2006 Champion Hurdle
| 76th Champion Hurdle Cheltenham, 14 March 2006 |
| won by Brave Inca (IRE) |
The 2006 Champion Hurdle was a horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 14 March 2006.[1] It was the 76th running of the Champion Hurdle.
The winner was the Novice Syndicate's Brave Inca, an eight-year-old gelding trained in Ireland by Colm Murphy and ridden by A. P. McCoy. The victory was the first in the race, for the owner and trainer. McCoy had previously won the race on Make A Stand in 1997.
Brave Inca started the 7/4 favourite and won by a length from Macs Joy, with Hardy Eustace, who had won the race for the last two years in third. Fourteen of the eighteen runners completed the course.
Race details
- Sponsor: Smurfit Kappa
- Purse: £350,000; First prize: £202,683
- Going: Good to Soft
- Distance: 2 miles 110 yards
- Number of runners: 18
- Winner's time: 3m 50.00
Full result
| Pos. | Marg. | Horse (bred) | Age | Jockey | Trainer (Country) | Odds |
| 1 | Brave Inca (IRE) | 8 | A. P. McCoy | Colm Murphy (IRE) | 7/4 fav | |
| 2 | 1 | Macs Joy (IRE) | 7 | Barry Geraghty | Jessica Harrington (IRE) | 13/2 |
| 3 | 3½ | Hardy Eustace (IRE) | 9 | Conor O'Dwyer | Dessie Hughes (IRE) | 11/2 |
| 4 | 6 | Al Eile (IRE) | 6 | Timmy Murphy | John Queally (IRE) | 8/1 |
| 5 | ¾ | Arcalis (GB) | 6 | Graham Lee | Howard Johnson (GB) | 9/1 |
| 6 | 9 | Briareus (GB) | 6 | Mr Thomas Greenall | Andrew Balding (GB) | 20/1 |
| 7 | shd | Kawagino (IRE) | 6 | Jamie Moore | Seamus Mullins (GB) | 500/1 |
| 8 | ¾ | Faasel (IRE) | 6 | Tony Dobbin | Nicky Richards (GB) | 16/1 |
| 9 | shd | The French Furze (IRE) | 12 | Brian Harding | Nicky Richards (GB) | 150/1 |
| 10 | 8 | Royal Shakespeare (FR) | 7 | Tom Scudamore | Tom Gollings (GB) | 100/1 |
| 11 | 6 | Intersky Falcon (IRE) | 9 | Mick Fitzgerald | Jonjo O'Neill (GB) | 66/1 |
| 12 | 15 | Admiral (IRE) | 5 | Paul O'Neill | Richard Guest (GB) | 150/1 |
| 13 | dist | Astonville (FR) | 12 | Benjamin Hitchcott | Phillippe Cottin (FR) | 500/1 |
| 14 | dist | Fiepes Shuffle (GER) | 6 | Paul Carberry | Christian von der Recke (GER) | 50/1 |
| PU | Leo's Luckyman (USA) | 7 | John McNamara | Roger Brookhouse (GB) | 500/1 | |
| PU | Turnium (FR) | 11 | James Davies | Phillippe Cottin (FR) | 500/1 | |
| Fell | Asian Maze (IRE) | 7 | Ruby Walsh | Thomas Mullins (FIRE) | 12/1 | |
| Fell | Penzance (GB) | 5 | Robert Thornton | Alan King (GB) | 40/1 |
- Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; hd = head; dist = distance; UR = unseated rider; PU = pulled up
Winner's details
Further details of the winner, Brave Inca
- Sex: Gelding
- Foaled: 20 April 1998
- Country: Ireland
- Sire: Good Thyne; Dam: Wigwam Mam (Commanche Run)
- Owner: Novices Syndicate
- Breeder: D. W. Macauley
References
- ^ "Champion Hurdle result". Racing Post. 14 March 2006. Retrieved 2014-03-16.