Hors La Loi III
| Hors La Loi III | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Cyborg |
| Dam | Quintessence III |
| Damsire | El Condor |
| Sex | Gelding |
| Foaled | 1995 |
| Country | France |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Francois Cottin |
| Owner | J D Martin Paul Green |
| Trainer |
Francois Doumen Martin Pipe James Fanshawe Paul Nicholls |
| Record | 33: 9-4-7 |
| Earnings | £419,855 |
| Major wins | |
|
Summit Junior Hurdle (1998) Finesse Juvenile Novices' Hurdle (1999) Supreme Novices' Hurdle (1999) Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle (1999) Kingwell Hurdle (2000, 2002) Champion Hurdle (2002) |
|
Hors La Loi III (foaled 22 February 1995) was a French-bred AQPS racehorse who won the 2002 Champion Hurdle. A dark bay gelding with a narrow blaze and white hind feet, he developed a reputation for being rather inconsistent, but was one of the most talented hurdlers of his era with a peak rating of 165.
Hors La Loi III was bred in France by Francois Cottin. His sire Cyborg, was a thoroughbred who specialised in producing jumpers. Hors La Loi's dam was the non-thoroughbred mare Quintessence (described in some sources as a Selle Français), who also produced his full-brother Cyborgo, winner of the 1996 Stayers' Hurdle. The post-nominal "III" was added to distinguish him from a successful, but less notable thoroughbred racehorse, who had already been registered as "Hors La Loi".
Hors La Loi III first went into training with Francois Doumen in France and was ridden in most of his early races by the trainer's son Thierry. He began his career in 1998, running without success in four races on the flat at provincial tracks. Switched to jumping he won on his hurdling debut at Auteuil and was then aimed at races in Britain where he was unbeaten in four starts that season. In December he led early and recorded a sixteen length win in the Grade II Summit Junior Hurdle at Lingfield, and a month later he followed up with another easy win in the Grade II Finesse Juvenile Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham beating the Tolworth Hurdle winner Behrajan by eight lengths.
After these two successes he was moved to the stable of Martin Pipe for the remainder of the season. Unusually for a four-year-old, he was not aimed at the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, instead taking on older Novices in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Ridden for the first time by AP McCoy he put in an impressive performance, moving into the lead three flights from home and pulling away to win by seventeen lengths in a time that was 2.2 seconds faster than that recorded by Istabraq in winning the Champion Hurdle one hour later. His performance was described by The Independent's correspondent as one of "the most impressive at the Festival". A month later, Hors La Loi and McCoy came together again for another easy win in the Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle at Aintree. He had established himself as the leading Novice in the British Isles and a potential challenger to Istabraq for the following season's Championship.
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