Cheltenham Gold Cup winner See More Business died peacefully at home in Somerset yesterday (Thursday, 24 July). He was 24.
The Paul Nicholls-trained chaser played a pivotal role in the career of the champion trainer, who described him as a “horse of a lifetime”.
As well as his Gold Cup success, See More Business emphatically won the 1999 King George VI Chase at Kempton by 17 lengths, with his other success in the same race on Boxing Day in 1997.
He was ridden to victory in both the Gold Cup and the King George by Mick Fitzgerald (pictured above) who rode him in 11 of his 18 victories — out of a total of 36 career starts — with earnings of £701,722.
His 1997 King George success was with Andrew Thornton, when the pair came home ahead of AP McCoy and the Martin Pipe-trained Challenger Du Luc.
The gelding by Seymour Hicks enjoyed a glorious start to his career, winning his first start over hurdles under champion jockey AP McCoy at Chepstow in November 1995.
The combination went on to success on the next three occasions with a first win over chase fences coming in November 1996, again at Chepstow.
Owned for the majority of his career by Paul Barber and John Keighley, the popular chaser retired in 2003.
He has been looked after since by Emma Barber, Paul’s daughter-in-law, spending this summer turned out with 2012 Champion Hurdle winner Rock On Ruby.
It was reported that Emma found him in the field and that there are plans to bury him on top of Ditcheat Hill so that he looks over the gallops.
Appropriately he also ran his last race at Chepstow before retirement in December 2003, when finishing fourth to Sir Rembrandt in the John Hughes Rehearsal Chase.
