Master Minded

Master Minded
Master Minded at Sandown in 2011.
Sire	Nikos
Grandsire	Nonoalco
Dam	Haute Tension
Damsire	Garde Royale
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	2003
Country	France
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Marie-Christine Gabeur
Owner	Mrs Benoît Gabeur Clive D. Smith (2007–)
Trainer	Guillaume Macaire Paul Nicholls (2007–)
Record	16: 9-2-0
Earnings	£971,931
Major wins
Game Spirit Chase (2008, 2010) Queen Mother Champion Chase (2008, 2009) Tingle Creek Chase (2008, 2010) Victor Chandler Chase (2009, 2011) Kerrygold Champion Chase (2009) Melling Chase (2011)
Last updated on April 29, 2009

Master Minded (foaled April 14, 2003) is a French bred National Hunt racehorse presently trained in Great Britain by Paul Nicholls.

Master Minded started his National Hunt career in France. He was initially trained by Guillaume Macaire and owned by Mme Benoit Gabeur. He started his career with 8 runs at Auteuil from 4 October 2006 as a three-year-old to 27 May 2007. He had 3 wins and a fourth, pulling up once, two falls, and possible his best run when he finished runner-up in the 2007 Prix Ferdinand Dufaure. Prior to this run, Clive Smith (owner of Kauto Star) had bought him, and Ruby Walsh had his first ride on the horse in that race.

In 2007, Master Minded joined the powerful Ditcheat stable of Paul Nicholls to begin chasing. He was not a novice following his win in France so was entered against seasoned campaigners. Nicholls found an easy opening for him at Exeter Racecourse in a 4 runner graduation Chase where Sam Thomas took the ride, but the horse made a serious error and unseated Thomas.

Nicholls took Master Minded up a class to run at Sandown on 5 January 2008 in the Free £25 Bet partybets.com Handicap Chase at Sandown, which he won. After the race he was now starting to be taken seriously as a Cheltenham Festival horse and was made 8-1 favourite for the RyanAir Chase and 25-1 for the Champion Chase.

Master Minded stepped up another step in his next run, the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury (9 February 2008), which is a very important stepping stone to the Queen Mother Champion Chase. He beat a top-class field including the defending champion, Voy Por Ustedes, and was now being seriously as a candidates for major honours.

On 13 March 2008 as a five-year-old, Master Minded became the youngest horse to win the prestigious Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival since the race was established in 1959. Ridden by Ruby Walsh, he defeated the previous year's winner, Voy Por Ustedes, by 19 lengths. John Francome said that on that form, Master Minded could have won any race in the Festival; he also described the horse as "scary". Coincidentally, his trainer in his early years, Macaire, had also previously trained both Runner Up Voy Por Ustedes and another of the 2008 Champion Chase runners, Twist Magic (sixth).