Horse

Best Mate - Famous Horse

This article will look at the illustrious yet short career of Best Mate, thought of by many horse racing experts including myself, as possibly the best horse to ever jump over fences.

As there is just so much to include in this article, I have split it into two parts for ease of reading.

Best Mate - A Very Special Horse Indeed

I don't know if you've noticed, but words like 'special', 'great', 'class' and 'legend' tend to be overused in sporting circles these days.

With Best Mate however, they all apply... in abundance.

Before I talk about his career, his achievements and the factors that made him great as a racehorse, I'd like to just give my own personal views first, as this truly was a special horse to me.

Best Mate - 1995 to 2005

And it is with a lump in my throat that I use the word 'was', because unfortunately for his owners, his trainers and stable hands, the jockeys that rode him, the racing public and me, Best Mate is no longer with us.

Best Mate was born on 28 January 1995 to his Sire (father) - Un Desperado and his Dam (mother) - Katday. This in itself makes him special to me as he shares his birthday with my son, who was also born on 28 January.

He was a beautiful, majestic bay gelding who really had a lot of character about him, and whenever I saw him at the racecourse he always seemed to be enjoying himself.

He also brought me a lot of luck at the course, winning for me on more than one occasion. Best Mate seemed to have a certain style, and certain elegance about how he did things too, and he stood out amongst his fellow horses.

Best Mate's Career

His record is one to admire and shows just how classy a horse the Jim Lewis owned gelding was. The first statistic that stands out is his three consecutive victories in the challenging and gruelling Cheltenham Gold Cup.

To win this great once is no mean feat, but to win it three times, and consecutively (2002, 2003 and 2004) is quite remarkable and has only ever been done once before, by the great horse Arkle.

In all of his races, Best Mate was never out of the first two places. This is an amazing statistic and outlines the standard that the he set. Trainer Henrietta Knight is understandably very proud of his career and she should be.

In all, he won 14 out of his 22 starts and came second in seven. His impressive 14 victories are listed below:

• Martell Mersey Novice Hurdle, April 2000
• Independent Novice Chase, November 2000
• Scilly Isles Novice Chase, February 2001
• Peterborough Chase, November 2001
• Cheltenham Gold Cup, March 2002
• Peterborough Chase, November 2002
• King George VI Gold Cup, December 2002
• Cheltenham Gold Cup, March 2003
• Ericsson Chase, December 2003
• Cheltenham Gold Cup, March 2004
• William Hill Chase, November 2004

You will no doubt have noticed, that I mentioned that he'd never finished outside of the top two in any race, yet 14 victories and seven second place finishes equals 21 and not 22 right?

Well, the reason for this will be explained in Part Two of this article as will the remainder of the story about every horse racing fan's mate, Best Mate.

About Author:
Cliff Thurston is the owner of Grosvenor Racing Club, which provides horse racing tips to its members. You can also read his renowned horse racing blog for up to date views and news. Cliff has also interviewed several high profile racing experts and these can be accessed via his sites.Please visit http://www.grosvenor-racing-club.co.uk