20 years ago Istabraq and One Man are two-mile champs
1998into A VINTAGE Festival burst
life on the opening day when Istabraq was the headline act with a phenomenal victory in the Champion Hurdle by a record-equalling margin of 12 lengths.
Having won the Royal & Sunalliance Novices’ Hurdle the previous year, the Aidan O’Brien-trained superstar returned as 3-1 favourite for the Champion after a winning run of nine and took the 18-runner field apart with a blistering performance under Charlie Swan (right).
This was a first Champion Hurdle for Ireland since Dawn Run 14 years earlier and started a run of three consecutive victories in the race for Istabraq, putting him in an elite club of five alongside Hatton’s Grace, Sir Ken, Persian War and See You Then.
Emotions ran even higher on day two after One Man landed the Queen Mother Champion Chase for trainer Gordon Richards and jockey Brian Harding.
The popular grey had been well beaten on three previous appearances at the Festival – in the Sun Alliance Chase and twice in the Gold Cup – but this time Richards dropped him back to two miles for the first time since his novice hurdling days and the outcome was extraordinary.
In company with favourite Ask Tom, One Man set a searching pace that proved too much for his companion coming down the hill. With his rivals gasping for air, One Man simply did not stop in an exhilarating display that brought him home four lengths clear. Sadly, after reaching that career high, One Man suffered a fatal injury on his next start at Aintree.
The biggest upset of the meeting came in the Cheltenham Gold Cup of all places when 25-1 shot Cool Dawn, trained by Robert Alner and ridden by Andrew Thornton, eclipsed the leading fancies to score by a length and three-quarters. It was a big meeting for Thornton, who had already won the Royal & Sunalliance Novices’ Hurdle on the highclass French Holly and was having his first ride in the Gold Cup.
Riding honours went to AP McCoy, who ended the week with five winners, his best haul at the Festival. He started the ball rolling with one of the best rides of his illustrious career to win the Arkle Trophy Chase on Champleve by a short head from Hill Society. McCoy also landed a huge gamble in the Gold Card Handicap Hurdle Final with Unsinkable Boxer, having been told by trainer Martin Pipe beforehand that he was “the biggest certainty who would ever walk out on to Cheltenham racecourse”, and rounded off the week with victory on two more Pipe-trained favourites, Cyfor Malta in the Cathcart Chase and Blowing Wind in the Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle.
Away from the Pipe stable, McCoy won the Grand Annual Handicap Chase on Henrietta Knight’s Edredon Bleu – a relationship that would be crowned with victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase two years later.
Lower down the standings was Ruby Walsh, then 18, who scored the first of his 56 wins at the Festival on Alexander Banquet in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper. This was the first flowering of his relationship with trainer Willie Mullins, which has had such a profound impact on Cheltenham for two decades now.