Aintree proves too great a hurdle for Drever - Sport - Evening Standard
       

Aintree proves too great a hurdle for Drever

Triple World Hurdle winner Inglis Drever will never run again at Aintree after suffering his fourth successive defeat at the track.

Howard Johnson's stable star never looked happy in the John Smith's Liverpool Hurdle on Thursday and battled on from a hopeless position to take third behind Blazing Bailey and Faasel.

Johnson said: "If we do decide to bring him back next season, he'll only have three runs and be retired after the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham. He'll go to Newbury, the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham and then the World Hurdle."

Blazing Bailey, trained by Alan King and ridden by Robert Thornton, will probably go to the Punchestown Festival later this month.

On a bad day for punters when Inglis Drever joined Kauto Star and Franchoek as beaten favourites and 50-1 shot Auroras Encore won the last, Binocular supplied one of the classiest performances.

Nicky Henderson's gelding received an 8-1 quote for next year's Champion Hurdle after taking the John Smith's 250th Anniversary Novices' Hurdle by seven lengths.

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