Mate team ponder jockey options

Report: Culloty retires Best Mate: Story of a champion

Trainer Henrietta Knight has said she is in no hurry to find a replacement jockey for Best Mate after the shock retirement of Jim Culloty.

The Irish rider, who partnered the horse to three successive Cheltenham Gold Cup wins, is quitting for health reasons after a number of falls.

It leaves the plum ride on the triple champion available.

But Knight said: "There will be no rush to name a replacement. I shall have to talk at length to (owner) Jim Lewis."

Culloty has ridden Best Mate on 18 of his 21 appearances, and only missed out when he was injured or suspended.

Nine-times champion jockey Tony McCoy was on board when the horse was runner-up in the 2001 King George VI Chase and won the race a year later.

I was very surprised that Timmy Murphy was mentioned as a possible replacement for Culloty From M Have your say on Five Live

Timmy Murphy rode Best Mate when he just held off Seebald in his 2004-05 seasonal reapperance in the William Hill Chase at Exeter.

Lewis said: "I have no idea about Best Mate's future. Jim suited the horse down to the ground because he is such a quiet rider, but then again anyone could ride Best Mate."

However, Knight questioned McCoy's riding of Best Mate in her autobiography.

McCoy is also retained by millionaire Irish owner JP McManus, while Murphy is stable jockey for champion trainer Martin Pipe.

Lewis told the Racing Post: "It is too early to decide who will ride and, of course, it is always a question of who is available.

"Jim, as far as I'm concerned, was the top jockey, and you have got guys like Tony McCoy and Timmy Murphy and Richard Johnson.

"They all have their allegiance to other people, so I think we'll just have to wait and see what we can take on the day."

Nobody else apart from Jim has ridden Best Mate around Cheltenham Trainer Henrietta Knight

After his narrow win at Exeter, Best Mate suffered a surprise defeat by Beef or Salmon in Ireland over the Christmas period.

And hopes of winning a historic fourth Gold Cup were dashed when he burst a blood vessel on the gallops just a week before the big Cheltenham race.

Last season's events have prompted detractors to question whether the horse retains his old ability, and could be a match for the 2005 champion Kicking King.

But Knight told Five Live that although Best Mate would miss Culloty, he is on the road to full fitness.

"At the moment, he looks magnificent. He's being ridden and looks as good as ever," she said.