Goshen: 'That took everything, it's man versus beast and you can't beat a horse'

Goshen, one of jump racing's most popular but enigmatic performers, is set to have his first run over fences at Ascot on Saturday (1.30).

Ahead of his chasing debut, we've taken a look back at his colourful career and what those closest to him have had to say about him . . .

As soon as horses come to him he just goes . . . he was cool as a cucumber beforehand. He's been edgy before his other races but he was as dry as a bone today.
Gary Moore waxes lyrical following Goshen's wide-margin Ascot win in January 2020

He was putting in a mighty performance and that's the hardest thing to take. Everyone at home had put in so much to get him to peak on that day and to feel like you've let everyone down, which is how I feel, is gutting.
Jamie Moore speaks of Goshen's Triumph Hurdle heartbreak in the days following his dramatic unseat

A distraught Jamie Moore kneels on the turf after being unseated from Goshen at the final flight with the Triumph Hurdle at their mercyCredit: Edward Whitaker

My little one [Ronnie, 12] was shouting, "Just get him over Jamie". He took a hell of a kicking afterwards but it probably doesn't hurt as much as what happened.
A philosophical Steve Packham, Goshen's owner, reflects on the final-flight Triumph Hurdle drama straight after the race

I've ridden him out a bit and it certainly gets him used to carrying a lot of weight. People don't know how much that meant to me. I know it's not the Champion Hurdle, but it meant a lot to see the horse back.
A delighted Gary Moore hails his stable star after he roars back to his best with his first Kingwell Hurdle success in 2021

Gary Moore admires Goshen after the Contenders Hurdle in February 2022Credit: Edward Whitaker

I don't think he'll ever come back here again. It was too bad to be true. Okay, he might not have beaten the winner, but if he'd finished in a punch-up with them then I'd have been a lot happier than I am.
Gary Moore gives up on Cheltenham dreams for Goshen after he threw away his chance by badly hanging right in the 2021 Champion Hurdle

I've got the hump so I'll probably say stupid things, but we'll definitely go right-handed. The more you fight him, the worse he's getting . . . That took everything, it's man versus beast and you can't beat a horse.
Speaking to ITV Racing, a deflated Jamie Moore reacts to this year's Lingfield third where Goshen's hanging tendencies reared their head again

That will have shut a lot of people up. It winds me up when people say, will the real Goshen turn up? The real Goshen turns up every day.
Gary Moore relishes Goshen's return to his brilliant best in the 2022 Contenders Hurdle at Sandown

We're all thrilled – that was incredible. I knew when the other horse came upsides that he wasn't going to give in. He's a bull of a horse and he just wants to go.
Steve Packham is overjoyed after Goshen made it back-to-back wins in the Kingwell Hurdle

Read more on Goshen:

'Yes, he's quirky, but that was incredible' – Goshen delivers in Kingwell epic

No more Cheltenham for Goshen after nightmare run in Champion Hurdle

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