UK Horse Racing Tips

Introduction

If ever a name for a racehorse was more appropriate, we’ve yet to see it. Best Mate was an Irish-bred racehorse that went on to be one of the most impressive horses of its generation. With three wins at the Cheltenham Golf Cup, it’s a horse that holds a near-royal presence in the industry. Indeed, the horse was so beloved that at the time of its passing it got front page treatment!

Racking up an incredible 14 wins across 22 races, it claimed an armada of trophy wins to mark one of the most impressive careers in horse racing history.

Career Summary

Owned by Jim Lewis and trained by the brilliant Henrietta Knight, Best Mate roared onto the scene with a hat-trick of wins at the Cheltenham Golf Cup from 2002-2004. Jim Culloty was the jockey at the time, and in doing so matched the incredible record of Arkle. It also followed this up with wins at tournaments such as the King George VI Chase and the Ericsson Chase.

Achievements & Highlights

Incredibly, Best Mate treated its jockey like a best friend would – it never let them down. By never falling at a fence or a hurdle, it came 1^st in 14 of its races and 2^nd in 7 of them! In fact, the last race the horse ran in was the only that it pulled up in – and this came shortly before its highly publicized and tragic death.

It died on 1^st November, 2005, when it died of a heart attack after jockey Paul Carberry pulled it up at the Haddon Gold Cup. It was posthumously added to the Cheltenham Hall of Fame alongside Desert Orchid.

Wins – Mersey Novices’ Hurdle (2000), November Novices’ Chase (2000), Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase (2001), Haldon Gold Cup (2001), Cheltenham Gold Cup (2002, 2003, 2004), Peterborough Chase (2002), King George VI Chase (2002), Ericsson Chase (2003)

Associations – Jim Lewis, Jim Culloty and Henrietta Knight.

Earnings – Over £1m.

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