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MASTER Oats’ former trainer Kim Bailey yesterday recalled the horse’s meteoric rise from obscurity to a place in the history books.
He had last visited Master Oats at his retirement home in the Cotswolds just weeks ago.
And he said the champion horse was enjoying “the best possible retirement”.
One reason for the visit was “to say goodbye to an old friend” as Kim knew that the champion’s life was coming to a close.
The trainer wrote in his blog: “He was happy and contented, but age was creeping up on him.
“Yesterday he left us. He will now be buried at Fern Farm.
“What wonderful memories I have of this extraordinary horse. MO (Master Oats) came to me possibly by mistake as his then owner used to have all her horses in training with Nicky Henderson but after an inauspicious career point to pointing, he certainly did not give the impression he was going to be the star he eventually was.
“He started in very lowly company and after winning a maiden chase at Southwell, his rider Marcus Armytage suggested that that was possibly the training performance of my life!”
After he bought Master Oats, Paul Matthews became the owner.
Kim went on: “Master Oats’ career just took off after a dreadful start.
“He broke a blood vessel so badly after winning at Uttoxeter that we thought his career was over but time healed and then the rest, as they say, is history.
“We changed his training regime so that he only cantered and never worked, but I was lucky to have some very special people involved with me at the time which made the difference to MO.
“A huge thanks to Eddie Hales, my head lad and right-hand man, and of course his jockey Norman Williamson who saved the day when it so nearly went wrong in the Gold Cup and lastly Yogi Breisner who taught MO to jump.”