Greatest Racehorses: Istabraq

Pedigree Details

Sire: Sadler’s Wells

Dam: Betty’s Secret

Dam’s Sire: Secretariat

Breeder: Shadwell Estate

Foaled: 23 May 1992

Race Record & Factfile

Hurdle Races: 29

Wins: 23

Owner: J.P. McManus

Trainer: Aidan O’Brien

Profile

Istabraq won 23 of his 29 starts over hurdles with Charlie Swan a permanent fixture in the saddle, his rider delaying any retirement plans to continue their incredibly successful partnership until its conclusion. A fairly useful performer on the Flat, Istabraq was due to be trained over jumps by John Durkan – who spotted his early talent – but was transferred to Aidan O’Brien after Durkan became ill. Durkan knew Istabraq extremely well from his time as assistant to John Gosden and revealed to O’Brien that this was “no soft Flat horse”. Tragically, Durkan died of leukaemia two years later at the age of 31. Istabraq triumphed on four successive occasions at the Cheltenham Festival and was robbed of the chance to make it five by the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001. His final start came the following year when bidding for a fourth victory in the Champion Hurdle, but he was pulled up in front of the stands after two flights having suffered a tendon injury which sent him into retirement at his owner J.P. McManus’s Martinstown Stud. He consistently and comfortably separated himself from his contemporaries, while O’Brien’s skill in handling such a highly-strung individual should not be overlooked. “He lives on the edge,” the trainer said. “He is just on the right side of toppling over to the wrong side.” O’Brien managed to keep Istabraq on the right side, and he proved to be the horse of a generation.

Flat Career

Istabraq raced 11 times on the Flat in the colours of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and won twice as a three-year-old – a Salisbury maiden at the fifth time of asking along with a handicap at Ayr. He made his final start for connections at Haydock in June 1996 prior to being sold in July for 38,000 guineas and gelded.

1996/97 Season

The first of six starts as a novice hurdler came with a narrow defeat behind the promising and more experienced Noble Thyne at Punchestown in November. The Timeform reporter on the day remarked Istabraq “was going to take a great deal of beating in novice company next time” and that proved very much the case as he was immediately upped in class to the Grade 1 Royal Bond at Fairyhouse, where he easily gained revenge on a below-par Noble Thyne. That victory heralded a streak of ten on the spin for Istabraq, who won twice at Leopardstown before lining up in the Royal SunAlliance Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. He had shown more than enough on the form book to win and went to post the 6/5 favourite. Sweating and on edge in the preliminaries, he had to work hard in the end under a confident ride to see off Mighty Moss by a length with Daraydan a close-up third. His season concluded at Punchestown with an eased-down nine-length success over Soldat.

Major races won:

• Royal Bond Novices Hurdle, Fairyhouse
  
• Deloitte and Touche Novices’ Hurdle, Leopardstown
• Royal SunAlliance Novices Hurdle, Cheltenham
• Champion Novice Hurdle, Punchestown

1997/98 Season

Istabraq proved better than ever on his seasonal bow in the John James McManus Memorial Hurdle at Tipperary in mid-October. He handled the soft ground and drop back in distance to two miles with relish, pulling away from the smart Cockney Lad before the last to score by seven lengths. That rival had another rear view of Istabraq in the Grade 1 Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at the end of the following month having briefly looked a threat on the home turn. The winner made all and was well on top at the finish so connections of Cockney Lad decided to swerve a third showdown of the season over Christmas by going down the three-mile route instead at Leopardstown. This left Istabraq with little more than a schooling session at 6/1-on in the December Festival Hurdle, which he won hard held from Punting Pete. He was made to work harder next time in the A.I.G. Europe Champion Hurdle at the same track, asked for an effort on the run-in to shake off useful novice His Song after his hurdling had lacked its usual fluency in the middle part of the race. Putting the performance to one side for a moment, it was a success greeted with huge emotion following the death earlier in the week of John Durkan.

The form of that final preparation was not good enough to win a Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham but Istabraq silenced the doubters in March with a top-class effort to prevail by 12 lengths and justify 3/1 favouritism in a field of 18. A final start of the campaign saw his winning streak over hurdles halted at ten when he was narrowly denied at Liverpool over two and a half miles in the Martell Aintree Hurdle. He ran well in defeat, though, leading after the last in desperate conditions but just edged out by Pridwell, who scored under a strong drive from Tony McCoy.

Major races won:

• Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, Fairyhouse
• December Festival Hurdle, Leopardstown
• Irish Champion Hurdle, Leopardstown
• Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham

1998/99 Season

Istrabraq went to the racecourse seven times and won the lot without a rival looking seriously able to trouble him. His clean sweep started in the John James McManus Memorial Hurdle again at Cork in early November. Hard held after cruising to the front at the second-last, this was little more than an exercise gallop and proved he was head and shoulders above the majority over two miles. It was a similar story at the end of the month and he had any amount in hand in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle before hacking up against two rivals at 10/1-on in the December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown. His victory in the A.I.G. Europe Champion Hurdle in the 97/98 season earlier had been his least convincing, but it was effortless this time around as he was once more hard held to dismiss French Holly by a length.

The Timeform reporter on the day reflected: “He is as near a certainty for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham as it is possible to be at this stage.” Istrabraq was 9/4-on when the tapes went up at the Festival in March and won by three and a half lengths from stablemate Theatreworld with French Holly a further two and half lengths back in third. The form book says he was not at his best on the day having sweated up beforehand but he quickened decisively to go clear entering the home straight and put the race to bed. He toyed with French Holly once more at Liverpool in the Martell Aintree Hurdle and was worth considerably more than the one-length winning margin before completing a perfect campaign back on home soil by winning the Shell Champion Hurdle at Punchestown, over two miles, with plenty in hand over Decoupage.

Major races won:  

• Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, Fairyhouse
• December Festival Hurdle, Leopardstown
• Irish Champion Hurdle, Leopardstown
• Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham
• Aintree Hurdle, Aintree
• Punchestown Champion Hurdle, Punchestown

1999/00 Season

All the usual brilliance was displayed by Istabraq on his return to action with victory in another John James McManus Memorial Hurdle at Tipperary. His four rivals could not get him off the bridle as he sprinted away from runner-up Limestone Lad after the last. It was that rival, however, who then handed Istabraq just his third defeat over timber next time when they clashed in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse. The habitual front-runner was perhaps given too much rope in conditions that suited a real test of stamina, and Istabraq’s efforts to reduce a significant advantage by the second-last took their toll. Limestone Lad had five and a half lengths in hand at the line, although Charlie Swan did ease his mount on the run-in once all chance had gone. Trainer Aidan O’Brien seemed unconcerned and said: “I always knew he would be beaten again. We just keep him ticking over at this time of the year. There is no need to panic.” Istabraq had little trouble seeing off inferior opposition the following month in the December Festival Hurdle for a third time before also landing a hat-trick in the A.I.G. Europe Champion Hurdle by four lengths from Stage Affair. Istabraq did not have to be at his best to beat Hors La Loi by the same margin in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, where he joined a select group of just five horses to have won the race three times since 1927. Although not hard pressed to pull clear on the run-in, there had been 11^th-hour drama. A trickle of blood had been detected from one of his nostrils and his participation was only confirmed a couple of hours prior to the race as connections decided it was a nosebleed rather than something more serious. That was his last run of the season, but, given his superiority, consistency and obvious durability, hopes were high he would go on to make history and win the race for a fourth time in 2001.  

Major races won:

• December Festival Hurdle, Leopardstown
• Irish Champion Hurdle, Leopardstown
• Smurfit Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham

2000/01 Season

The three-time Champion Hurdle winner was not seen again until one of his regular stopping-off points – the December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown. However, Istabraq, who already looked booked for second or third at best behind Moscow Flyer, took a crashing fall at the last. A positive bulletin emerged soon after that there was “not a bother on him” and he was back on track for an attempt to win the A.I.G. Europe Champion Hurdle for the fourth straight year at the same track the following month. He did not show any ill-effects from his unfortunate incident over Christmas as he saw off his rivals with a good deal of ease. It was Moscow Flyer who departed this time at the second-last when in the lead with Istabraq notably spring-heeled at the final flight before coasting home up the run-in. It seemed sure to put him cherry ripe for the Cheltenham Festival following a lighter schedule but the loss of that meeting due to a foot-and-mouth outbreak meant Istabraq’s third and final outing came in the Shell Champion Hurdle, staged at Leopardstown on this occasion. However, there was again a flaw to be found in his jumping as he took another heavy fall at the last when patently going better than old adversary Moscow Flyer. He emerged unscathed and still remained the one any up-and-coming challengers had to topple the following season.

Major races won:

• Irish Champion Hurdle, Leopardstown

2001/02 Season

The first of Istabraq’s final two racecourse appearances was a victory, although there were an increasing number of questions as to whether time was finally starting to catch up with him. He needed to be shaken up quite vigorously after the last to get the better of Bust Out by a head in the December Festival Hurdle and connections now planned to head straight to the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. His bid for a history-making fourth victory in the race ended in anti-climax as he was pulled up after just two flights having suffered a tendon injury. However, it did at least give the packed stands a chance to salute a champion who had operated on a completely different level to his rivals. Timeform’s reporter summed him up as “a giant in an age of pygmies who because of the inferiority of his opponents never got the chance to show exactly how good he was”. The ever-present Charlie Swan added later once Istabraq’s retirement was confirmed: “It is farewell to a fantastic horse. I am unlikely to come across one like him again.”

Major races won: 

• December Festival Hurdle, Leopardstown

Also read about: