Istabraq (23 May 1992 – 25 July 2024) was an Irish

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

who was most famous for his

hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

. He won the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

on three consecutive occasions. He was trained by

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

and owned by John Patrick McManus.

Jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

Charlie Swan rode him in all of his 29 races over jumps. Istabraq is regarded as one of the greatest ever over hurdles.

Early life

Istabraq was bred for the flat, being by the champion sire Sadler's Wells, who won the Irish 2,000 Guineas, and also being three parts brother to Epsom Derby winner Secreto. On his dam's side the horse was a descendant of US Triple Crown winner

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

. Istabraq was tried unsuccessfully over a mile and failed to please his handlers and owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Shadwell Racing and a partner in his family's Godolphin Stables.

Jumps racing

The horse was sold to John Durkan who had been an assistant to

John Gosden John Harry Martin Gosden (born 30 March 1951) is a British Horse trainer, racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including victories in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Epsom Derby, Derby, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, A ...

with the Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle as the target for the Cheltenham Festival. Durkan started training the horse but was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

and suggested that

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

train Istabraq while he was ill. The agreement was that when Durkan recovered, he would take over the training. However, he died just before Istabraq won the 1998 Irish Champion Hurdle. O'Brien continued to train the horse afterwards, and Durkan remained in the thoughts of the horse's connections. When riding the horse back after his 1998 Champion Hurdle win, jockey Charlie Swan said, 'This one's for John,' in an interview with Channel 4's Lesley Graham.

1996/1997: Novice hurdler

On 16 November 1996 Istabraq made his hurdling debut and lost by a head to Noble Thyne at Punchestown. Before his next race Istabraq was gelded. He won his next three races prior to the Cheltenham Festival. There he won the Royal & Sun Alliance Novice Hurdle from Mighty Moss.

1997/1998

Istabraq won the first four races of the season. In his fifth race of the season he started as favourite for the 1998 Champion Hurdle. Last years winner Make A Stand was a notable absence but the runner-up Theatreworld returned as one of the 18 runners. Istabraq moved to the front three out before he accelerated rounding the home turn. The Champion Hurdle then became a procession in the home straight, as Istabraq won by 12 lengths from Theatreworld. The conditions for the Aintree Hurdle were soft, heavy in places with Istabraq the favourite. However Istabraq came second to Pridwell to end Istabraq's 10 race winning streak. This was Istabraq's last race of the season.

1998/1999

Like last season, Istabraq won his first four races. In his fifth race of the season he started the 1999 Champion Hurdle as favourite. He won by lengths from Theatreworld to win his second Champion Hurdle. In the next race he beat French Holly at the Aintree Hurdle. He won his last race of the season at the Punchestown festival.

1999/2000

Istabraq had his first start of the season in October at Tipperary in the John James McManus Memorial Hurdle. He beat Limestone Lad by 7 lengths. There was a rematch for Istabraq's second start of the season in the Hattons Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse. This time Istabraq came second losing by lengths to Limestone Lad also in soft conditions. Despite the loss Istabraq started the 2000 Champion Hurdle as favourite. He won by 4 lengths from Hors La Loi III. This victory was Istabraq's fourth straight win at the Cheltenham Festival. This was his last race of the season.

2000/2001

Istabraq made his reappearance at

Leopardstown Leopardstown (), historically called Ballinlore, is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. With institutional lands and a large racecourse, it is divided by the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorw ...

for the December Festival Hurdle. He battled with

Moscow Flyer Moscow Flyer (10 May 1994 – 21 October 2016) was an Irish-bred and -trained National Hunt horse who ran over distances between 2 miles and miles (3.2–4 km). A top-class horse who achieved a Timeform rating of 184, he won the Queen ...

before he fell at the last. This was the first time Istabraq fell. The race was won by Moscow Flyer. After the race winning jockey Barry Geraghty said "I thought I had Istabraq beat going to the last, I was the only one going in the right direction." Istabraq's jockey Charlie Swan however said "He was tired but he always finds something, however, he's always been vulnerable in those sort of conditions. He felt well and as good as ever during the race." On his next start, Istabraq won but this time Moscow Flyer fell. In Istabraq's next start, Istabraq again fell at the final flight, with Moscow Flyer the winner. After Istabraq won the AIG Europe Champion Hurdle near the end of January he was the odds on ante post favourite for the 2001 Champion Hurdle. However before the 2001 Cheltenham Festival, cases of

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious disease, infectious and sometimes fatal virus (biology), viral disease that primarily affects even-toed ungulates, including domestic and wild Bovidae, bovids. The vir ...

started to appear in Britain. The festival was therefore abandoned.

2001/2002

Istabraq reappeared the following season to defeat Bust Out by a head in the December Festival Hurdle. In the 2002 Champion Hurdle Istabraq was the favourite of the 15 runners. However Swan pulled him up after 2 hurdles. The race was won by Hors La Loi III. After the race Swan said "I jumped the first and his action went. I jumped the second and thought he might get a bit better but he didn't and I just thought, for the good of the horse, to pull him up". Istabraq was found to have a tendon injury after the race and was retired.

Retirement and death

After retirement Istabraq was moved to Martinstown, home of owner J. P. McManus. Istabraq died at Martinstown Stud on 25 July 2024, at the age of 32.

Legacy

His main trainer, Aidan O'Brien, considered Istabraq "the horse of a lifetime" who was like a member of his family and a "mystical character" on account of his legacy.Richard Forristal
'Aidan O'Brien's glowing tribute after death of legendary Champion Hurdle hero Istabraq'
''Racing Post'', 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024

Pedigree

''Note: b. =

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, br. =

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

'', ch. =

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

* Through his dam he is inbred 4x4 to Princequillo. This means that the stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

External links

Istabraq's pedigree and partial racing stats
* ''Istabraq - The Quest for Greatness'' (video)
Racing Post Istabraq file
{{Authority control 1992 racehorse births 2024 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in Ireland Racehorses bred in Ireland National Hunt racehorses Cheltenham Festival winners Champion Hurdle winners Thoroughbred family 4-d Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom