'Istabraq will destroy them' - the prophetic words that prompted JP McManus to go into battle

Legendary three-time Champion Hurdle hero Istabraq has died at JP McManus's Martinstown home aged 32. In an article first published in the Racing Post on March 12, 2023, David Jennings relives his first Champion Hurdle victory with connections 25 years on.

When asked which of Istabraq's 25 wins was the most financially rewarding for him, JP McManus replies: "The 1998 Champion Hurdle."

That won't surprise you when you hear what Charlie Swan said to me.

"I was down in Ballydoyle the week before the race and I said to Aidan [O'Brien, Istabraq's trainer], 'Well, what do you think?' He turned around to me and said, 'Charlie, he won't just beat them, he will destroy them.' Unbelievable. When I heard Aidan saying something like that I knew I just had to keep him out of trouble."

He will destroy them. Four words you could never imagine O'Brien saying. Of course, it seems like a perfectly legitimate claim now, but back then Istabraq was not the same legendary Istabraq we know now.

The ex-John Gosden-trained son of Sadler's Wells had won the previous year's Royal SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle, the race we now call the Ballymore, but only just. Mighty Moss made him fight harder than most expected. He was sent off as the 6-5 favourite for that at a time when skinny-priced Irish contenders were collector's items. It turned out Istabraq was a collector's item himself.

O’Brien says: "The first day Charlie rode him, even though he was beaten, he told me he was a bit different."

'We haven't trained this fellow seriously just yet'

A bit different indeed. A head defeat to the Paddy Mullins-trained Noble Thyne, with 20 lengths back to the rest, was his sole defeat for O'Brien before the 1998 Champion Hurdle.

That 1997-98 season began with victory at Tipperary in a conditions race. The 2m4f Hatton's Grace Hurdle was next up at Fairyhouse, where he duly obliged in the manner you would expect from a 1-3 favourite. On both occasions Cockney Lad got closer to him than anything else.

Swan was at his cheekiest in the December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas, but it was a pretty poor Grade 2 and the runner-up Punting Pete had won only one of his previous 15 outings.

The AIG Europe Champion Hurdle back at Leopardstown the following month was the reason we somehow allowed Istabraq to go off 3-1 at Cheltenham. It was here where he finally had to work. His Song made him look mortal. His jumping wasn't as slick as usual and Swan had to get stuck into him after the last for a workmanlike length-and-a-half victory.

What O'Brien said in the immediate aftermath was the most important part of that success, though: "We haven't trained this fellow seriously just yet and the plan has always been to leave plenty to work on between now and Cheltenham."

Aidan O'Brien and Istabraq at BallydoyleCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

You can say that again, Aidan.

Istabraq was not McManus's only runner in the Champion Hurdle that year. The famous green and gold hoops were carried by Conor O'Dwyer on Grimes, who had won a Grade 1 juvenile hurdle at the previous season's Punchestown festival and was fancied by many to go very close.

Even McManus himself was finding it hard to separate the pair, until he spoke to O'Brien. He got the Charlie treatment too.

McManus says: "I had two horses for the race, Grimes and Istabraq. Having spoken to Aidan, he was very positive about Istabraq. He told me he will blow them away."

And blow them away he did. Swan kept to his pre-race script and stayed out of trouble. He tracked I'm Supposin to three out and then couldn't wait any longer. He knew he was on the strongest stayer in the race. He knew he was on the most straightforward horse in the race. He knew he was on the best horse in the race. It was time to go.

Rewinding to the race itself, Swan recalls: "He felt like a completely different horse at Cheltenham to the one I had ridden at Leopardstown in January. He just takes his time and builds them up, Aidan does, and then when he really wants them they are there for him. He's just amazing at what he does. He had him in some nick that day, let me tell you.

"I always had in my head that if I jumped the second-last well that I would kick around the last bend and use his stamina.

"Early in his career, I always thought he wanted two and a half, maybe even three miles. It was just his jumping was so quick that it made him a lot quicker than he actually was. Because he stayed so well, I said to myself that there was no point being in amongst them all. I wanted to be handy and keep it simple.

"It's funny, he wasn't a particularly fast horse, but when he got to a hurdle he always quickened up going into it. Every time he saw a hurdle, he attacked it and that made him a lot quicker. He just loved it."

It was McManus who wanted to mould Istabraq into a Champion Hurdle horse. Swan, as stated, felt he wanted a lot further than two miles in the early days and the way he hit the line over two miles and five furlongs at the festival the previous year suggested a try at three miles would have been worth a shot.

Not according to JP, though. He was adamant an end-to-end gallop over the minimum trip would bring out the best in Istabraq.

O'Brien says: "JP was always of the opinion that he was plenty quick enough for two miles. He thought after he won the SunAlliance that he would actually be better when he went back in trip. He was certain about it. It was JP's call.

"All along he was always very strong on two miles for him, especially in a Champion Hurdle where he felt the gallop and everything else would play to his strengths. He felt the pace would be on and that would bring out the best in him."

Istabraq and Charlie Swan take the last on the way to winning the 1998 Champion HurdleCredit: Pat Healy

It was Istabraq's regular work-rider Pat Lillis who instilled the confidence in O'Brien ahead of his first Champion Hurdle appearance.

The trainer says: "Pat rode him out every day and was absolutely delighted with him. He told me he was flying. Everyone who looked after him was thrilled with him and so was I.

"He was very impressive in the race, he really was. Charlie rode him handy all the way, he had him in a lovely position down off the hill, turned in, got him balanced and gave him a kick and said, 'Come on', and he just sprinted clear."

Sprint clear is exactly what he did. It was explosive. It was exhilarating. It was everything O'Brien had expected and more. Champion Hurdles are not usually won by double figures. This one was. Istabraq put a dozen lengths between himself and stablemate Theatreworld, who ended up being the bridesmaid at so many of his Cheltenham weddings.

Remembering Istabraq:

• 'He was a mystical character' - Aidan O'Brien's glowing tribute after death of legendary Champion Hurdle hero Istabraq 
• 'This was a day about one horse and one horse alone' - Alastair Down on Istabraq's third Champion Hurdle win 
• There was a magnetism about Istabraq and Charlie Swan that was almost rock and roll in nature 

"When Istabraq was at his best, his cruise was incredible and his jumping was just unbelievable too," says O'Brien. "No matter where he was going into a hurdle, he always made up ground over it. That was one of his greatest assets, he was an awesome jumper. Charlie was brilliant on him.

"He was very unique, so natural in everything he did. He always ran at a high temperature because he always had a lot of nervous energy. Obviously he was the first real top horse that we trained from race to race, so we would have learnt an awful lot from him for the future.

"He was just a unique animal and, even to this very day, he looks about 15 years younger than his age, it's incredible really. He's not ageing at all, but that's down to the regime JP has him on. He still does his work every day, he still goes on the walker, he still goes to the paddock. Ever since he left, he's never been out of a work regime."

One of the greatest jumpers of the modern era

The legacy of Istabraq lives on. Even now, a quarter of a century after that first Champion Hurdle success, he is remembered as one of the greatest jumpers of the modern era and Constitution Hill has not one, not two, but three Champion Hurdles to win before his CV will start to resemble Istabraq's.

For four years he was basically unbeatable. As well as his three Champion Hurdles, he won four Irish Champion Hurdles and he won what we now call the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas four times as well. Overall, he won a mammoth 23 of his 29 starts over hurdles.

So, then, JP: what made Istabraq so good?

“I just wish I had the recipe, it has been very hard to find another one like him,” he replies.

Was there one specific moment early on in Istabraq’s career when he knew Istabraq was going to be something special?

"I had Finnegan’s Hollow, who won a bumper impressively and I thought he was very good," he says. "But along came Istabraq that summer and, well, he was just superior. I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad!"

Will he ever own another one like Istabraq? "That would be wishful thinking!"

Istabraq and Charlie Swan in full flightCredit: Pat Healy

McManus's funniest Istabraq tale is an incredible one and a story I had never heard before.

He tells me: "When out on the gallops one day, Aidan in the Jeep got a bit close to Istabraq, he kicked out and smashed the driver's side window."

Insurance, something which hopefully O'Brien had to fix the window, won the 1932 Champion Hurdle by 12 lengths and Istabraq earned his place in history by scoring by the same margin 66 years later. No horse had won by further until the ill-fated Espoir D'Allen, also owned by McManus, caused a massive shock in 2019 when routing his rivals by 15 lengths under Mark Walsh.

The Racing Post analysis of the Champion Hurdle stated: "Whatever one thinks of the standard of opposition compared to vintage years, there is no denying that Istabraq was tremendously impressive and a thoroughly worthy champion.

"Fears that last year's SunAlliance winner might not have the speed to win a Champion Hurdle proved unfounded, as he travelled well throughout and was firmly in command from the moment he was sent to the front three out.

“His 12-length superiority over stablemate Theatreworld, who was again doing his best work at the finish, strongly suggests that he is a better champion than the 1997 winner Make A Stand, who beat Theatreworld by only five lengths, and if all goes well with him between now and next March it will take something special to beat him in the 1999 Champion, for which the 4-1 with Coral looks generous."

That 4-1 with Coral proved to be very generous as he returned to defend his crown a year later at 4-9. French Holly was the new kid on the block but Istabraq bolted up, with Theatreworld once again getting closest to him. The winning margin was only three and a half lengths this time, but it was far more emphatic than that.

It was a similar story in 2000 when he had far too much speed and class for Hors La Loi but, unfortunately, foot and mouth disease deprived him of almost certain glory at the 2001 festival, which was never held. Officially no horse has ever won four Champion Hurdles but, deep down, we all know Istabraq would have done so had the festival gone ahead in 2001.

Twenty-five victories, 14 Grade 1s and three Champion Hurdles. Constitution Hill has a long way to go, doesn't he?

For now, Istabraq is the greatest hurdler these eyes have ever seen and it was in the 1998 Champion Hurdle when that greatness made its first proper public appearance.

It was absolutely glorious and I was privileged to be there to watch it all happen in front of my very own 12-year-old eyes. I blame him for the bug I have still to shake off and dearly hope never do.

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