Death of Well Chief announced Top-class chaser Well Chief has died at the age of 18 after suffering a bout of colic. The popular chestnut, who was trained by Martin Pipe and later his son David, won 11 races including the Arkle Trophy at the 2004 Cheltenham Festival. He is perhaps best remembered for his numerous battles with Moscow Flyer and Azertyuiop in what was a golden era for the two-mile chasing division. A statement posted on www.davidpipe.com read: " He had been enjoying retirement with Timmy Murphy and another old Pond House favourite Vodka Bleu since he left the yard but unfortunately suffered a from a bout of colic from which he could not be saved. "The ever-popular chestnut was one of the best, if not the best horse we have ever had at Pond House. " All of his achievements were despite his well-documented injury problems in which is legs have been described as 'like glass'. "This only heightens the respect and love for this talented horse who was guided through his career by both Martin and latterly David. "He amassed more than 631,000 pounds in prize-money in a career which spanned eight years. "He truly was a remarkable horse on the racecourse if not a slightly quirky ride at home. "He was extremely kind-natured and loved by everyone at Pond House." Murphy rode Well Chief 16 times and said the horse will be "sorely missed". He told Press Association Sport : "He's been with us since he finished racing and was a great companion to the others we have here. "Unfortunately he got colic. We called the vet out and then he was taken to equine hospital but he couldn't be saved. It wasn't nice, to be honest. "He wasn't ridden out or anything, he'd been completely let down but he'll be sorely missed. "Greedily you'd say he was unlucky to be around when he was but along with Moscow Flyer and Azertyuiop he was part of a great era. They were three of the best. "I'd say his best performance was in the Victor Chandler, at Cheltenham (January 2005). It was a hell of a weight-carrying performance, very few win off a mark of 176. "He always tried his best but he had so many problems, he wasn't easy to train. We never really got a clear run with him. "The day he won the Celebration Chase at Sandown (April 2005) to win Martin his final championship was a good day, that was all very exciting."
