Tag Archive for: Istabraq

Monday Musings: Of Real Racing Heroes

Less than a year after areas of Southwell racecourse, including the main grandstand and offices, were flooded to a depth of up to three feet, it played host last Friday to a unique presentation, writes Tony Stafford. No racing there, nor even the Big Trucks event that was lined up for the following couple of days, just one group of five horses galloping for a mile around its Tapeta oval.

Yet the mesmeric draw of City Of Troy and four of his lesser stablemates, accompanied by trainer Aidan O’Brien, was sufficient to entice 1,500 people – that was the pre-event estimate but on the ground the feeling was that the figure had been exceeded – to come to see it.

Here were Ryan Moore, Wayne Lordan, Brett Doyle, Rachel Richardson and Dean Gallagher to ride the quintet in advance of City Of Troy’s Breeders’ Cup Classic challenge at Del Mar, California, in November. (Gallagher amazingly so as it was more than 30 years ago that his dad Tommy asked me if I could find him a job in England. I did and he came to Rod Simpson, yet he is still regarded as sufficiently talented and fit to be asked to take his part in a trial of this importance.)

https://twitter.com/RacingTV/status/1837185812837855338

A few years after Dean had been signed as first jockey for the one-time Midlands greengrocer Paul Green, by then a substantial owner, he rode the Francois Doumen-trained Hors La Loi III into second place in the third of Istabraq’s triple Champion Hurdle sequence, Istabraq trained of course by Aidan O’Brien.

There was no Champion Hurdle the following year because of foot and mouth, but when Istabraq went for the four-timer in 2002, he pulled up as Charlie Swan felt he was wrong, a view confirmed by the vet’s post-race inspection. The winner, Hors La Loi III, by now trained by James Fanshawe but ridden still by Gallagher, beat Hughie Morrison’s Marble Arch, a 25/1 shot into second place.

I can throw in another small personal part to this story. I was asked to try to buy Istabraq from the July sale in 1996 and went to the John Gosden yard at Newmarket a couple of days earlier. I was shown the horse by the late John Durkan, Gosden’s assistant at the time, who said: “He’s a lovely horse. I couldn’t recommend him more highly.”

I had a budget from a Saudi prince who wanted the staying 3yo for the King’s Cup in his home country. I stayed in until 36k but Timmy Hyde, bidding for J P McManus, held sway at 38,000 gns.

I was coming back from Keeneland Sales a few years later when I heard a voice from behind me as we walked to change planes in Cincinnati. It was Timmy Hyde. He said: “Tony, you were the under-bidder for Istabraq. I know because I was standing right behind you! It’s just that that f…ing Danny Murphy is telling everyone he was!” He wasn’t.

The obvious next question was: “How high would I have needed to go?” Timmy smiled and said: “We had 100 grand if necessary!” Hardly an underbidder in truth!

The saddest part of the story was that Aidan wasn’t meant to be training the horse, it was John Durkan who would be leaving Gosden to set up his own operation in Ireland. He even came up to the Daily Telegraph’s office in South Quay Plaza, the one between Fleet Street and Canary Wharf, with our photographer Ed Byrne and Conor O’Dwyer.

But then he contracted inoperable cancer and was unable to proceed with his plans. JP McManus gave the horse to Aidan and four consecutive Festival wins, starting with the 2m5f novice and then three Champion Hurdles, earned him a place in jumping folklore, along of course with his owner and trainer. I’ve never forgotten how honest he was about the horse even though if JP had bought him, he would be training him. Istabraq died this summer at the age of 32, much lamented by his owner and family.

JP has stayed mainly in that environment, dominating owners’ championships on either side of the Irish Sea, while O’Brien has been unchallenged on the flat in his homeland and more than a match for Gosden, Hannon and the rest for most years over here.

When interviewed after a big win, Aidan invariably remembers all the people he considers have played a part in the particular horse’s preparation. It’s not about him, everyone else almost.

On Friday, as Pat Keating awaited his boss’s delayed arrival – there was a crash on the way from the airport - replying to his question: “How long <have they been walking around the paddock>? answered “Forty-seven minutes”. Aidan said: “They are set to go then.” Thirty is the usual requirement. The jockeys mounted, setting off around to the far side of the track for the American-style stalls especially brought for the event.

The imperative, apart from City Of Troy working well and acting on the surface, was a fast pace and the short-running duo that broke best, ensured that would happen. Up the straight, the markedly elongated stretch of the Derby winner’s stride not for the first time struck connections Paul Smith, son of Derrick, his son Harry and Mike Dillon, former Ladbrokes man and a close friend.

The workout was the day job. But then we saw the true Aidan. He had a quick post-work de-brief with the jockeys, giving each the chance to comment, but obviously then having the crucial talk with Ryan on how it went.

But then the crowd saw something I doubt even those that travelled from far beyond the East Midlands would have expected. Aidan smiled throughout whenever cornered by a gallop-goer to sign the nice little racecard designed by Nick Craven, one of Weatherbys’ bosses. Each signature, because we are in 2024 and not 2004, had to require a selfie. None of which the personable O’Brien refused.

There was a lengthy television interview for Sky Sports Racing with Jason Weaver, while Brough Scott added his wisdom of many years to the proceedings. Then Aidan spent ages talking to mainly young aspiring journalists, none of whom could believe this giant of racing would give them so much time.

I guess almost an hour and a half after the workout – the pre-event blurb said he would stay for 45 minutes - he went off smiling for the car to the airport, long after Keating, his travelling head lad, had caught his eye and pointed to his watch.

Aidan O’Brien may be no Frankie Dettori but where the Italian has showmanship in the extreme, Aidan has a modesty and innate kindness that you would need to go a long way to see replicated by any public figure.

It could have been a fiasco, but Aidan’s plan to give his horse an awayday must be termed a great success, not least in PR terms. I’m certainly glad I was there to see it. And I know that the final line of people waiting patiently for his signature, selfie and smile, all got their precious reward for their trip. Well done, Southwell, well done Aidan, Ryan and the rest.

*

Mentioning Marble Arch in relation to Hors La Loi III and Dean Gallagher reminded me that Hughie Morrison has been around for a good while, too. Not So Sleepy hasn’t been with us for quite as long but he did win first time out as a two-year-old at Nottingham ten years ago and in the following May, won the Dee Stakes, the pre-Derby warm-up for winners Oath and Kris Kin, the latter for Sir Michael Stoute who will retire from training at the end of the season.

Not So Sleepy has raced at least four times in each of the next nine seasons, never once having his flat handicap mark drop below 94 and now, after a wonderful repeat win in a valuable Newbury handicap on Saturday, will surely end his career rated over 100 – he was 99 on Saturday. I’ll be shocked if that has ever happened before.

Hughie trains with a rare sympathetic view of his charges – “Each one that gets injured I feel it so much”, he says. But consequently, few trainers have a comparable facility for extending their horses’ working lives. He won a Group 1 with the stayer Alcazar when that horse was ten years of age, but his achievements with the difficult to manage Not So Sleepy dwarf even that.

He finished in the first four in three Cesarewitch Handicaps and was seventh last year. He also ran in four consecutive Champion Hurdles. Despite not taking up hurdling until the age of seven, his three Grade 1 wins include a dead-heat with previous Champion Hurdle winner Epatante in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, a feat he followed with a second win in the Newcastle race.

Last December, he won a Grade 1 hurdle at Sandown in a procession, a few days short of his official twelfth birthday. Few horses have achieved half as much as Sleepy. His owner, Lady Blyth, seemed very keen as with Quickthorn recently to ascribe lots of credit to rider Tom Marquand, a sentiment reciprocated in their interviews with Matt Chapman for Sky Sports Racing.

Never a mention of the trainer and the usually forensic Chapman didn’t seem to think of bringing in his name either. Maybe Hughie was being courted and given his rightful credit for the horse’s achievements by ITV, but I have only one television set.

Also Saturday was the final day’s riding for Franny Norton, and he chose Chester, where he has been the “King” for so long, for the farewell. He did it in style, notching a treble, and it would be fitting if the course made him an ambassador for the future, especially at the May meeting.

It was a lovely weekend at any rate for some real racing heroes.

- TS



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‘Horse of a lifetime’ Istabraq dies aged 32

Aidan O’Brien hailed Istabraq “the horse of a lifetime” after the brilliant hurdler died on Thursday morning at the age of 32.

A dual winner from 11 starts on the Flat for John Gosden, the son of Sadler’s Wells went on to become one of the most popular National Hunt horses of the modern era.

In all, Istabraq won 23 of his 29 races over obstacles for leading owner JP McManus under jockey Charlie Swan, most famously becoming the fifth horse to win three Champion Hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival in 2000.

He also won the 1997 Royal and SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, as well as four Irish Champion Hurdles, two Hatton’s Grace Hurdles and an Aintree Hurdle over the course of his glittering career.

O’Brien told the PA news agency: “Istabraq was obviously the horse of a lifetime for us, one of those very rare horses that only come along once.

“He was very lucky to be owned by JP and Noreen (McManus) and ridden by Charlie – and a lot of people looked after him. Tommy Murphy was the assistant at Ballydoyle before we came and then he stayed on with us and he did a lot of work with him.

“He was a great horse for us and a big part of our family. When the little ones (children) were small, he would have been right at the height of his powers, so for everyone he was a massive part of our lives at that time.”

The remarkable Istabraq story began in earnest after he was snapped up by Timmy Hyde on behalf of McManus for 38,000 guineas in the summer of 1996, coincidentally the same year as a fresh-faced O’Brien moved into the legendary Ballydoyle stables.

Istabraq was bought on the recommendation of John Durkan, who knew him better than most, having been Gosden’s assistant, and was due to train him for his jumping career.

Istabraq in action at Cheltenham
Istabraq in action at Cheltenham (David Jones/PA)

Sadly, Durkan was later diagnosed with leukaemia and O’Brien was entrusted to train the gelding in his absence. Durkan died just days before Istabraq won his first Irish Champion Hurdle in January 1998.

“We were just moving to Ballydoyle and JP bought Istabraq for John Durkan to train. John gave him to Timmy Hyde and when he had him ready, he sent him to Ballydoyle. We were supposed to have him for a year while John was having treatment for leukaemia and unfortunately John passed away,” said O’Brien.

“He was an incredible horse really. I suppose what made him unusual is that he was trained on the Flat before he came to us, so he had the mind of a Flat horse and was full of nervous energy, but he had a lot of ability and an unbelievable cruise.

“He was an incredible jumper, I think that’s what made him very different. Charlie always said he used to take off two strides before any other horse and landed on his back legs, which is very unusual as that meant he got away from his hurdles much quicker.

“I suppose the one that stuck out for us really was his first Champion Hurdle. That was his first time dropping back to two miles in a Champion Hurdle, but every one of his wins was very special.”

Istabraq’s racing days came to an end after being pulled up in his bid for a fourth Champion Hurdle success at Cheltenham in 2002 and he went on to enjoy a long and happy retirement at McManus’ Martinstown Stud in County Limerick, celebrating his 32nd birthday in May.

In a statement issued on Thursday, McManus said: “Sadly, Istabraq passed away at 1.15am this morning at the ripe old age of 32. He was a very special horse who gave us many great days of fun and enjoyment.

“Our thanks to Lara Hegarty, Johnny O’Brien and all the staff at Martinstown who took such fantastic care of him over many years.

“We are pleased that we gave him a good celebration for his most recent birthday in May. He leaves Noreen, myself and the family with wonderful memories.”

Charlie Swan celebrates winning a third Champion Hurdle on Istabraq
Charlie Swan celebrates winning a third Champion Hurdle on Istabraq (Barry Batchelor/PA)

Swan was ever-present in the saddle aboard Istabraq during his jumping career and has fond memories of the hurdling great.

He said: “It’s a sad day, but I suppose he had a great innings; he was 32, and he was looked after like a king at Martinstown, as he deserved.

“I had some great days and I suppose winning the third Champion Hurdle is the one that sticks out. It hadn’t been done many times and that was a special day.

“His jumping was so good – he was so quick to get his front legs out and was very accurate.

“He obviously had loads of speed but he stayed well and jumped – he had everything really. And you could ride him any way you wanted.”



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Istabraq unquestionably one of the all-time National Hunt heroes

Istabraq was a National Hunt racing icon, a horse universally loved and admired across the sport for his consistency, durability and pure talent.

A son of Sadler’s Wells out of a Secretariat mare, the bay was bred by Shadwell and started life on the Flat under the care of John Gosden.

His career on the level was not without success and yielded two wins from 11 starts, but it was when he turned his hand to hurdling that his star instantly began to rise.

The late John Durkan was Istabraq’s intended trainer after JP McManus purchased the horse, but Durkan’s leukaemia diagnosis and subsequent death meant Aidan O’Brien ended up guiding him through his jumping career.

At the time, O’Brien was a young man beginning to make a real mark under both codes, Istabraq’s successes followed a breakthrough at Group level on the Flat and proved beyond all doubt the remarkable horsemanship of the trainer.

Charlie Swan and Istabraq winning the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham
Charlie Swan and Istabraq winning the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham (David Jones/PA)

Beaten just a head under Charlie Swan on his hurdling debut, Istabraq then began a novice-season winning streak that included five Graded races and peaked with victory in both the Royal Sunalliance Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and the Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.

Swan retained the ride all throughout the horse’s career and when he returned in open company the following season, the partnership still proved to be nearly unbeatable, storming through the fixture list undefeated up until his superb 12-length Champion Hurdle triumph.

He finally met with defeat when beaten just a head in the Aintree Hurdle, but the winning thread was swiftly regained the following season and he soared through the campaign to prevail each and every time – achieving a Grade One four-timer that included the Champion Hurdle races at Leopardstown, Cheltenham and Punchestown, plus retribution in the Aintree Hurdle.

He took the same route the following season, with the exception of Aintree, and again his supremacy was undeniable as he reliably turned up and won with minimal fuss – establishing himself as a truly great racehorse and one of only a handful to land three Champion Hurdle triumphs.

His 2000-2001 season was interrupted by uncharacteristic falls in the Festival Hurdle and the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, with the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease scuppering his bid for a record-breaking fourth Champion Hurdle title at the Cheltenham Festival.

Istabraq and Swan winning the Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown
Istabraq and Swan winning the Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown (Chris Bacon/PA)

He did win the Leopardstown Champion Hurdle in between times, however, and returned in December 2001 to take the Festival Hurdle for a fourth time before pulling up on his last start in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham later that season.

He spent his retirement at his owner’s Martinstown Stud, doted on for more than two decades and revered as one of the all-time greats of not only the hurdling division, but the sport in general.

His birthday was always celebrated by his owners and in May this year he turned 32, a ripe old age and one that eventually took its toll when he died in the early hours of the morning on July 25.

He will be remembered as the outstanding horse of his time and mentioned in any debate about the best hurdlers to ever grace the sport, his legacy being so significant that passengers using Terminal 2 at Dublin airport are met with his likeness immortalised on canvas.



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Hurdling great Istabraq dies aged 32

Three-time Champion Hurdle winner Istabraq has died at the age of 32, his owner JP McManus has announced.

Initially a smart Flat horse for John Gosden, the son of Sadler’s Wells went on to become one of the greatest and most popular National Hunt horses of the modern era after joining Aidan O’Brien.

In all Istabraq won 23 of his 29 races over obstacles, most famously becoming the fifth horse to win three Champion Hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival in 2000.

He also won the 1997 Royal and Sunalliance Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham as well as four Irish Champion Hurdles, two Hatton’s Grace Hurdles and an Aintree Hurdle over the course of his glittering career.

Istabraq’s racing days came to an end after being pulled up in his bid for a fourth Champion Hurdle success at Cheltenham in 2002 and he has since enjoyed a long and happy retirement at McManus’ Martinstown Stud in County Limerick, celebrating his 32nd birthday in May.

In a statement issued on Thursday, McManus said: “Sadly, Istabraq passed away at 1.15am this morning at the ripe old age of 32. He was a very special horse who gave us many great days of fun and enjoyment.

“Our thanks to Lara Hegarty, Johnny O’Brien and all the staff at Martinstown who took such fantastic care of him over many years.

“We are pleased that we gave him a good celebration for his most recent birthday in May. He leaves Noreen, myself and the family with wonderful memories.”

Charlie Swan celebrates winning a third Champion Hurdle on Istabraq
Charlie Swan celebrates winning a third Champion Hurdle on Istabraq (Barry Batchelor/PA)

Charlie Swan was ever-present in the saddle aboard Istabraq during his jumping career and has fond memories of the hurdling great.

He said: “It’s a sad day, but I suppose he had a great innings; he was 32, and he was looked after like a king at Martinstown, as he deserved.

“I had some great days and I suppose winning the third Champion Hurdle is the one that sticks out. It hadn’t been done many times and that was a special day.

“His jumping was so good – he was so quick to get his front legs out and was very accurate.

“He obviously had loads of speed but he stayed well and jumped – he had everything really. And you could ride him any way you wanted.”



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