I mean the cleaning of the scene and then the optics of it
What stigma? Itâs not 1932
You must be seriously confused. His damline is American for generations, and one of thfinest damlines ever. His dam produced a Derby winner at Epsom, his ggdam produced a KY Derby winner. Its all black type and G1 winners on both sides of the Atlantic. Not sure where youâre getting all the p2p and bumper malarkey from.
Istabraq was for all intents and purposes an expensive failure that found a 2nd career.
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Sadlers wells on one side and Secretariat on the other and they aiming him at winning 500 quid in the point to point at Ballydesmond,
Quite the story 
Just to put into context, he was a well above average horse as they go and that pedigree isnât a guarantee of anything. French jumps trainers are having big success with AQPS horses which arenât even thoroughbred and breeding them with thoroughbreds. The best 2 mile chaser ever Sprinter Sacre is one of these and Henderson and especially Mullins copped this early and have had huge success with these.
Istabraq wouldâve been around a 100 rated horse on the flat. Frankel was high 130s iirc, a bad horse but one just about good enough to stay in training would be rated around 45. 100 is actually very, very good; like a good footballer that maybe lacked an important attribute. It wouldnât be unusual at all then for a 100 rated horse who had stopped improving on the flat to go jumping; nowadays it isnât seen as much as most of these are sold to Dubai, Hong Kong or Australia where prizemoney is much more lucrative and they can race in good handicaps for big pots.
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Istabraq was a quality flat horse.
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He was bought for 40k. Very cheap considering what he achieved.
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It wouldâve been interesting if they went back on the flat with him after the first Champion Hurdle, bit before my time but I donât think they ever did. There was a time there where he probably had improved again and wouldâve been a big force on the flat
Hmmm. Improved you say?
No they didnât. The horse who finished second to him in the first two champion hurdles was a higher rated flat horse. Canât think of its name.
Fuck it, who knows.
Weld won an Ascot Gold Cup with a hurdler, Mullins is mopping up group races with ex-hurdlers since Wicklow Brave. The game has changed and the jumps trainers have closed the gap, it wouldâve been interesting.
Theatre World maybe?
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Yep finished 2nd 3 years in a row.
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Always a good each way punt at the time
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Far from a donkey or p2p horse.
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Vintage crop was beaten in a Cheltenham champion hurdle before winning the Melbourne cup and the Irish leger at least once.
Willie Mullins had an Irish leger winner beaten in a couple of champion hurdles as well. Frankie won on it.
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Lots of riders under brailsford improved.
Israbraq never raced again on the flat so how can you say heâs improved ?
Loads and loads of quality jumpers were shit on the flat and vice or versa.
Two very different disciplines that are growing further apart all the time too.
40k for a 4yo 3/4 brother to a Derby winner is reflective of the fact he was a flop at what he was originally intended to be. Given the investment Shadwell had made in buying the dam from EP Taylor, sending her to SW and then a couple of years at Gosdenâs yard, the 40k didnât offset a lot.
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