Istabraq and Charlie Swan ruled the roost in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival for what seemed for ever. The 1997 Cheltenham Festival was the first time we saw Istabraq. He was the red hot favourite for the Royal Sunalliance Novice hurdle, what is now called the Sumpreme Novice hurdle. It is such a competitive event, 6/5 was a seriously skinny price. It didn’t seem to bother the Irish, Istabraq was what everyone had come to see and back. Victory was a certainty and that’s exactly what we all saw, having said that, Mighty Moss gave him plenty to think about, and he had to be driven all the way to the line to win by a length. For anyone who’d backed him it was a very nervous few moments coming over the last. Of all his performances which followed including his three Champion Hurdle victories this first win was by far the closest he came to losing. Our race photo was snapped in 1999 as they came back into the winners enclosure, following their second Champion Hurdle victory and their thrid victory at the Festival. It is still probably the loudest and most emotionly charge reception i can ever remember a winner at the Festival receiving. It really was something else. He went on to win his thrid Champion Hurdle in 2000, his fourth victory at the Festival, but we were robbed of the fourth Champion Hurdle victory in 2001 by an outbreak of Foot and Mouth. The following year hadn’t gone to plan for Istabraq, but despite this he was still sent off a 2/1 Favourite, to achieve his fourth Champion Hurdle win. As we all know, it wasn’t to be, Charlie Swan pulled him up before the thrid flight. It was an incredibly emotional moment, the crowds cheered as if he’d won. We had all witnessed the final chapter in Istabraq’s amazing career.
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