1999 Champion Hurdle
| 70th Champion Hurdle Cheltenham, 16 March 1999 |
| won by Istabraq (IRE) |
The 1999 Champion Hurdle was a horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 16 March 1999. It was the 70th running of the Champion Hurdle.
The winner for the second consecutive year was J. P. McManus's Istabraq, a seven-year-old gelding trained in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Charlie Swan.
Istabraq started the 4/9 favourite and won by three and a half lengths from his stable companion Theatreworld, who had also finished runner-up in the previous two years, with the leading British hurdler French Holly in third place. Twelve of the fourteen runners completed the course.[1]
Race details
- Sponsor: Smurfit
- Purse: £232,800; First prize: £138,000
- Going: Good to Soft
- Distance: 2 miles 110 yards
- Number of runners: 14
- Winner's time: 3m 56.80
Full result
| Pos. | Marg. | Horse (bred) | Age | Jockey | Trainer (Country) | Odds |
| 1 | Istabraq (IRE) | 7 | Charlie Swan | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 4/9 fav | |
| 2 | 3½ | Theatreworld (IRE) | 7 | Tommy Treacy | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 16/1 |
| 3 | 2½ | French Holly (USA) | 8 | Andrew Thornton | Ferdy Murphy (GB) | 11/2 |
| 4 | 1 | Mister Morose (IRE) | 9 | Carl Llewellyn | Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) | 100/1 |
| 5 | 1¼ | Nomadic (GB) | 5 | Paul Carberry | Noel Meade (IRE) | 50/1 |
| 6 | 2 | Tiutchev (GB) | 6 | Mick Fitzgerald | David Nicholson (GB) | 40/1 |
| 7 | ½ | Bellator (FR) | 6 | Norman Williamson | Venetia Williams (GB) | 50/1 |
| 8 | 13 | City Hall (IRE) | 5 | Robert Thornton | Val Ward (GB) | 33/1 |
| 9 | 3 | Lady Cricket (FR) | 5 | A. P. McCoy | Martin Pipe (GB) | 16/1 |
| 10 | 4 | Midnight Legend (GB) | 8 | Tony Dobbin | David Nicholson (GB) | 50/1 |
| 11 | 14 | Grey Shot (GB) | 7 | Jamie Osborne | Ian Balding (GB) | 33/1 |
| 12 | 17 | Upgrade (GB) | 5 | Chris Maude | Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) | 66/1 |
| Fell | Zafarabad (IRE) | 5 | Richard Johnson | David Nicholson (GB) | 40/1 | |
| BD | Blowing Wind (FR) | 6 | Richard Dunwoody | Martin Pipe (GB) | 33/1 |
- 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
- ^ a b "Full Result 3.15 Cheltenham | 16 March 1999 | Racing Post". Racing Post. 16 March 1999. Retrieved 18 March 2018.