RACING/Istabraq Retires: On November 4th in 1994, a two- year-old racehorse called Istabraq took his first step onto a racecourse and only barely managed to go faster than that initial step. Brian O'Connor assesses Istabraq's career.

"Sluggish start, improved stands side, nearest at finish," reported the form book. Eighth of 19 in Flanders Maiden. A legend had begun.

If anyone doubts that legendary status, just look at the series of stamps brought out by An Post last week to pay tribute to Ireland's National Hunt tradition.

Arkle, L'Escargot, Dawn Run and Istabraq are the horses depicted.

Supporters of Arkle's contemporary Flyingbolt might point to the absence of their hero but in terms of the top Irish racehorses since the war, those stamps represent the pinnacle.

Istabraq, the horse bred to win a Derby but who couldn't run nearly fast enough, has carved out just such a unique niche in this country's sporting history.

In the future, anytime a hurdler reaches for the top, Istabraq will be the benchmark and who knows if the level will ever be reached.

Of course, why this particular Flat reject should have achieved what he did is impossible to figure out.

Sure, he ended up being trained by Aidan O'Brien at the most remarkable training centre in the world but so have a lot of horses who have long since been forgotten.

Yes, he was ridden in every one of his jump races by Charlie Swan, a cheerful man who can adopt the cold mind of a ruthless assassin when the chips are down, but Swan has ridden lots that could have been threatened with hand grenades and still not gone faster.

JP McManus's contribution extended to the 38,000 guineas he originally paid for Istabraq and then having the good sense to curtailing the owner's input to increasingly nervous phone calls as to Istabraq's well-being as the years wore on.

Those nerves reached a peak only 10 days ago. Like-A-Butterfly carried McManus's colours to a heart-stopping victory in the first race at Cheltenham and the famous gambler looked like he had been dealt the most crap hand in history. The main horse was coming up in just an hour's time.

Istabraq's last public appearance, as he went for that historic fourth championship in a row, was an anti-climax that still resulted in one of the most spontaneously generous moments most of us can remember.

That round of applause from the packed stands to the pulled up champ as he walked back will linger long into the future.

McManus and O'Brien have taken some stick for the decision to run Istabraq last week but even that says something about the status achieved by their horse among the general public. Istabraq has always provoked opinion.

Some of that centred on the belief that the 23 from 29 win record and the £1 million-plus picked up has been a result of him being the one decent horse in a time of mediocrity.

Where were the Sea Pigeon's and the Monksfield's to truly test his mettle? The obvious answer that Istabraq could only beat what was there, and do so easily, had any inherent hollowness filled up royally last week.

Hors La Loi is a good horse and in time could become a very good horse. But he will always be the horse that got put in his place to the tune of four lengths in 2000.

It's the sort of unenviable position that Larry Holmes found himself in after Ali's retirement and it's a position that every hurdler for a very long time will have to get used to.

Istabraq, whose name means silk in modern Arabic, will always mean great in Irish racing.