Top Stayers Go Head-To-Head

Champion staying hurdler Inglis Drever and Baracouda, the horse he dethroned, clash in a fascinating contest at Newbury on Saturday.

The top two in their division are among six horses declared for the Ballymore Properties Long Distance Hurdle over an extended three miles.

Inglis Drever took the stayers´ crown at last season´s Cheltenham Festival when beating Baracouda by three lengths in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.

Baracouda had won the race when it was known as the Bonusprint Stayers´ Hurdle in 2002 and 2003 and was second to Iris´s Gift the following year.

The 10-year-old, trained in France by Francois Doumen, has not raced since the Festival but has won the Newbury race for the last two years.

Inglis Drever is fit from an impressive reappearance in the John Smith´s Hurdle at Wetherby four weeks ago, but Baracouda´s connections are not worried on that score.

'Baracouda usually runs well fresh. He´s won the race before and the ground should be fine for him,' said Frank Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus.

'Francois is very happy with our fellow and we´re hoping for a big run.'

However, Berry is fully aware of the threat posed by the Howard Johnson-trained star.

'Inglis Drever is the one to beat. He beat Baracouda well enough at Cheltenham,' he added.

Inglis Drever´s owner Graham Wylie was delighted with the horse´s Wetherby success.

'The way he won at Wetherby, he travelled well, got into a nice rhythm, jumped well and in the end came clear and stayed on, so that was nice,' he told Tyne Tees Television.

'We go down there hopeful but not expectant and let´s see how he gets on.'

Jockey Graham Lee could have gone to Newcastle instead to ride Wylie and Johnson´s horses but had no problem plumping for Newbury.

'This happened last year when he ran in the Fighting Fifth and Lord Transcend ran in the Hennessy. I didn´t desert him then and Dobbs (Tony Dobbin) went and rode Lord Transcend in the Hennessy,' he told Racing UK.

'The Drever has won a World Hurdle so I´m definitely not going to desert him now.

'He´s fine. He´s so uncomplicated. If they didn´t go quick enough or whatever, he would probably hit a flat spot but you know fine well he will come through it. We will see what happens.'

Wetherby fourth Crystal D´Ainay, who ran Baracouda to three-quarters of a length in the Long Distance Hurdle 12 months ago, reopposes for Alan King.

Martin Pipe saddles Korelo and Mr Cool with Ferdy Murphy´s Carlys Quest completing the line-up.

? PA Sport