March 8, 2000. Copyright, 2000, Graphic News. All rights reserved

ISTABRAQ GOES FOR THE TREBLE
By Midge Todhunter

LONDON, March 8, Graphic News:  ISTABRAQ heads this yearÕs Cheltenham Festival cast and bids to become the first horse to win the Champion Hurdle three years in a row since See You Then in 1985-87.
Already being hailed as arguably the greatest hurdler of all time, Istabraq heads a list of 24 entries set to contest the Òhurdling crownÓ run on the opening day of the great National Hunt Festival.
First run in 1927 with a value of £365 to the winner, the Champion Hurdle has a habit of producing multiple winners, with Sir Ken in the 1950s and Persian War in the 1970s also winning the event three times, while no less than seven trainers have captured the top event on more than three occasions.
Only three greys have ever won the race and the fastest time recorded to date was 3 minutes 48.4 seconds by Make A Stand in 1997, better than IstabraqÕs first win of 3 minutes 49.1 seconds in 1998.
The Queen Mother Two Miles Champion Chase was first run in 1959 and always features the fastest horses over the minimum steeplechase trip. No quarter asked Ð no quarter given.
Irish-trained runners have an exceptional record in this race, winning 16 of the 41 runnings. Retired jockey Pat Taafe (also Irish) is the most successful rider with five wins, but no current jockey has won the race more than once.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most sought-after prize in British and Irish steeplechasing, and the most valuable non-handicap chase in Britain.
The first Cheltenham Gold Cup was a three-mile Flat race in 1819, won by a horse called Spectre. The chase we now know was not introduced until 1924 and was won by Red Splash for a prize of £700.
Golden Miller holds the record of five consecutive wins from 1932-36, and Dawn Run is the only horse to have won both the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup, in 1984 and 1986 respectively. Only five horses have won the Gold Cup more than once.
The longest-priced winner of the Gold Cup was NortonÕs Coin in 1990 who started at 100/1, while the shortest price was the great Arkle, the 1/10 favourite in 1966. The last grey to win was Desert Orchid in 1989.
/ENDS

Sources: Cheltenham Racecourse