MENTION Henrietta Knight and Jim Lewis in the same sentence and the name Best Mate is not likely to be far away either.

For any other trainer-and-owner combination, the horse would be Edredon Bleu.

While he did not win Cheltenham three Gold Cups like his more illustrious stablemate, Edredon Bleu’s achievements for Knight’s West Lockinge yard, near Wantage, are still quite remarkable.

With his trademark front-running style and slick jumping, he blazed a trail to four consecutive victories in the Peterborough Chase, the 2000 Queen Mother Champion Chase and the replacement race at Sandown when the Festival was called off a year later.

But there was one further hurrah to come in 2003.

With Knight preferring to send Best Mate to Leopardstown over Christmas it was left to Edredon Bleu, by now 11, to step in for the King George VI Chase and defeat Tiutchev and First Gold in an all-out struggle.

Retired in August 2005, the son of Tresor boasted a tremendous record after arriving from France with 19 wins in 43 starts.

His tally also included two Haldon Gold Cups and a Grand Annual Chase, and his career earnings were more than £700,000 in win and place prize-money.

Best Mate tragically died in action at Exeter, but his former stablemate got out with his faculties intact and now at the age of 17 lives a life of luxury with the 1971 champion jump jockey Graham Thorner and his wife Caroline.

“My daughter Clare used to work for Hen, and knew the horse well,” says Thorner, who is based in Letcombe Regis, not far from Knight's stable. “Hen wanted to find him a good home, and so he came down here.

“If he so much as winks in a funny way, my wife calls the vet!

“I have to tell her he's just a horse, and he's costing me a fortune as he gets treated better than me!

“Two of my daughters come and ride him. He has been hunted a few times and is ridden most days, helping lead the younger horses.

“Of course the horses have no idea how special they are, but they don't always get the rewards they deserve and on this occasion it's a nice story as he gets spoiled rotten.”

Thorner, who won the 1972 Grand National on Well To Do for the late Tim Forster when he was based at Letcombe Bassett, remains much involved in the sport.

He identifies and brings on young prospects for Andy Turnell, who sent out Maori Venture to win the 1987 Grand National while training at East Hendred, but is now based near the village of Broad Hinton in North Wiltshire.

Thorner is a regular sight assisting the trainer on the racecourse.

And while Knight is one of Turnell’s rivals in the training ranks, Thorner knows her husband Terry Biddlecombe from when the pair were riders.

“I don't really see Terry much, but we have been friends from the riding days and we always see each other when at the races,” he says.

“The year I won (the jockeys' championship), there was only one in it down to the final day.

“We'd be flying up to places like Market Rasen and on the last day he had six rides and I had one, but I still beat him. He doesn't like hearing that.”

Lewis, a familiar figure at the track with his vibrant silver hair and ever-present Aston Villa scarf, appeared last year to have severed ties with Knight and now has his string with Paul Nicholls, including the exciting Breedsbreeze.

While the full story remains to be told, Thorner can envisage a time when the pair might have another Best Mate or Edredon Bleu.

“I don't think Jim ever really had a falling out with Henrietta, I hope not anyway,” he muses.

“Jim has been down to see our horse before. He's not here all the time, but he's always keen to be updated on his progress.”