His one mission was to win Cheltenham Gold Cups - and he did

Festival Legends: Best Mate

Racecourse statues are hard-earned, not given away in cereal packets. They go to the exalted likes of Desert Orchid (four King Georges), Kauto Star (five King Georges) and three-time Grand National-winning legend Red Rum, which is as it should be.

At Cheltenham, they go to Golden Miller (five Gold Cups), Arkle (three) and Dawn Run (only one, but what a Gold Cup it was – not forgetting her Champion Hurdle, of course), and alongside them, in no way out of place in such glittering company, stands Best Mate, who has an enclosure named after him to boot, in case any festival racegoer should need reminding that it might be nice to raise a glass to the old boy, for posterity's sake.

Best Mate was a three-time Gold Cup winner. Between 2002 and 2004 he proved himself the best staying chaser in the land, picking up a King George along the way, but sometimes the feeling persists that he hasn't quite been afforded the adulation he deserves.