Henrietta Knight has announced her retirement, the three-times Gold Cup-winning trainer said on her website.

Check out our tips from today's horse races across Ireland and the UK.

Check out our tips from today's horse races across Ireland and the UK.

SO there we were sipping coffee in the Burlington Hotel lobby yesterday, waiting for the Springbok press conference to start. Wondering if we had the hotel right.

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party claimed an early lead today in elections, including in some of President Robert Mugabe rural strongholds – an apparent effort to thwart any government attempt to skew the results.

Reading manager Steve Coppell will ring the changes for tomorrow night’s Carling Cup trip to Swansea.

DANDY Man can prove he’s the best sprinter in the country by landing the Listed Woodlands Stakes at Naas this afternoon.

JOHN KIELY’S G’Day Mate is fancied to get the weekend off to the perfect start by landing the opening Winter Festival 2006 Maiden Hurdle at Fairyhouse this afternoon.

Reverence showed plenty of guts to return to winning ways with victory in the betfair.com Temple Stakes at Sandown.

War Of Attrition has earned an official rating of 170 with his impressive victory in last Friday’s totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The ashes of triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate were laid to rest today in a ceremony at the scene of his greatest triumphs.

BEST MATE’S ashes will be laid to rest behind the winning post at Cheltenham prior to racing there on Saturday week.

Jim Lewis has chosen to have Best Mate’s ashes laid to rest at the scene of his three victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Red Blazer, one of Henrietta Knight’s favourite horses, will fill the box left empty by Best Mate at her West Lockinge stables.

Triple Gold Cup winner Best Mate has been prevented from being buried at Exeter racecourse “because of government legislation” and he will be cremated instead.

Triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate is likely to be remembered at the scene of his greatest triumphs in the form of a statue.

Best Mate’s much-anticipated racecourse return saw him pulled up in the William Hill Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter.

ALEX FERGUSON admitted Gary Neville’s five-week absence from the Manchester United line-up will be a big loss to the Old Trafford outfit.

Debrecen: Csernyanszki, Eger, Mate, Vukmir, Sandor, Dombi, Kiss, Boor, Halmosi, Bogdanovic, Kerekes. Subs: Tomic, Szatmari, Komlosi, Madar, Brnovic, Sidibe, Bernath.

Manchester United 3 Debrecen 0

JIM CULLOTY, the man who partnered Best Mate to successive Cheltenham Gold Cup triumphs in 2002, 2003 and 2004, has announced his retirement from the saddle.

Imperial Stride continued his climb up the middle-distance ranks with an emphatic success in the Daily Record Scottish Derby at Ayr today.

JIM CULLOTY will not ride as stable jockey to Henrietta Knight next season although he will continue his partnership with triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate.

Jim Culloty will not ride as stable jockey to Henrietta Knight next season although he will continue his partnership with triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate.

Henrietta Knight reports that triple Gold Cup winner Best Mate has recovered from a bout of coughing and will soon be ready to knuckle down to his preparation for Cheltenham in March.

Best Mate continues on the road to recovery after what was a Christmas to forget for the triple Cheltenham Gold Cup hero.

TAKE a chance on Beef Or Salmon creating a minor surprise by beating mighty Best Mate in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown this afternoon.

Best Mate is reported to be in top form ahead of his scheduled run in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown on Tuesday week.

Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Sir Rembrandt will face six rivals in tomorrow’s Tommy Whittle Chase as he continues his build-up to another crack at chasing’s blue riband event next March.

BARACOUDA will face no more than nine rivals when making his seasonal reappearance in the Ballymore Properties Long Distance Hurdle Race at Newbury on Saturday.

Best Mate embarked on a campaign leading to a possible fourth Cheltenham Gold Cup victory next March with a dramatic triumph at Exeter yesterday.

Best Mate pipped Seebald in a thrilling finish to the William Hill Chase at Exeter today.

TIMMY MURPHY is keeping his cool ahead of the big ride on triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate at Exeter today.

Jim Culloty looks like missing Best Mate’s seasonal reappearance after breaking a bone in his thumb in a fall at Exeter.

With the race for the Flat jockeys’ championship all over bar the shouting, punters turned their attentions to the winter game with a vengeance yesterday.

BEST MATE is likely to be defending his Ericsson Chase crown at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day when trainer Henrietta Knight and owner Jim Lewis attempt to win the King George VI Chase for the third year running.

The most valuable event of the Punchestown Festival, the Punchestown Heineken Gold Cup, takes place today.

CHELTENHAM last week showed us how real bookmakers, those who use their own money, behave.

Best Mate’s trainer, Henrietta Knight, and owner, Jim Lewis, are set to meet on Thursday to map out next season’s campaign for the triple totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup winner.

BEST MATE failed to produce “the same quality of performance” when recording his third successive victory in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, according to British Horseracing Board handicapper Phil Smith.

Best Mate thrilled his most dedicated band of supporters with another starring performance as he appeared in front of the crowds at Henrietta Knight’s West Lockinge stables in Oxfordshire this morning.

Best Mate is a top-priced 9-4 with Coral to land a fourth tote sport Cheltenham Gold Cup after emulating the mighty Arkle with a third victory in the great race yesterday.

IT is two minutes after 2.30pm when Jacqui Jenner leads Best Mate into the pre-parade ring.

Best Mate is one of a team of eight pencilled in for the Cheltenham Festival by trainer Henrietta Knight – one of which is the champion’s year-younger brother Inca Trail.