Carberry Handed Mate Ride Paul Carberry will become the fourth jockey to ride Best Mate when the triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner makes his long-awaited reappearance at Exeter tomorrow. Following the retirement of Jim Culloty, owner Jim Lewis and trainer Henrietta Knight had hoped Timmy Murphy would be free to partner the 10-year-old in the William Hill Haldon Gold Cup. Tony McCoy has ridden Best Mate before, but Murphy was the preferred option having taken him to victory at the Devon track last year, but he is set to be claimed by his retaining owner David Johnson. Lewis told At The Races: 'We´ve gone for Paul, mainly because we knew possibly that Timmy was unable to ride and it´s now been confirmed that he is wanted for Contraband, unless the rain makes a deluge of it all.' Carberry has seen plenty of Best Mate, having beaten him with Beef Or Salmon on his most recent start 10 months ago at Leopardstown. The jockey also finished third to the son of Un Desperado when aboard Harbour Pilot in the 2004 Gold Cup. Lewis added: 'I have rated Paul Carberry for a long time, even before he waved at my horse with a little finger to catch him up in the Lexus Chase last Christmas, so he´s got his chance to make amends with me now! 'He hasn´t sat on him but I think all the top jockeys will tell you that, although it is very handy to have been up on the horse, it is not the be-all and end-all and if you are good enough it is not so necessary. 'In an ideal world it would have been nice but Paul will speak to Timmy and to Jim Culloty and he will know more about Best Mate when he gets on him than maybe any other jockey.'(C) PA Sport
