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Charlie Swan described Unibet Champion Hurdle favourite Constitution Hill as a “freak”, as he reflected on his own great days at the Cheltenham Festival aboard the imperious Istabraq.
Owned by JP McManus and trained by an at the time emerging Aidan O’Brien, Istabraq would win four times at National Hunt racing’s spring showpiece.
His first success at Prestbury Park came in the 1997 Royal & SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle, but over the following three years he would prove unstoppable in the Champion Hurdle, as he joined the likes of See You Then, Persian War, Hatton’s Grace and Sir Ken on the elite list of three-time winners.
Istabraq had barely broken sweat in his previous two Champion Hurdle triumphs by the time he was sent off the 8-15 favourite for his hat-trick bid 25 years ago.
However, there was a late scare on the eve of the contest after the discovery of a trickle of blood coming from one of Istabraq’s nostrils, something which had connections pondering on their next move.
The decision was made to allow the son of Sadler’s Wells his shot at Cheltenham immortality and the rest was history, as he once again proved he was the undoubted hurdling superstar of his generation, returning to unforgettable scenes.
“It was exceptional to win it for the third time and it was a great performance,” said Swan, reflecting on Istabraq’s four-length success over Hors La Loi III in 2000.
“He won all of his Champion Hurdles really easily and I didn’t have to hit him in any of them, which is amazing really.
“You were always under a bit of pressure when riding a horse like him, but it was always really exciting and you always looked forward to riding him.
“It goes without saying that it was a bit of a relief when he won that third time, because everyone thought he would win so easily. But it was great times and to do it for the McManus family was brilliant. JP is such a great guy and Aidan is obviously such a brilliant trainer, it was a great time.”
It was felt by many that Constitution Hill was on the road to joining Istabraq on the list of multiple-time Champion Hurdle winners after he first took home the hurdling blue riband in 2023.
A setback derailed Constitution Hill’s title defence and in turn any chance of following in Istabraq’s footsteps and winning the contest for three straight years.
But Swan sees similarities between two of the very best to grace the two-mile hurdling division and is backing Nicky Henderson’s superstar to regain his crown.
He said: “He’s a bit of a freak Constitution Hill, it’s always hard to win a Champion Hurdle but he has every chance of winning another.
“I think he is a very good jumper and he would jump pretty similar to Istabraq – he’s brave and takes on his hurdles.
“There will be a strong challenge from Ireland. Brighterdaysahead, Lossiemouth and State Man are going to be tough opponents and it would be great if they all turned up, hopefully they will.
“It will be a great race and I wish all the best of luck to Michael Buckley (owner) and Nicky Henderson, it would be great for them to see Constitution Hill win it again.”
Swan had delayed his own retirement to continue his long and fruitful association with Istabraq, with the duo combining 29 times over hurdles and coming out on top on 23 occasions.
The foot and mouth crisis put paid to the pair’s quest for an unprecedented fourth Champion Hurdle success in 2001, while his swansong in the 2002 renewal ended before the third flight of hurdles, with the 2-1 favourite swiftly pulled up lame.
It will always be hard to forget those triumphant afternoons in the Cotswolds for all connected and Swan has nothing but the fondest of memories of his time in the saddle aboard his greatest ally.
He continued: “It was definitely a privilege to be involved with Istabraq, he was an easy horse to ride and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Riding a horse like him and with his profile was just brilliant.
“He is the sort of once-in-a-lifetime horse that you never really appreciate until afterwards, they are hard horses to come across.
“It was great to win all those races for JP and Noreen and their family – and for Aidan as well, it was great to be riding for him at the time and it was a real honour.”
