1998 Champion Hurdle
| 69th Champion Hurdle Cheltenham, 17 March 1998 |
| won by Istabraq (IRE) |
The 1998 Champion Hurdle was a horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 17 March 1998. It was the 69th running of the Champion Hurdle.
The winner was J. P. McManus's Istabraq, a six-year-old gelding trained in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Charlie Swan.
Istabraq started the 3/1 favourite and won by twelve lengths from his stable companion Theatreworld, who had finished second to Make A Stand in the previous year, with I'm Supposin in third place. There were no previous Champion Hurdlers in the field but the other runners included , and . The strongly-fancied was fatally injured in a fall at the final hurdle. Fifteen of the eighteen runners completed the course.[1]
Race details[]
- Sponsor: Smurfit
- Purse: £231,800; First prize: £137,420
- Going: Good
- Distance: 2 miles 110 yards
- Number of runners: 18
- Winner's time: 3m 49.10
Full result[]
| Pos. | Marg. | Horse (bred) | Age | Jockey | Trainer (Country) | Odds |
| 1 | Istabraq (IRE) | 6 | Charlie Swan | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 3/1 fav | |
| 2 | 12 | Theatreworld (IRE) | 6 | Tommy Treacy | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 20/1 |
| 3 | 1 | I'm Supposin (IRE) | 6 | Richard Dunwoody | Richard Rowe (GB) | 6/1 |
| 4 | 1¼ | (GB) | 8 | A. P. McCoy | Martin Pipe (GB) | 9/1 |
| 5 | 4 | Kerawi (GB) | 5 | Carl Llewellyn | Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) | 25/1 |
| 6 | 1¼ | Mistinguett (IRE) | 6 | Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) | 40/1 | |
| 7 | nk | Shooting Light (IRE) | 5 | Rodney Farrant | Pat Murphy (GB) | 66/1 |
| 8 | 3 | Graphic Equaliser (IRE) | 6 | Paul Carberry | (IRE) | 33/1 |
| 9 | 2½ | (GB) | 9 | Adrian Maguire | David Nicholson (GB) | 14/1 |
| 10 | 1¾ | Cadougold (FR) | 7 | Mick Fitzgerald | Martin Pipe (GB) | 25/1 |
| 11 | 3 | Marello (GB) | 7 | Peter Niven | Mary Reveley (GB) | 20/1 |
| 12 | 5 | Sanmartino (IRE) | 6 | Richard Johnson | David Nicholson (GB) | 20/1 |
| 13 | nk | (IRE) | 7 | Eddie Callaghan | Malcolm Jefferson (GB) | 6/1 |
| 14 | 8 | Grimes (GB) | 5 | Conor O'Dwyer | Christy Roche (IRE) | 12/1 |
| 15 | nk | Lady Daisy (IRE) | 9 | Jason Titley | Anthony Mullins (IRE) | 100/1 |
| UR | Bellator (GB) | 5 | Barry Fenton | Toby Balding (GB) | 100/1 | |
| PU | Red Blazer (GB) | 7 | Jim Culloty | Henrietta Knight (GB) | 33/1 | |
| Fell | (GB) | 7 | Norman Williamson | Charles Egerton (GB) | 13/2 |
- Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; hd = head; dist = distance; UR = unseated rider; PU = pulled up; LFT = left at start; SU = slipped up; BD = brought down
Winner's details[]
Further details of the winner, Istabraq
- Sex: Gelding
- Foaled: 23 May 1992
- Country: Ireland
- Sire: Sadler's Wells; Dam: Betty's Secret (Secretariat)
- Owner: J. P. McManus
- Breeder: Shadwell Stud
References[]
- ^ "Champion Hurdle result". Racing Post. 17 March 1998. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
Categories:
- 1998 in horse racing
- Champion Hurdle
- 1998 in British sport
- March 1998 sports events in the United Kingdom
- 1990s in Gloucestershire