Azertyuiop (horse)

Azertyuiop
Sire	Baby Turk
Grandsire	Northern Baby
Dam	Temara
Damsire	Rex Magna
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	1997
Country	France
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Pierre de Maleissye Melun
Owner	John Hales
Trainer	Paul Nicholls
Record	25: 14-5-2
Earnings	₤605,529
Major wins
	Kingwell Hurdle (2001) ; November Novices' Chase (2002); Arkle Challenge Trophy (2003) ; Game Spirit Chase (2004), (2005) ; Queen Mother Champion Chase (2004); Haldon Gold Cup (2004)
	Last updated on October 30, 2007

Last updated June 04, 2019

Azertyuiop was a French-bred National Hunt racehorse, who specialised in two-mile steeplechases. He won the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the 2003 Cheltenham Festival, going on to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase the following year,^[1] and then coming home third in the same race in 2005. He was trained by Paul Nicholls and was ridden by Ruby Walsh in every chase bar one. He is owned by John Hales who also owned One Man, who won the 1998 Queen Mother Champion Chase and the 1995 and 1996 King George VI Chase. His name derives from the top row of letters on the French keyboard layout.

The Arkle Challenge Trophy is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham, England, over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.

The Cheltenham Festival is a meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The meeting usually coincides with Saint Patrick's Day, and is particularly popular with Irish visitors.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the online betting company Betway, the race is now known as the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Hurdling

Azertyuiop won a hurdle at Auteuil, Paris in October 2000. He then went to Wincanton in February and won the Kingwell Hurdle as a novice. That year's renewal had a slightly substandard look to it. The runner-up Hors La Loi III was in the middle of a poor run of form. Azertyuiop was due to be aimed at the Cheltenham Festival's Triumph Hurdle rather than the Champion Hurdle. However, the 2001 UK foot and mouth crisis ended the hopes of the Festival taking place. In the 2001-02 season, he won one hurdle race, the Elite Hurdle, and was well beaten in his other three races. He started the next season as a novice chaser.

Wincanton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Wincanton, Somerset, England.

The Kingwell Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Wincanton over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mile, 7 furlongs and 65 yards, or 3,077 metres ), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in February.

A novice in horse racing is an inexperienced racehorse which has not run in a certain number of races of a particular type, or not won in such races. The definition of a novice is determined by the horse racing authority in a particular country or area.

Chasing

Azertyuiop went into the 2003 Arkle Challenge Trophy as a short-priced favourite having won his three novice chases by at least 16 lengths. He won the Arkle by 11 lengths.

In 2003-04, his form was mixed. He unseated Walsh in his first race and then lost to Moscow Flyer in the Tingle Creek Chase. His third race was a defeat to Isio in the Victor Chandler Handicap Chase. However, Azertyuiop was giving away nineteen pounds to the winner and twenty to the others. His Queen Mother Champion Chase prep race was at Newbury in the Game Spirit Chase, and he won by 12 lengths. The scene was set for a meeting at Cheltenham with the reigning Champion Chase winner Moscow Flyer. However, the latter made a terrible mistake at the fourth last fence and unseated Barry Geraghty. Azertyuiop won by 9 lengths from the 2002 champion Flagship Uberalles.

Moscow Flyer was a top-class National Hunt horse over distances between 2 miles and 2½ miles (3.2–4 km). He won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2003 and 2005, the Tingle Creek Chase in 2003 and 2004 and the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2002.

The Tingle Creek Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in early December.

The Game Spirit Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in February.

In 2004-05, he won his seasonal reappearance and then lost again to Moscow Flyer in the Tingle Creek Chase. His next race was a bid by his trainer to win the 3 miles King George VI Chase. Azertyuiop's stamina gave out in the latter stages of the race, and he finished third. He then defeated his successor as Arkle Challenge Trophy winner, Well Chief, in retaining the Game Spirit Chase. The scene was set for a battle between him, Moscow Flyer, and Well Chief in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. However, he made a very bad mistake at the water jump. Azertyuiop came in third. He finished the season by finishing second to Well Chief at Sandown in the Betfred Celebration Chase.

The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles, and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year on 26 December, and features as part of the 32Red Winter Festival.

Well Chief was a German-bred race horse who was trained in Britain by David Pipe and owned by David Johnson.

The Celebration Chase is a Grade One National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 1 mile 7½ furlongs, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in late April.

Early in the 2005/2006 season, he suffered an injury which kept him off the course. The injury proved to be career ending, and Azertyuiop was retired on 8 September 2006.^[2]

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References

↑ "Azertyuiop takes victory". BBC Sport. March 17, 2004. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
↑ "Azertyuiop retired due to injury". RTÉ Sport. September 8, 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-16.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

External links

Azertyuiop at paulnichollsracing.com ^{[ permanent dead link ]}

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[1] "Azertyuiop takes victory". BBC Sport. March 17, 2004. Retrieved 2008-12-16.

[2] "Azertyuiop retired due to injury". RTÉ Sport. September 8, 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-16.^{[ permanent dead link ]}