"Best Mate"

by Graham Isom

Limited Edition of 495

Image 15 x 22 in Paper 20 x 26 in

After the cancellation of the Gold Cup in 2001 in response to the Foot and Mouth crisis, the field in 2002 was the biggest for 20 years. Two previous Gold Cup winners were running, Looks Like Trouble from 2000 and See More Business from 1999. Both ran strong races in 2002 but it was the 7-1 shot, Best Mate, who hugged the rail and jumped into the lead at the second last. Under Jim Culloty, the seven year old then strode powerfully up the Cheltenham hill to victory, almost two lengths ahead of Commanche Court and See More Business. Trained by Henrietta Knight, Best Mate was found by the trainer and her husband, ex-jockey Terry Biddlecombe, running in an Irish point-to-point. Normally too nervous to watch her runners race, Henrietta Knight made a special exception to see Best Mate's triumph and declared in the winners' enclosure: "He's poetry in motion".

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