The 2000 Champion Hurdle was a

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

held at

Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, hosts National Hunt horse racing. Racing at Cheltenham took place in 1815, but comprised only minor flat races on Nottingham Hill. The first racing on Cleeve ...

on Tuesday 14 March 2000. It was the 71st running of the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

. The winner for the third consecutive year was

J. P. McManus John Patrick McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner. He was a major shareholder of Manchester United until his stake was bought out by Malcolm Glazer in 2005. Early life McManus was born in Limerick, Ireland, ...

Istabraq Istabraq (23 May 1992 – 25 July 2024) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who was most famous for his hurdling. He won the Champion Hurdle on three consecutive occasions. He was trained by Aidan O'Brien and owned by John Patrick McManus. Joc ...

, an eight-year-old

gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...

trained in Ireland by

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

and ridden by Charlie Swan. Istabraq became the fifth horse to win three Champion Hurdles after Hatton's Grace, Sir Ken, Persian War and See You Then. Istabraq started the 8/15 favourite and won by four lengths from the French challenger

Hors La Loi III Hors La Loi III (foaled 22 February 1995) was a French-bred AQPS racehorse who won the 2002 Champion Hurdle. A dark bay gelding with a narrow blaze and white hind feet, he developed a reputation for being rather inconsistent, but was one of the ...

, with Blue Royal a neck away in third. Apart from Istabraq, the only previous winner of the race to run was

Make A Stand Make A Stand (21 March 1991 – 22 November 2019) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career which lasted from 1993 to 2000, he ran thirty times, both on the flat and over hurdles, and won twelve races. His greatest success came in the 19 ...

who finished last. Eleven of the twelve runners completed the course.

Race details

* Sponsor: Smurfit * Purse: £250,000; First prize: £145,000 * Going: Good * Distance: 2 miles 110 yards * Number of runners: 12 * Winner's time: 3m 48.10

Full result

* Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; hd = head; dist = distance; UR = unseated rider; PU = pulled up; LFT = left at start; SU = slipped up

Winner's details

Further details of the winner, Istabraq * Sex: Gelding * Foaled: 23 May 1992 * Country: Ireland * Sire:

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

; Dam: Betty's Secret (

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

) * Owner: J. P. McManus * Breeder:

Shadwell Stud Shadwell Racing is the Thoroughbred horse racing operations of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Introduced to Thoroughbred flat racing while a student in the United Kingdom, Sheikh Hamdan estab ...

References

{{Champion Hurdle

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

2000

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

2000s in Gloucestershire