KNIGHT VISION
Gold Cup-winning trainer sets sights on more glory with her jumps graduates
IT might be nearly eight years since Henrietta Knight retired — but she’s never been so busy.
Her name will forever be associated with Cheltenham largely thanks to the exploits of threetimes Gold Cup hero Best Mate and she is still involved in preparing horses for the Festival.
This week the likes of Pentland Hills, Emitom, Summerville Boy and Itchy Feet, among others, will fly the flag for Knight’s ‘jumping academy’.
Some of the sport’s top trainers send their horses to her base near Wantage, in Oxfordshire, to learn and hone their jumping skills. It’s a role she thrives at.
Knight said: “When the trainers are busy in the middle of the season they haven’t really got time to spend teaching a horse to jump from the start so they pass it on to somebody who has a bit more time.
“We’ve got a huge number of fences of every sort. We’ve got a bit of everything. I just love watching horses jump.
“There will be a lot of horses that we’ve had here going to Cheltenham and that gives me such a thrill.”
It’s now 20 years since Knight, ably assisted by her late husband Terry Biddlecombe, notched up a big-race double on the Wednesday of the Festival.
Lord Noelie landed the RSA Chase before Edredon Bleu edged out Direct Route in a Champion Chase thriller.
Knight remembered: “It all seems like yesterday. It was an amazing day.
“I’m not an emotional person but Racing TV have been showing some replays and the race that really moves me is Best Mate’s third Gold Cup. Watching that race again brought tears to my eyes.”
The memories of her seven Cheltenham Festival wins still burn bright through the mists of time.
She still remembers how her handling of Best Mate brought her plenty of stick for not running him more often, but it’s a battle plan that is now the norm for Gold Cup hopes.
Knight said: “These days I think trainers have copied me and I’m quite chuffed that they have. They realised there was method in my madness.
“A horse that is capable of winning a Gold Cup is a rare commodity. There’s no point burning them out.”
There doesn’t seem any chance of that happening to Knight. Although it’s hardly polite to reveal a lady’s age, she is north of 70 but with a work-rate to shame someone half her age.
As well as her jumping academy, she recently announced a link-up with prominent owner Mike Grech as racing manager.
Throw in five published books and it’s clear Knight is not ready for a retirement of knitting patterns and afternoon naps. She said: “I get up every morning at 5.30 and I’m not finished until way after dark.
“I’m not someone who likes putting their feet up. I could never really retire.”