Brave Inca (foaled 20 April 1998) is a retired Irish

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse. In a career that lasted from March 2002 until April 2009, he ran thirty-five times and won 15 races, ten of them at Grade I level. including the 2006

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 ...

. From 2005 until he was retired, Brava Inca ran in sixteen successive Grade I races.

Background

Brave Inca was bred in Ireland by D W McAuley. His sire was Good Thyne, an American-bred stallion who produced the winners of over 600 jumps races in Britain and Ireland. He was the first foal of his dam, the unraced Wigwam Mam. He was sold as a foal for 1,600 gns at

Tattersalls Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. ...

and as a yearling for

IR£ The pound ( Irish: ) was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or £Ir for distinction.) The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin circulation until ...

6,000, eventually becoming the property of the Novices Syndicate. He was trained throughout his career by Colm Murphy in the village of Killenagh, near

Gorey Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is bypassed by the main N11 road (Ireland), M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the Gorey railway station, railway network along the same route. Local newspape ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

Early career (2001–2004)

Brave Inca began his career by running unplaced in minor hurdle races at

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town and largest town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Leinster Blackwater, Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin. At the ...

and

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

in March of the 2001/2002 season. The following season began similarly with down-the-field efforts in minor hurdle events at

Fairyhouse Fairyhouse Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Ireland. It is situated in the parish of Ratoath in County Meath, on the R155 regional road, off the N3. It hosted its first race in 1848 and since 1870 has been the home of the Irish Grand ...

and

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

. In these two races, he was ridden by Barry Cash, who became his regular jockey for the next three seasons. In March 2003, he was switched to

National Hunt flat race National Hunt flat races, informally known as bumper races, are a type of flat racing but run under National Hunt racing rules in Britain and Ireland. National Hunt flat races were created on 15 July 1891 when a conference between the stewards of ...

s and began to show improvement, winning "bumpers" at Fairyhouse and Navan by wide margins. Because of his early failures, Brave Inca entered the 2003/2004 season as a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

hurdler. He then went unbeaten in five starts. After picking up two handicaps before Christmas, he won his first major prize by defeating Newmill in the Grade I

Deloitte Novice Hurdle The Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 met ...

. At Cheltenham, he was sent off 7-2 favourite for the

Supreme Novices' Hurdle The Supreme Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance o ...

and won by a neck over future

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlon ...

winner

War of Attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

. The win provoked "near-hysterical" celebrations among the large Irish contingent, with Colm Murphy being carried shoulder-high into the winner's enclosure. In his final start of the season in the Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle at

Punchestown Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish Nationa ...

, Brave Inca defeated the English-trained

Top Novices' Hurdle The Top Novices' Hurdle is a Grade One National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and half a ...

winner Royal Shakespeare by a short head.

Rise to the Championship (2004–2006)

In the 2004/5 season, Brave Inca won once from seven starts. On his debut at Dromore in November, he narrowly failed to give 10 lbs to

Macs Joy Macs Joy (his name was written without an apostrophe) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who won several important hurdle races including three at Grade I level between 2004 and 2006. He was also known for his long series of races against the ...

, a horse he met many times over the subsequent seasons. Later in the same month, he ran second to the mare Solerina in the two-and-a-half-mile

Hatton's Grace Hurdle The Hatton's Grace Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (4,02 ...

. Two more second places followed in the

December Festival Hurdle The December Festival Hurdle, currently known by its sponsored title of the Matheson Hurdle, is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It i ...

and the

Irish Champion Hurdle The Irish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and ...

with

victorious on both occasions. Brave Inca was sent off as a 10-1 chance for his first attempt at 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 ...

in March 2005. In an eventful race, he finished third, beaten two necks by Hardy Eustace, who won his second championship, and

Harchibald Harchibald (February 1999 – May 2024) was a French-bred, Irish-trained thoroughbred racehorse who won four Grade 1 races over hurdles. Background Harchibald was sired by the stallion Perugino out of the mare Dame D’Harvard. He was owned by D ...

, who had seemed certain to win after the final hurdle. As a result of this effort, Brave Inca was sent off 2-1 favourite for the

Aintree Hurdle The Aintree Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs ( ...

but fell for the first and only time in his career. A season of near-misses ended as he rallied after being headed close home to defeat

and

in the

Punchestown Champion Hurdle The Punchestown Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and duri ...

, in which he was ridden for the first time by

Tony McCoy Sir Anthony Peter McCoy (born 4 May 1974), commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former National Hunt horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and Britain, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners and was Champion Jockey a recor ...

Although he was already seven years old at the start of the 2005/6 season, Brave Inca appeared to be reaching his peak, an impression that was confirmed when McCoy rode him to victory in the

Morgiana Hurdle The Morgiana Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Ireland which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years or older. It is run at Pun ...

, beating

and

again. After another failed attempt at the

, he confirmed his superiority over the best two-mile hurdlers in Ireland with an "easy" and "convincing" victory in the

after which he was quoted as 5-1 joint favourite for the Championship. A triumph in the

meant that he was seen as the potential champion by the time of the 2006 Cheltenham Festival Sent off 7-4 favourite in a field of 18, Brave Inca landed the odds in 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 ...

, winning by a length from Macs Joy, with Hardy Eustace three lengths back in third. "He's all there", said Murphy after the race. "He's a complete horse now." On his final start of the season, Brave Inca finished second to Macs Joy in the

Later career

In 2006/7, Brave Inca won the Hatton's Grace Hurdle at his third attempt and a second December Festival Hurdle, as well as finishing runner-up in the Irish Champion Hurdle. In the Champion Hurdle, he defeated most of the leading contenders, including

Detroit City Detroit ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, making it the 26th-most populous city ...

and Hardy Eustace, but finished second, three lengths behind the surprise 16-1 winner

Sublimity In aesthetics, the sublime (from the Latin '' sublīmis'') is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness beyond all possibility ...

. Brave Inca missed the whole of the 2007/8 season with a tendon injury but returned in 2008/9. Although now well past his best, he managed one last major victory by winning the Irish Champion Hurdle at the age of 11, after which Colm Murphy described him as "unbelievable, one in a million. He's as tough as nails".

Retirement

Brave Inca was retired from racing after running down the field in the 2009 Champion Hurdle. He has not, however, retired from competition, becoming a successful show-horse. He has also been used to raise funds for the "Playing for Life" charity by taking part in a "Man vs Horse" race at

Leopardstown Leopardstown (), historically called Ballinlore, is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. With institutional lands and a large racecourse, it is divided by the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorw ...

in December 2010.

Pedigree

Notes

Macs Joy: This is the correct spelling. There is no apostrophe.

References

External links

youtube clip of 2005 December Festival Hurdle (Incorrectly titled)youtube clip of 2006 December Festival Hurdle (Incorrectly titled)AtTheRaces feature on Colm Murphy and Brave Inca from January 2007
{{Champion Hurdle winners 1998 racehorse births Cheltenham Festival winners Champion Hurdle winners National Hunt racehorses Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 8-c