Pilgrim Completes His Mission

IT takes some guts, if you are a journeyman jockey who is not riding winners on a daily basis, to sit motionless upsides two rivals going down to the last in a £100,000 race.

- Marcus Armytage

James Best did just that — cajoling Pilgrims Bay into winning the Bet Bright Chase at Kempton Park on Saturday.

Winners have come a plenty for his trainer Neil Mulholland this season. Indeed, this was his 91st as he closes in on his first century, but it was only Best’s 20th of the campaign. However he produced the seven-year-old — who has a reputation as a bit of a character — with some aplomb to win by half a length from Double Shuffle, who blundered away his winning chance at the third last.

“Pilgrims Bay is very much a character,” agreed Mulholland. “He was suited by a good strong pace and the field being tightly bunched here. James is a good lad and a nice fella.

“You can’t get your hopes up too high with him [Pilgrims Bay] because you never know if he’s going to go through with it.”

Best, 26, who spent seven years with Philip Hobbs before going freelance this season, said he would rather have got a bollocking for getting there too late than too soon.

“Pilgrims Bay is so quirky,” he said. “He used to be at Pipe’s and would drop his shoulder in bumpers. He’s always dropping the lads at home. I’ve ridden him before so I had the benefit of knowing him and I’d heard about him from other jockeys. I was told to wait, but you can never be certain with him.

“At times he’s too keen so I was having to take him back. He jumped well on the whole but he always misses one or two, which can be a blessing. It’s massive for me to win a race like this.”

Brain Power on show

IF there was a Cheltenham Festival-winning prospect on view it was Nicky Henderson’s Brain Power — a lovely, long striding horse — who was having a confidence-boosting gallop on the track before racing.