A year on from one fo the saddest days in racing

Trainer Henrietta Knight saddles two of the nine runners in the William Hill Gold Cup on what is set to be an emotional day at Exeter tomorrow.
Knight's three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate died after suffering a heart attack in the race last year.

Best Mate began his chasing career at Exeter in 2000 and won the race, then known as the Haldon Gold Cup, in 2001.

He became a household name after becoming the first horse since Arkle to win three consecutive Gold Cups.

Until his final race, he had not finished out of the first two in any of his 21 starts.

Knight has an excellent record in Exeter's 2m 1f race, having also won it with Edredon Bleu in 2002 and 2003.

Like Best Mate, Edredon Bleu was owned by Jim Lewis and his famous claret and blue colours will be carried by Impek in the 2006 running.

For all tonight's top Getminted Racing tips please click on read more.....



Snow Witch - 8:48 - 24/1

Lofty odds here for a horse who won her last level weight race on Muddy going! In identical conditions tonight the bookies are writing her off. Fair enough that win did come in a small field of 5 but still a wins a win and Snow Witch has recorded 32 of them in a 156 race career. Owned by Abaddon the 5 year old fillie has earned £1,133 in her career and if she runs well tonight could well pick up a placed finish.

Drastic Measure - 9:12 - 20/1

Have the bookies been at the drink's cabinet!?? 20/1 seems a very attractive price for such a contender and all going well he should challenge tonight. Now there is some concern in that the 2 year old colt from the patching22 stable hasn't raced since the 8th of October. However when last out Drastic measure won in the USA over 2 miles. With 5 wins and 10 placed finishes in 23 races he looks a handy horse and is a good each way punt in this race.

Aficionado - 9:24 - 13/1

In arguably the best race of the evening Muggins racing's Aficionado will be hoping to continue where he left off in his last race. Last wednesday in the UK the 2 year old colt ran a superb race all be it in a small field to pick up his third win for the yard. Total stats for the grey horse read 15 races, 3 wins and 5 placed finishes. With form well and truly back this boy should do okay tonight. A placed finish is highly possible.