Istabraq, born in 1992, was at the very beginning considered a potential flat race winner. Born in Ireland, he had all the trappings of success written all over him. He was not the kind of horse that would hold back in mock races as a one year old, and his handlers thought that he was the perfect pedigree of a winner. However, after he turned two, it became clear that he was not built for flat racing, and his trainers had to rethink their choice, finally deciding to use him at the hurdles, where he went on to enjoy considerable success over the course of his 29 races. His owner was John Patrick McManus and the trainer was Aidan O’Brien. For all his races, it was Charlie Swan who sat on the saddles.
Hurdles
While the first few hurdle competitions did not go quiet as well as planned for the horse, his minders still believed that he could become the surprise package of the decade. It was not immediately clear to the fans that this would happen, so they did not really vouch for him much. However, after the initial blips, the horse came back strongly and established himself a one of the best and most accurate jumpers. He did fall a couple of times but then at that point in time in the competition, that happened a lot because of the concept of the game. His victories included The Champion Hurdle and the Irish Champion Hurdle , both of which he won for three consecutive years between 1998 and 2000. Others included the Aintree and December Festival Hurdle. He won 23 out of his 29 races at the time of retirement in 2002.
Despite the humble beginings, Istabraq managed to make his owners
1,053,385 on winnings alone. As a stud, he has gone to impress as well and is now living it out at Martinstown.
