McCoy thrilled with his Best Mate
"I'd marry him if I could," gushed the champion jockey as he returned to the winner's enclosure on a horse with a developing fan club.
The 11-8 favourite will now return to Cheltenham next March to attempt back-to-back wins in the Tote Gold Cup, for which he is a best-priced 5-2 with Coral. But in a race of changing fortunes, Best Mate's supporters experienced plenty of palpitations on their way to the pay-out queue.
Travelling and jumping supremely, Best Mate and McCoy hit the front at the fifth-last fence but were joined at the next by last year's winner Florida Pearl and, suddenly, the champion had to ask his mount for an effort.
However, as Florida Pearl and Native Upmanship faded in the testing conditions, it was Marlborough and Bacchanal Nicky Henderson's two challengers for the race who emerged to do battle.
Approaching the final fence, it seemed possible that either could get there but a slightly sticky jump by Marlborough gave the advantage back to Best Mate, who stayed on doggedly to win by one and a half lengths.
These were a further four lengths back to early front-runner Bacchanal, with the trio a long way clear of Florida Pearl.
Winning trainer Henrietta Knight, who admits that she finds the pressure of the big occasion hard to handle, opted instead to saddle Edredon Bleu to victory at Wincanton, but her husband Terry Biddlecombe was over the moon to be present to see Best Mate go one place better than he had achieved in the race 12 months back.
"It was a messy race and Tony said that he didn't want to go to the front too soon but the horse just took him there as he was going so well," Biddlecombe said.
"You've got to remember that this was just his sixth or seventh race over fences. He is a young horse and on a little bit better ground he might be even better. He kept jumping his way there and Tony said he didn't want to disappoint him."
Though stable jockey Jim Culloty was forced to miss the ride through suspension, Biddlecombe emphasised the yard's number one man would be back in the saddle for the Gold Cup.
For McCoy, it was the sort of red-letter day his followers have started to expect, rather than be surprised by.
Along with Needwood Lion and the impressive Lord Sam, Best Mate's success was the middle leg of a 16-1 treble that saw him move on to the 202-winner mark for the season, with Lord Sam's win breaking McCoy's own best for the fastest-ever double century of winners. Bookmakers Paddy Power offer even-money he will reach 300 by the end of the campaign.
Florida Pearl's Willie Mullins blamed the underfoot conditions for the failure of his charge to run up to his best: "He was there or thereabouts from the fourth-last. But when he couldn't take the lead coming round the last bend I knew the game was up. With the preparation we have had, I am pleased enough with the run. Hopefully, he will improve over the rest of the season on better ground."
