Master Minded: An unlucky master of his game
On December 26, 2011, shortly before the beginning of the William Hill King George VI Chase Grade 1 at Kempton, the legendary trainer Paul Nicholls’ star bay gelding, Master Minded, considered himself to be the invincible master of his game as he had marvellously
won Amlin 1965 Chase Grade 2 at Ascot, but an unlucky moment put him on rest for the months to come or, perhaps, forever.
A gruesome injury on the race day forced the owner, Clive D. Smith, to pull his horse out from the contest. There raised many speculations about the future of the maverick runner. Some claimed that the injury might prove to be life-threatening and some regarded
it as the full stop before the career of the victim.
Master Minded is still surviving but there is no chance of the resumption of his career. In short, Smith is likely to announce retirement soon. This whole scenario is quite saddening for the brilliant gelding’s widespread fans, but the feats he has achieved
in his career are worth writing with golden words.
Holding the legacy of his sire, Nikos, and dam, Haute Tension, Master Minded started his career in October 2006 with the glorious title of the Prix Pride Of Kildare (Hurdle) (Newcomers), held at Auteuil, France.
During January-March 2008, the maverick horse elegantly won three big races in a row. From December 2008 to April 2009, he superbly grabbed four consecutive conquests.
The Marie-Christine Gabeur bred horse nicely registered a fabulous hat-trick of victories from November 2010 to January 2011.
After winning John Smith’s Melling Chase Grade 1 at Aintree on April 8, 2011, he lifted his last title as Ascot on November 19. What an awesome record!
As a whole, the 28-race veteran horse has 16 victories to his credit. For most of the time in his career, he ran under R Walsh. However, he was ridden by Daryl Jacob in each of his last two starts.
It is heartening to note that we shall not be able to watch Master Minded dancing on the French racecourses anymore. However, some of the gelding’s fans still has a little hope of his comeback until Smith finally announces the retirement plan. Good luck
to the horse for his future.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect Bettor.Com’s editorial policy.
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