Legendary Irish jockey Charlie Swan has claimed that the racehorse Constitution Hill reminds him of his famous and legendary racehorse Istabraq,
Istabraq is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who was most famous for winning Cheltenham's Champion Hurdle on three occasions. He was trained by Aidan O'Brien and owned by John Patrick McManus.
Swan rode him in all of his 29 races over jumps in the 90's and early noughties.
At this year's festival, Swan has been backed Constitution Hill to emulate Istabraq's exploits from yesteryear at this year's Cheltenham festival.
The Nicky Henderson trained horse has been tipped to win the Champion Hurdle by Swan.
"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," said Swan speaking to Cheltenham betting.
😍 🐐 The legend ISTABRAQ winning his third Champion Hurdle under the ice man Charlie Swan!!
The way he travelled, the way he quickened up that hill, push button go. He really was something else and of course trained by a genius in Aidan O'Brien. 🙌 🥇pic.twitter.com/EZ3EwBBdEJ— Stephen R Power (@racingblogger) February 16, 2023
"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.
"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.
"You have to respect him. 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.
"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."
The 2023 Cheltenham Festival will run from Tuesday, March 14 to Friday, March 17. The meeting is run over four days with seven races on each day, so 28 in total. The first race of each day will be due off at 1:30pm with the last run at 5:30pm.
