Gold Cup Champion Best Mate set to Return

TRIPLE Gold Cup champion Best Mate is set to return and this is almost with us as he is heading to Haydock Park the gelding will be a star of the show in the first running of the £150,000 Betfair Lancashire Chase on November 19, part of the new North West Masters fixture that takes in Aintree's Becher Chase the following day.

And it means he could clash with this year's Cheltenham winner Kicking King.But first Henrietta Knight's 10-year-old will contest the William Hill Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter on November 1.

Knight has nominated the 2m 1f contest as the perfect starting point for Best Mate, even though it means him dropping back to a trip he hasn't made in four years.The horse took centre stage at Knight's owners' day at West Lockinge Farm, where she recalled the setback which prevented the gelding from trying to extend his sequence of victories in chasing's blue riband to four last March.She said: "He looks as well as ever and we are very optimistic his troubles are behind him."We had that one nasty incident when he broke a blood vessel on the gallops just before the Festival but on reflection I think he came back from Leopardstown a sick horse and never really picked up from that."

Best Mate only ran twice last season, winning at Exeter before disappointing when second behind Beef Or Salmon in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown.He has not been seen since that run in Ireland last December.Knight added: "When we go to Exeter we will have some idea where we stand. He loves the course and is a previous winner of the Haldon Gold Cup."

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