Alan King pays tribute following death of festival-winning owner Tim Leadbeater

Trainer Alan King has fondly remembered Tim Leadbeater, the Cheltenham Festival-winning owner and director of digger maker JCB who died at the age of 78 last month.

Leadbeater, who passed away peacefully in Devon while on holiday, had his first runner in the 1970s and enjoyed notable success with jockey-turned-trainer Jim Wilson, who died on Monday.

Their festival victory came courtesy of Taberna Lord in the 1987 Coral Golden Hurdle Final (now Pertemps Final) under Luke Harvey and Glenbrook D'Or's victory in the 1994 Midlands National at Uttoxeter, in the county of his birth, was also particularly memorable.

Leadbeater joined Staffordshire-based JCB, the long-standing sponsor of the Triumph Hurdle, in 1975 and, although he officially retired in 2006, he continued to work for the company as an adviser.

He also had horses with King, the most successful being West End Rocker, who won the Becher Chase at Aintree and Classic Chase at Warwick in 2011.

"He's been a very good owner and great friend over the years," said King. "He was a thorough gentleman and it's terribly sad. It was a total shock as I'd only spoken to him a few days before.

"He and Barry Winfield had a lot of fun with West End Rocker and, win or lose, he was never much different. He didn't get on the great highs but equally if something got beat, as long as the horse and jockey were all right, there was always another day."

Leadbeater leaves his widow Kathryn and stepchildren Tom, Laura, and Olivia.

A service of thanksgiving is being planned for November 11 at 12.30pm at Lichfield Cathedral. Anyone wishing to attend is asked to contact Jill Wraight at jill.wraight@jcb.com.