'This was a day about one horse and one horse alone' - Alastair Down on Istabraq's unprecedented third Champion Hurdle win

On the eve of Istabraq’s bid for a third Champion Hurdle in 2000 a trickle of blood was spotted coming from his nose, which prompted all sorts of silly scare stories. It was nothing. Istabraq, on the other hand, really was something.

• This article was first published in the Racing Post on March 15, 2000

They came, they saw – he conquered. And in a sometimes selfish game, if ever there was a result that everyone ached to see, this was surely it. Istabraq may have cut himself shaving the night before, but Aidan O’Brien had the champion honed to razor-sharpness yet again. Under a vintage ride from Charlie Swan, this great horse put ‘the night of doubt and sorrow’ behind him and jumped the last to a lion’s-mouth roar from the assembled faithful, thrilled to be in the congregation on the day Istabraq married immortality.

Never under-call the extraordinary feat of O’Brien in bringing this very highly strung animal to the bear-pit of Cheltenham for a fourth triumph.

This is a horse with a short touch-paper, and there is little time between lighting it and ignition. O’Brien memorably described him as ‘just on the right side of toppling over on to the wrong side’, but the high-wire act is the trainer’s more than anyone’s.

Ballydoyle is home to gurus, not guessers. With his customary gift for chronic understatement, O’Brien conceded that the bloody-nose scare had been ‘a worrying time’, and his wife, Annemarie, said there ‘wasn’t much sleep in the house’ the night before. Probably not much last night either.

One thing for sure is that there was a mighty sense of relief among connections, and when the public, the great stokers of this emotional furnace, began to welcome Istabraq back down the horsewalk there was a sense of joy that all had ended well.

When he made his way up towards the winner’s enclosure you could feel the noise, a sustained and delirious thunderclap of acclaim which was a celebration not only of this mighty horse but also of the moments and memories this game holds in its gift.

And the scenes in the unsaddling enclosure as JP McManus, Charlie and Aidan were saluted to the skies gave the lie to the idea that this is always a cynical game that reduces to pounds, shillings and pence.

At the prices of the last two months, few punters will have backed Istabraq, and for once money was confined to the sin-bin.

O’Brien said: ‘It was like walking on air coming in here.’ A nice change for him from walking on water.

Istabraq powers clear of his rivals to win his third Champion Hurdle in 2000Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Sometimes this game taps into rhythms that most of us have forgotten, but are glad to be reminded of – the unique experience of a mass of disparate folk united in happy acknowledgement that they were there on this unperishable afternoon.

Istabraq rules JP’s family these days, and it was a nice gesture to send son John up to collect the trophy. It is rumoured that young McManus’s present on his second birthday was a set of credit accounts, and when he was taught to count aged four it was in the proper way – none of your one-two-three eyewash, rather the time-honoured evens, 6-4, 7-4, two’s . . .

Eventually McManus, Swan and O’Brien were all assembled on the presentation podium and the cheers took flight again. Around me, Irish voices could be heard calling ‘It’s good to be alive’, and ‘Jasus, my hands are sore from clapping’, plus a few less printable, but equally happy, exclamations of delight.

O’Brien rightly praised Swan, saying: ‘Charlie was supreme and gave him a serious ride’, and watching the race with John Francome, the great champion had said: ‘Charlie is giving him an absolutely brilliant ride.’

Remembering Istabraq:

'He was a mystical character' - Aidan O'Brien's glowing tribute after death of legendary Champion Hurdle hero Istabraq 

There was a magnetism about Istabraq and Charlie Swan that was almost rock and roll in nature 

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

Of the vanquished, Hors La Loi returned to his best in second. Owner Paul Green said: ‘He’s three weeks off his peak and Francois Doumen didn’t really want him to come.’

When I replied that he’d have needed to be here three weeks ago to beat Istabraq, he disputed the detail  – ‘Three days would be fairer’– but not the sentiment.

But this was a day about one horse and one alone. Hair-splitters and pedants will tell you that Istabraq’s period of dominance has not been a vintage one, and that he hasn’t had to fight toe-to-toe with horses of the calibre that graced the Night Nurse-Monksfield-Sea Pigeon era.

But there is always some miserable so-and-so moping around at even the best parties. The truth is that a horse can only beat what is ranged against him, and this fellow has seen off all-comers for three years without ever looking likely to be beaten. There is every reason to believe this was a very good Champion Hurdle, and he won it emphatically. What do you want, blood? I think we had enough of that the night before.

We can only hope that O’Brien, a man hewn from tougher rock than his mild demeanour suggests, can keep the triple champion happy, sound and willing enough to return next year.

But Istabraq owes us nothing, and we owe him a huge vote of thanks.

 We all come here with our own private wishlists, but written across every single one yesterday was ‘victory for Istabraq’, and he and Ballydoyle have delivered at Cheltenham on the day that matters above all for a fourth time.

For once, I didn’t hear O’Brien utter his most famous catchphrase yesterday. But at the risk of lightning striking down this blasphemer, I’ll do it for him – ‘Thanks be to God’.

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