The bravest of the Brave – 20 years since Inca’s Champion Hurdle triumph

Plenty of great hurdlers came before Brave Inca and plenty have come since – but very few can have been so well named, teak-tough and brilliant in equal measure.

Even though time flies, the realisation it is 20 years since Colm Murphy’s pride and joy reached the summit in the Champion Hurdle seems rather ridiculous. It does, however, conjure up special memories of a truly golden era.

Brave Inca had two years earlier been involved in a race for the ages in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, refusing to be beaten and edging War Of Attrition by a neck.

That race in itself stands as modern-day thriller – but the fact Brave Inca went on to win a Champion Hurdle and War Of Attrition a Gold Cup makes it other worldly.

Barry Cash had done the steering on that occasion, but by the time it came to the 2006 Champion Hurdle, a certain Sir Anthony McCoy was is the saddle. Talk about will to win, can there ever been a more appropriate horse and jockey combination?

Having finished a close third to Hardy Eustace and Harchibald in another unforgettable race the previous March, during a campaign that saw him hit the crossbar more than once, this time Murphy was confident everything was right, and so it proved as McCoy and his ever-willing partner prevailed by a length from Macs Joy.

“It’s hard to believe it was 20 years ago. He was a horse of a lifetime, so good to us and we were so lucky to have him. Days like that are hard to replicate,” said County Wexford-based Murphy.

“There’s not too many times you can go for a big race at Cheltenham fancying one, but it was one of those years where absolutely everything went right for him and we were so fortunate.

“We were running well without getting anywhere the year before, but what we learned that year and the extra experience stood him good stead and made all the difference the following year. He was a year older and stronger and everything just fell right.

“I might have took those days for granted and they happened very early in my career – we probably took it for granted every year we went back to Cheltenham and every year he would be so competitive.

“I definitely took it for granted and I don’t think I’m over exaggerating to say he was a horse of a lifetime. I just can’t believe it was 20 years ago.”