Denman named as horse of the year

Paul Nicholls trained the top three at the Cheltenham Gold Cup

Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Denman has been given the Horse Of The Year prize at the Anglo-Irish Jump Racing Awards.

Denman also won the champion three-mile chaser category for Somerset-based trainer Paul Nicholls, who himself picked up the Champion Trainer trophy.

It caps an excellent season for Denman, who won the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, Lexus Chase and Aon Chase as well as beating Kauto Star in the Gold Cup.

Stablemate Kauto Star won the Champion Two-And-A-Half-Mile Chaser award.

Paul Nicholls said: "It was brilliant that Denman won the Gold Cup, but the next day I was gutted that Kauto had got beat.

"He [Kauto Star] has been such a star for racing and for our yard. He'll be back next year and he'll be winning plenty more races."

Denman's exploits this season earned him a rating of 182 from the seven-strong awards panel, led by British Horseracing Authority head of handicapping Phil Smith and Noel O'Brien, senior National Hunt handicapper of the Irish Turf Club.

But the panel awarded the season's highest rating to another Nicholls-trained horse, Champion Chase winner Master Minded, who finished the season on a figure of 186.

Master Minded had beaten reigning champion Voy Por Ustedes by 19 lengths to win the Champion Chase, although he was later beaten by the same horse in the Melling Chase at Aintree.