Best Mate no world-beater in ratings
Best Mate has been officially crowned top chaser for the first time in the Anglo-Irish National Hunt Classifications – but the handicappers do not regard him as an exceptional champion.
The Henrietta Knight-trained gelding retained his Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup crown with a bloodless victory in March to spark a flurry of eulogies.
It has earned him an official rating of 175, which is 5lb higher than the mark of 170 he was awarded for his win in the race last year.
However, even a mark of 175 is 1lb lower than First Gold was given two seasons ago and is certainly not as high as many racing followers will have expected after his authoritative success in chasing’s blue riband.
Last season Best Mate was not even top-rated, that accolade going to Florida Pearl on 171.
Phil Smith, the British Horseracing Board’s senior jumps handicapper, said he hoped Best Mate’s rating could improve again next year if horses such as First Gold, Beef Or Salmon or One Knight were to push him even harder.
“After the race (the Gold Cup) people were talking about figures in the 180s but I couldn’t have that,” Smith said.
“A mark of 175 isn’t the limit of his ability, it’s what we think he has achieved on the racecourse.
“It is impossible to get him higher than 175. He had run consistently to about 169 or 170 on his last eight or nine starts and there was a temptation to keep him there.
“Even to get him on to 175 we had to give the runner-up and third, Truckers Tavern and Harbour Pilot, a substantial raise.
“But you have to give credit for the way he won the Gold Cup. He is just an incredibly consistent horse who has never run a bad race over fences – even when he has been beaten he runs to the same high level.
“Henrietta Knight has done a tremendous job at getting him ready for his races. He is trained to get the very best out of him.
“I would love to see a Gold Cup where he is taking on three or four top-quality chasers rated in the high 160s and see what he can do to them.”
Over hurdles, Rooster Booster and Baracouda both earned marks of 170 to become champions over their respective distances.
Having ended last season on 151, Rooster Booster improved no less than 19lb during the course of the campaign, a remarkable feat for a nine-year-old.
Despite his 11-length win in the Smurfit Champion Hurdle, Rooster Booster is still 16lb below the contentious rating given to Istabraq in 2000.
Hurdles handicapper Phil Judge said: “Rooster Booster could have been rated higher but it was impossible to get Westender (second in the Champion Hurdle) any higher than 157, and 170 still makes Rooster Booster an above-average winner of the Champion Hurdle.”
