By Sophie Brown

With two Gold Cup wins and a Champion Chase victory among his catalogue of prizes , owner Jim Lewis should feel few butterflies at watching his horses compete at the Cheltenham Festival.

But the man they call 'Lucky Jim' admits watching Best Mate on 18 March bid for a third consecutive Gold Cup, and to emulate the legendary Arkle, will test his nerves to the full.

LUCKY JIM'S FESTIVAL SUCCESS 1994 Nakir (Arkle) 1998 Edredon Bleu (Grand Annual) 2000 Edredon Bleu (Champ Chase) 2002 Best Mate (Gold Cup) 2003 Best Mate (Gold Cup)

"Everybody thinks Best Mate is odds-on and therefore he ought to win," Lewis told BBC Sport.

"The more people tell you that, the more nervous you get because in life you mustn't take anything for granted at all.

"So it doesn't help that people think all he has to do is go for a stroll. I just cannot accept that that is the way the racing game is. The dangers are everyone else in the race and his fitness on the day."

Best Mate's back-to-back Gold Cup wins have meant Lewis, whose distinctive silver hair already helps him stand out from the crowd, is often recognised, and he has been ambushed by well-wishers in places as far off as South Africa.

"I suppose it's inevitable with the exposure that you get. I'm very happy with that. I'm very aware of the fact that if the horse could write letters or could speak, nobody would want Jim Lewis," he said.

"I can take the hype and I can take all the pressure because you're very fortunate to be in a position where you have to endure that."

One way Best Mate's trainer Henrietta Knight has of dealing with the pressure is superstition, famously hiding away when the horse is running and rigisly sticking to tried and tested routines.

And Lewis admits he too indulges in comforting rituals, which include carrying around a toy cat and mouse.

LEWIS' LUCKY RITUALS Lucky number 15: If I can sit in seat number 15, I do. Or if the ticket I get for the races adds up to 15, I'm a lot happier than if it doesn't Claret-and-blue scarf: Aston Villa fan Lewis always wears the same scarf, which matches his horses' silks, at the races Lucky charms: Lewis carries a black cat (with claret and blue ribbon) and a claret and blue mouse (known as Mighty Mouse) in his pocket

"Wherever luck is involved, the things that you've done previously you want to do again," he says.

But he also admits: "I've had a so-called unlucky omen and the horse wins and I think, 'I don't know why I'm worried about it.' But it doesn't change.

"I've been known to go all the way back home if I forget them so I'm probably worse than Henrietta."

If Best Mate does complete the hat-trick, he would be the first horse to achieve the feat since Arkle, who won his first Gold Cup 40 years ago.

But Lewis, who saw two of Arkle's Gold Cup wins, says that it is "quite ludicrous" to attempt comparisons between the two.

"Arkle was an incredible horse but he was (from) a totally different age, a totally different way that races were run. He raced with enormous weights.

"I think that Best Mate is the modern racehorse. There is no way will I cherish the thought of Best Mate carrying 12 stone against horses carrying 10. I didn't come in the game for that.

"I know it upsets some people but I'm sorry but that's the way it is."

Best Mate is odds-on to win the Gold Cup but the only true certainty is that with the Festival stretching to four days next year, it will be the last time Cheltenham's blue riband event is run on a Thursday.

Lewis, while not a fan of an extended meeting, says he hopes it is a success although it could be a test too far for his nerves.