Day Two Report: If any of the St Patrick's Day Cheltenham crowd felt cheated out of their Queen Mother Champion Chase classic, they at least had Azertyuiop's scintillating performance to purr over.
Ruby Walsh guided the Paul Nicholls-trained star to a devastating nine-length defeat of Flagship Uberalles that rejuvenated a frustrating festival for the Irish rider and brought an undoubted quality to what had been billed as the race of the festival.
But there was still no getting over the feeling of anti-climax that hit the vast crowds almost as hard as Moscow Flyer hit the fourth last fence.
All hopes of an Anglo-Irish epic disappeared as the odds-on favourite unseated Barry Geraghty and the "what if" question started its residency in people's minds until the next time the big two clash.
"He paddled into the fence," reported Geraghty. "We don't have water jumps at home and a mistake at the one here put him out of his rhythm a bit. He was still going very well but the main thing is he is okay for another day."
Jessica Harrington indicated that next day out will be Aintree's Mumm Melling Chase but Azertyuiop looks like being aimed at Sandown instead so the big question looks like having a long booking.
Paddy Power immediately went 9 to 4 Azertyuiop and 5 to 2 Moscow Flyer for next year's race but there was an undoubted sense yesterday that some Irish fans had seriously under-estimated the winner.
Despite sweating up at the start, Azertyuiop powered up the hill and a gleeful Walsh said: "It was a marvellous performance from a great horse.
"When he got beat in the Tingle Creek he just blew up after being too keen."
Nicholls said: "Racing is about ups and down. We thought we would win with Thisthatandtother on Tuesday but then this is great."
Sadlers Wings could only finish sixth in the SunAlliance Hurdle behind Fundamentalist and in the SunAlliance Chase, Mossy Green fell when leading at the second last. That he then brought down Pizarro looked to have ruled out an Irish winner but remarkably it was the 25 to 1 Mullins outsider Rule Supreme who galloped through to win.
That he didn't gallop through a fence en route is a tribute to jockey David Casey who was told by Mullins to only think about riding a race at that fateful second last.
"He's got a tremendous engine but he's a very scrappy jumper. I entered him in the Gold Cup because he has such an engine," said Mullins who has ambitious plans for the winner.
"I don't think he has the scope to be a Gold Cup horse and next year we might even come back here for the Stayers' Hurdle. But first he will run in the Heineken Gold Cup and then he will be part of a team I will take to France for the French Champion Hurdle in June," said Mullins.
But if it was emotion you were after there was no competition to Total Enjoyment's success in the concluding Champion Bumper, a second Irish-trained winner of the afternoon. The winners enclosure turned into a little bit of Co Kerry as Total Enjoyment, trained in Tralee by Tom Cooper and ridden by Killarney-born Jim Culloty, returned to a tumultuous reception after her defeat of Refinement and Master Albert.
The Rose of Tralee was struck up by the crowd as the 11-member winning syndicate, 10 of them from Tralee and one from Tyrone, gloried in the achievements of a mare that Cooper later admitted "could be anything."
"Who's laughing at the Kerryman now?" beamed Cooper who only took out a full licence six years ago.
"What can I say. Words can't describe being here right now. I have had good horses before but nothing like this. She really could be anything.
"I knew very early she was special but after her last win at Leopardstown the penny dropped and she learned so much. That's it for the season and we'll go novice hurdling next season," he added.
It was a perfect Gold Cup rehearsal for Culloty who guided the mare on the inner until taking it up down the hill.
"She is very, very good and very tough. We got a lovely run and that was perfect for tomorrow," he grinned.
Irish jockey Robert Widger's experience as a professional - he rode Flagship Uberalles to win a Tingle Creek - showed clearly as he timed Native Emperor's winning kick to perfection in the four-mile amateur chase.
Celestial Gold had gone clear from the top of the hill but the Jonjo O'Neill-trained winner ground him down remorselessly on the run-in under the Waterford jockey's powerful drive.
"Robert Widger was having his first ride for me and he gave him a brilliant ride. My head lad Alan Roche recommended him to me." The winner may now run in the Scottish National.
