‘Fresh as paint’ Best Mate basks in adulation

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 yesterday morning.

Only hours after landing the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup for the third time, he was strutting his stuff for the cameras in front of the media and a crowd of well-wishers who braved heavy rain and a howling gale to see their hero.

And if the strain of holding off the challenges of Sir Rembrandt and Harbour Pilot up the Cheltenham hill had been felt by the nine-year-old, it certainly wasn't showing.