Well Chief was a German-bred race horse who was trained in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

by David Pipe and owned by David Johnson.

Early life

He started his racing career as a Flat horse in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

trained by Ralf Suerland and made his debut in a Listed race at Dortmund, which he won. He went on to have 3 more starts for the trainers, 2 of those in Group 3 class and the other in Group 2 class, where he finished 6th, 9th and 7th respectively.

Owner Change

Well Chief was then bought by David Johnson and sent to England to be trained by

Martin Pipe Martin Charles Pipe (born 29 May 1945), is an English former racehorse trainer credited with professionalising the British racehorse training industry, and as of 2021 the most successful trainer in British jump racing. The son of a West Coun ...

. He made his British debut in a maiden hurdle at Taunton in February 2003, where he won by 5 lengths. He was stepped up in class later that month and won the Grade 2 Adonis Juvenile Hurdle at Kempton. In his next start, which was his third over hurdles, Well Chief contested the

Triumph Hurdle The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ...

at the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Race ...

, where he was denied by a head when finishing 2nd to Spectroscope. In his final race of the season, he was sent off a warm 2/1 favourite for the Grade 1 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle at Aintree in April and finished a 2½ length 3rd to 33/1 winner Le Duc.

History

Well Chief made his reappearance the following season (2003/04) in the

Elite Hurdle The Elite 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 1 mile and 7 furlongs (1 mile ...

in November, where he won by just under 2 lengths and shaved 0.2 seconds of the course record which had stood for nearly 9 years. He embarked on a novice chasing campaign in February 2004. After winning a Novices Chase at Taunton, he was stepped up to Grade 1 class at the

, where he was sent off a 9/1 shot for the Arkle Challenge Trophy and won by a length from Kicking King. He followed that up with another victory in the

Maghull Novices' Chase The Maghull Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run a ...

, which was his final appearance of that season. He reappeared in 2004/05 season in a Handicap Chase at Cheltenham in November, where he finished a head 2nd to Armaturk. He then contested the

Tingle Creek Chase 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 (1 ...

at Sandown, finishing 1½ length 3rd to

Moscow Flyer Moscow Flyer (10 May 1994 – 21 October 2016) was an Irish-bred and -trained National Hunt horse who ran over distances between 2 miles and miles (3.2–4 km). A top-class horse who achieved a Timeform rating of 184, he won the Queen ...

, with Azertyuiop 2nd. After that run, Well Chief was sent off an odds on favourite for the Castleford Chase at Wetherby, in which he fell at the fourth last fence. He resumed winning ways in his next race with a victory in the Victor Chandler Chase. In his next two runs, he finished 2nd to Azertyuiop in the

Game Spirit Chase 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 second behind

in the

Queen Mother Champion Chase 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 ...

. He then got his head in front in the

Celebration Chase 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 (1 mile, 7 ...

at Sandown in April, where he beat old rival Azertyuiop.

Injury

Well Chief suffered a severe leg injury, which kept him out for nearly 2 years. He came back from the injury in the 2007

, where he was sent off the 5/2 2nd favourite behind Ashley Brook. After nearly 2 years off the track, he beat the favourite by 11 lengths and was sent off the even favourite for the

on his next start but fell early on in the race, which was won by

Voy Por Ustedes Voy Por Ustedes (foaled 26 April 2001) is a French-bred chaser. Background Voy Por Ustedes is owned by Sir Robert Ogden and trained by Nicky Henderson. He was originally trained by Guillaume Macaire in France and was subsequently sold to the M ...

. He then had one more run at Aintree, where he was sent off an odds-on favourite for the

Melling Chase The Melling Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (4,023 m ...

and finished 3rd behind Monet's Garden. Well Chief returned to action in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the 2009

, finishing second behind

Master Minded Master Minded (foaled April 14, 2003) is a French bred National Hunt racehorse who was trained in Great Britain by Paul Nicholls. Early days in France Master Minded started his National Hunt career in France. He was initially trained by Gu ...

. He was retired after finishing seventh in the same race in 2010. Well Chief died after an attack of

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content ou ...

in June 2017.

Pedigree

External links

References

{{reflist 1999 racehorse births 2017 racehorse deaths Cheltenham Festival winners National Hunt racehorses Racehorses bred in Germany Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 4-o