared to be struggling, responded well to Lee's urgings.

Once in top gear, he collared long-time leader Mister McGoldrick on the run-in and stayed on strongly in the very testing ground to win going away by eight lengths.

The French Furze was another 10 lengths back in third.

"The ground was desperate but once he got going he's done it well," said Johnson. "He's proved a point, that he's got so much natural ability.

"If he does go to Cheltenham he wants it on the easier side of good - he doesn't want heavy.

"Sir Mark Prescott (his previous trainer) always said you get good to soft ground and he'll be all right but don't run him if it's heavy. But I took a chance.

"Sir Mark is a good judge but I'm not a bad judge either and I took a chance because there are no more races for him until Liverpool and Cheltenham.

"But he wouldn't run in the Champion Hurdle if it was good ground - he'd want good to soft ground."

Inglis Drever has a choice of Festival engagements, being entered for both the Smurfit Champion Hurdle, for which he is 20-1 with William Hill, and the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.

When asked which would be Inglis Drever's Festival target, Johnson said: "We'll have to see how Royal Rosa runs next weekend in the Cleeve. He's my big gun but we've just been held up with him.

"Inglis Drever will not run before March and will be a better horse in the spring."

Lee added: "No horse wants that sort of ground but he's tough and a lot of horses would have shirked at that as I asked him some way out."

Following his win, Inglis Drever is joint-top with Azertyuiop on 43 points in the British Horseracing Board's Order of Merit series.

Sue Smith was "thrilled" with Mister McGoldrick's run and she said she was considering a possible tilt at the Game Spirit Chase with the eight-year-old, who had won the Castleford Chase on his previous start.

Nicky Richards, who trains The French Furze, said: "He's run another good race but the penalty he got for winning the "Fighting Fifth" is holding him back."

Royal Shakespeare, who had been expected to be Inglis Drever's main rival, was fourth on his first run since recovering from illness and he "just hated the ground" according to his jockey Tom Doyle.

His trainer, Steve Gollings, agreed and reported that Royal Shakespeare "was unsuited by the ground".