In light of the brilliant "Makybe Diva" winning a 3rd Melbourne Cup, a truly superb achievement, our own "hero" 3 times Cheltenham Gold Cup winner "best Mate" has died.  He was running for the first time this season and seemed to be cruising when he appeared to slow, Jockey Paul Carberry pulled him up and he died moments later from a suspected heart attack.  The course was silent, it was a horrible turn of events, truly a remarkable racehorse.
Dawn.

That's so sad - he was only 10 - at his peak :(  I know Henrietta Knight (his trainer) adored him, they will be devestated :(

Oh gods no.  :) I was at cheltenham the day he won his third gold cup.  A truly spectacular horse.  Henrietta Knight must be totally distraught.  My heart goes out to all involved.

How sad :( He was a lovely horse :)

Lucy
xx

Goodbye Best Mate :(  His connections must be broken hearted.  We've shed some tears here - we got married in Cheltenham and went to the November meeting for our "honeymoon" :)  The following year we went back for our first anniversay and saw him running in the Bumper - he was something special and we followed him from then on, cheering him on as he achieved greatness.  At least he went doing what he excelled at and that it was quick. 

Lesley

Very sad - poor boy :(

I saw the photographs in this morning's paper and felt so sad for everyone involved.  Apparently the vet tried to massage his heart to bring him back but it was not to be.

my friends lost their horse percy at the same meet at exeter yesterday with a broken leg. Equally distressing for them :(

My heart goes out to Percy's people too Sam. I guess his death was eclipsed by that of Best Mate, but, as you say, just as distressing for his connections :( 

Lesley

Sorry to hear about Percy, Sam.  As you say, equally distressing for those who knew him.

deleted

Sorry for the loss of your friends horse Sam....my heart goes out to them.
The loss of any animal is a tragedy but when the animal such as Best Mate who has touched so many dies it is a huge loss,not only to the owners etc but also to the public and to the sport.The only good is that he would have felt no pain.
I did however find the photos of him in his final seconds and the photos of him lying prone very distateful and un neccessary....surely a photo of him doing what we all want to remember him for would have been much more fitting
Archer

archer - I agree.  The photos I saw of him had me in tears.  Much better to have used photos reminding the public of his great achievements in life and not of him down and dying.  :-(  :-(

hello, i agree that the photos were distasteful. if it had been a person would they have been shown then?
on a lighter note, have  i found a niche of people who like horse racing? i hope so as horse racing is my favourite thing alongside dogs!
to any racing people out there the question i must ask is ........flat or jumps?   its flat all the way with me but i can talk jumps too! i have to go home now, (i'm at work) but my phone line is not working at home so i won't be able to reply til tomorrow afternoon

from helen ridgeback lover!

At least the photos showed that he was being cared for when he died - it meant that certain groups couldn't try to use his demise in a 'famous horse flogged while dying' publicity nonsense.

National hunt racing for me. :)

Flat all the way for me :)

jumps all the way!!!  I worked for years in a NH yard and I really miss it.

I'm in complete agreement.  I went into the newsagents to buy the Racing Post to read his tributes and the first thing I saw was the front of the Daily Telegraph which had a big picture of him lying dying.  Most upsetting and completely unnecessary - there are so many pictures of him in triumph, or of him in his stable, or running in his paddock, why make the last public images of him those showing him in his death throes?

Lesley

Hi Helen,

NH is my favourite, but my hubby favours the flat more :)  We each watch the other though!

Lesley

PS  That's a good point JG - I never thought of it that way.  I'd still rather not seen him that way though :(

Flat Racing for me though happy to watch any :-)

hi all, glad to see so many of you all enjoy racing! which NH yard did you work on surannon? both me and my boyfriend prefer flat but he's not interested in jumps even though he spent 15 years working on a top NH stud! now much happer on a flat one! personally i'd rather watch high class jumps than low grade, banded flat. does anyone have any tips for the gold cup now? is it too early for the classics next year? i think so, can't think of the names of many in the betting so no go from me!

i love to talk about racing especially breeding and i hope someone else does too.

helen

is anyone there?

It was a yard in somerset - Brian Williams - back in 1979/80/81.  I was head lad there and loved every minute of it.  In those days you could school round Taunton racecourse on non-race days and I have vivid memories of thinking "oh holy *&!!£$* - the next jump's the open ditch!!!" :D

Yep, heres a tip, "Kicking King" he will be a star!

I personally prefer to GO to watch jump racing, but flat racing is the one I prefer overall.
Dawn.

His trainers tribute here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2005/11/04/shknig04.xml&sSheet=/sport/2005/11/04/ixsport.html (link won't work - you'll have to copy & paste)

His popularity and fame knew no bounds. In five years he had won over the hearts of millions, but "the love of horses knows not its own depth till the hour of separation" (Anon), and "where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride, friendship without envy or beauty without vanity?" (R Duncan).

Best Mate's end will haunt me for the rest of my life, but there is no answer to the question: "How do you ever thank a horse?" He was unique and the memories will live for ever. May he rest in peace.

So sad :( RIP

Iam very sorry to hear that :( That is so sad, thinking of everyone