Superb Istabraq leads the Irish festival charge

He came, he saw and he conquered. The J.P. McManus-owned Istabraq won his second successive Smurfit Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham yesterday and returned to a very Irish reception.

Despite starting at the prohibitive odds of 4/9, Istabraq received a rapturous reception from the 50,000 strong attendance after beating his stable companion Theatreworld by three and a half lengths with the main English hope, French Holly, in third.

As J.P. McManus, trainer Aidan O'Brien and jockey Charlie Swan accepted the trophy from Dr Michael Smurfit, a section of the crowd started up the air of the republican song Sean South with the chorus reaching a crescendo of "The leader was a champion, Istabraq from Ballydoyle."

Mr McManus paid tribute to Charlie Swan, who rode a contained race on Istabraq, which sweated freely in the build-up to the start. "Charlie thinks a race through better than any other jockey I know. He has never lost a race he should have won," he said of Swan, who performed an exultant Frankie Dettori-style dismount on returning to the winners' enclosure.

"There's no reason why he cannot come back for a third Champion Hurdle," said Swan, who was riding his 13th festival winner.

Mr McManus admitted that he had not backed Istabraq. "You are never really comfortable when you own a horse and I'm afraid I played on a couple of others in other races," he said.

Those others probably included his horse Cardinal Hill, favourite for the opening race, which fell at the second last. Mr McManus's other runner in the race, Joe Mac, finished second, which prompted his trainer, Christy Roche, to remark: "Second place is the loneliest place in the world."

Generosa, trained in Co Clare by John Hassett, closed the day off with a win for the Irish, landing the Stakis Casinos Final at 12/1. No doubt it supplied some much needed ammunition for today.

See also pages 22 and 23.