Bay Follows In Mate's Hoofprints

Henrietta Knight is sending Calgary Bay down the Best Mate route by running him in the Anglo Irish Bank Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday.

Triple Gold Cup hero Best Mate was five years old, the same age as Calgary Bay is now, when finishing second to Monsignor in the Grade One contest at the Esher track in 2000.

He then went on to take second place in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival ? a race which is also the objective for Calgary Bay.

'We were looking for an easy race in January but there aren't too many easy races anywhere,' said Knight.

'He's got to go well on Saturday if he's able to go to Cheltenham or not.

'If he's not good enough for the Festival he doesn't go.

'We ran Best Mate in the Sandown race on the way to Cheltenham and it gives you a bit of a pointer.'

Calgary Bay opened his hurdles account at the second attempt when successful at Cheltenham last month.

'We've not done that much with him since. He finds the jumping part of it pretty straight forward ? he's really a chaser anyway,' added the trainer.

(C) PA Sport