Legendary jockey Charlie Swan has said that red-hot Champion Hurdle favourite Constitution Hill could even be better than Istabraq and looks “unbeatable” at Cheltenham next month.
Swan partnered Istabraq to win three Champion Hurdles in succession between 1998 and 2000 and now believes the Nicky Henderson-trained six-year-old has the potential to be “one of the greats.”
Constitution Hill was a brilliant winner of last year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival - smashing the track record with a staggering 22 length victory.
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He’s won two Grade 1 hurdles at Newcastle and Kempton without breaking sweat this season and is long odds on to add the Champion Hurdle to his CV next month.
Speaking to Cheltenham Betting, Swan said: "He is an amazing, amazing horse. He seems to have everything - he has speed, he settles well, he jumps well and you can ride him anywhere. You know, he'd remind you of Istabraq. He does have an unbelievable amount of ability,”
The Willie Mullins’ trained State Man is Constitution HIll’s chief rival having proved top dog in Ireland this season with three Grade 1 wins but Swan can’t see him getting near the Michael Buckley-owned gelding.
“I do like State Man, but I think Constitution Hill is going to be very, very hard to beat [in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham]. He looks unbeatable.
“I think the only way he can get beat is if he's not right on the day. Anything can happen and that's why we always need to take each other on because horses are not robots - they can have off days.
“The way he won that Supreme last year, he took something like five seconds off the track record. He didn’t beat a bad horse in Jonbon, he's a very good horse. And Epatante is a good mare yet Constitution Hill is making her look average.
“Istabraq was pretty similar as he'd jump double quick and that’s what you need to win Champion Hurdles.”
A win for Constitution Hill would give veteran trainer Henderson an amazing ninth Champion Hurdle victory having first won it with See You Then 38 years ago.
“He has got the potential though to be one of the greats. He is trained by a good man, owned by a good man, and he's ridden by a good fella too. So, there's no reason why he can't. He has all the ability as long as he stays sound but that’s not easy,” added Swan.
Swan’s partnership with Istabraq was one of the iconic double acts in National Hunt racing - the pair winning 23 of their 29 outings with 14 at Grade 1 level.
He was trained by Aidan O’Brien in Ballydoyle and was owned by JP McManus and remarkably still lives on his Martinstown stud at the ripe old age of 31.
“The first time I sat on him was the day Aidan said that he had a horse that Timmy Hyde had bought which was meant to go to John Durkan – he was sick at the time so Aidan got him. That was Istabraq, who arrived just after Aidan had moved to Ballydoyle.
“From day one, he was just a very natural jumper. He loved it, he didn't run around at his hurdles and he just took them on. He had such a great technique to get away from the back of a hurdle and he’d land running the whole time.
“John Gosden had trained him for Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum at Shadwell and he’d won for them on the Flat. Aidan was obviously just starting out at the time and he'd been a jump jockey. The focus very much in those days was the jumps game,” Swan recalled.
Istabraq won the Royal & Sun Alliance Novices’ Hurdle in 1997 and competed in his first Champion Hurdle a year later.
“I thought he had a great chance. Aidan was more confident than we were. I remember the week before, I was down there riding him and Aidan just said to me: ‘He won't just win, he will destroy them.’ That was a really strong statement to make.
“I rode him handy. He always stayed so well and I was always out of trouble. I had a clear run. He jumped well and I always had it on my mind that if I was travelling well after the second last, I’d kick on around the last and let them catch me.
“Over the second last, I just picked him up, sort of kicked him on and he just kept lengthening down to the last. He winged that hurdle and won very impressively by 12 lengths.
His win was greeted with joyous scenes as the horse really captured the imaginations of the Irish public at that time.
“It was amazing. Approaching the last, I said to myself that I hope I meet this on a good stride. He was a great horse and a very easy horse to ride.
“He was very brave. He would stand off if given the opportunity but he was very good at shortening as well. He did fall twice with me but that was on very, very heavy ground.
“I knew, year after year, that we would be back winning at Cheltenham with Istabraq
Istabraq’s bid for a record breaking fourth Champion Hurdle was thwarted by the outbreak of Foot & Mouth in 2001 - and he was retired after pulling up in the 2002 renewal.
“To win three Champion Hurdles is the pinnacle. I rode some other good horses, like Viking Flagship to win the Queen Mother and then to win on Danoli was a great thrill because he was an Irish banker.
“But any win at Cheltenham, you get a great kick out of. It was very exciting.
Everything is geared towards Cheltenham, every owner wants a Cheltenham winner and every jockey wants a Cheltenham winner, so does every trainer. It is so important.”
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