'Many people warmed their hands by his fire' - Sir Mark Prescott pays tribute to Neville Callaghan at his funeral

Frankie Dettori and Sir Mark Prescott were among more than 150 mourners to pay their respects at the funeral of Group 1-winning trainer Neville Callaghan in Newmarket on Thursday afternoon.

Callaghan, who trained more than 800 winners on the Flat and nearly 100 over jumps,  died on December 2 after a long battle with illness at the age of 77.

Others in attendance at the Church of Our Lady Immaculate & St Etheldreda included current or former trainers Luca Cumani, Peter Chapple-Hyam, David Elsworth, James Toller, Paul d’Arcy, Ben Hanbury, Bill O’Gorman and George Scott.

Frankie Dettori at the funeral of Neville Callaghan with Jennie Callaghan and Don Cantillon (left)

Callaghan enjoyed much success for Coolmore over the years including with Danehill Dancer, who landed a Group 1 double in 1995, and the operation was represented by Paul Shanahan and Kevin Buckley. Other owners paying their respects included Jack and Lynda Ramsden, while those in attendance from the weighing room included Jamie Spencer and Richard Hills.

The service was taken by Deacon John Morrill and featured music including The Parting Glass by Sinead O'Connor and My Way by Frank Sinatra. A poem, Death Is Nothing At All, was read by bloodstock agent Mark McStay.

The eulogy was delivered by Prescott, who said: "The best way to sum up Neville for all of us is that many people warmed their hands by Neville Callaghan's fire and if a few got their fingers burnt, so what?"

Prescott recounted the tale of a shared trip to Windsor. "We all received plenty of Neville rockets over the years but once you got past the storm it was always worth it. I drove him to Windsor one night where a horse was running who was owned by a particularly difficult owner who went over every bill with a fine toothcomb and Neville said this was make or break.

Luca Cumani arrives at the Catholic Church

"Kipper Lynch was riding the horse who was drawn close to the rail but he was told to wait in behind as, according to Neville, they always come off the rail at Windsor. Of course, Kipper waited and waited but they didn't come off the rail and he finished fourth.

"Afterwards, there was a long post-mortem which is never good in racing and it is usually the case the longer the chat, the worse the result. I would have advised the owner to stop there but he didn't and kept talking.

"All of a sudden, Neville lurched forward and said, 'You can take all of your horses away and what's more you don't even have to pay the month's training fees. That's because I've done you for so much over the past three years that you can have the £1,500!'"

Callaghan is survived by his widow Jennie, son Simon and daughter Camilla. Any donations can be sent to Racing Welfare and Parkinsons UK.