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Wednesday, 02 November 2005 |
Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate dies
Triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate collapsed and died after
his run in Tuesday's William Hill Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter. The
much-loved horse, trained by Henrietta Knight seemed to be in some
distress after being pulled up by jockey Paul Carberry and as he was
being brought back to the course stables, he collapsed with a suspected
heart attack and died.
"He died doing what he enjoyed doing - and that was racing," said Henrietta Knight.
Best Mate, who won the 2002, 2003 and 2004 Cheltenham Gold Cups had
been ruled out of the 2005 race after suffering a burst blood vessel
and the Exeter race marked his return to the race track.
Under the guidance of Paul Carberry for the first time after the
retirement of Jim Culloty, he had been well-placed behind leader Ashley
Brook early on but Carberry started to nudge the Jim Lewis-owned
10-year-old on as the leaders moved clear, and he pulled the horse up.
The race was won by 10-1 chance Monkerhostin.
Trainer Henrietta Knight arrived quickly after Best Mate collapsed.
"I was actually on the track where he came down and I was the first one there. I knew immediately he had died," she said.
"As I saw him go down I knew I was seeing a dead horse and I just wanted it to be over as quickly as possible.
"I have ridden a horse before who suffered a heart attack while I was
on board and I have to say this looks reminiscent of that. The legs go,
they wobble and then they go down.
"It hasn't sunk in yet but I am honoured to have had a wonderful horse like him to train and he really put my yard on the map."
Henrietta Knight's husband Terry Biddlecombe added: "Paul is a good
jockey and he knew something was wrong. The only consolation is it was
pretty instantaneous and he wouldn't have felt any pain."
Owner Jim Lewis said that Best Mate, who was the first horse since
Arkle in the 1960s to win the Gold Cup three times, was a pleasure to
own and would never be forgotten.
"He was a great racehorse - there can have been very few in the world like him," he said.
"He helped us raise thousands of pounds for charity and he made a lot of difference to many people's lives."
Jim Lewis also confirmed that Best Mate would be buried in Exeter, where he had won his first chase in 2000.
Jockey Jim Culloty, who had partnered the horse in 18 of his 22 races
said: "The fact he was as good as he was, as honest as he was, and as
consistent as he was, was why the public came to love him and
deservedly so.
"Having a name like Best Mate helped too and he certainly put me on the map.
"I gave up riding a few months ago and my one regret was that I wasn't going to be able to ride Best Mate any more.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 November 2005 )
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